The R32 generated sound and transmission lag thing are stupid. You kids get off my lawn.
Photography Courtesy the Manufacturers
GR Yaris M Concept
A new mid-engine performance car from Toyota? Well, kind of.
Taking a page out of the Renault book, Toyota took a GR Yaris, yanked out the 3-cylinder engine from under the hood, and dropped a larger 4-cylinder engine in the middle of the car.
This mid-engine Yaris is set to compete in the Super Taikyu Series as a way to, as Toyota says, “further explore the potential of the GR Yaris.”
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N DK Edition
What do you get when you have one of the most legendary drivers come out of Japan and collaborate with a car company to make its already fast performance EV even more thrilling to drive? That’s right, the Ioniq 5 N “DK Edition.”
Named after the “Drift King” Keiichi Tsuchiya, the DK Edition gets wider 21-inch wheels, 6-piston brakes and lowering springs that play nice with the car’s electronically controlled suspension.
Aerodynamics gets an upgrade, too: A front splitter, rear spoiler, side skirts and rear diffuser are all constructed out of carbon fiber. (Hyundai brags that this aero package increases downforce by a total of 93 kilogram-force at 140 kilometers an hour–or approximately 912 Newtons at 87 mph.)
Subaru STI complete car S210 Prototype
The first S-Series car intended for the Japanese market is also the first S-Series car to feature the Subaru Performance Transmission–the car maker’s fancy name for the CVT it puts in the WRX.
Sure, a CVT wouldn’t have been my first choice, but I’ll give Subaru the benefit of the doubt.
The S210 features an FA24 engine that has been upgraded with a new air intake, exhaust, and specially tuned ECU that bumps output to a projected 300-ish horsepower.
Other notable upgrades? Subaru lists several, including specially tuned electronically controlled dampers and coil springs, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, a carbon fiber rear spoiler, power-adjustable Recaro seats, 6-piston brake calipers, and drilled brake rotors front and rear.
The good news is that 500 examples will actually be built. The bad news? Those 500 examples will only be sold in Japan.
R32 EV
Nissan describes its simply named R32 EV as a project assembled by “a small group of adventurous Nissan teammates in Japan,” in an attempt to explore “the potential of electrification to deliver a driving experience every bit as engaging and rewarding as the R32 GT-R's.”
In an effort to reproduce a similar output and driving experience of the factory R32 GT-R, the team fitted the project with two 160kW electric motors, each one good for some 250 lb.-ft. of torque, as well as a 62kWh unit from the Nismo version of the Leaf.
Acknowledging that the EV model weighs some 800 pounds more than the factory R32, the team tuned the output of the electric powertrain to match the original car’s torque-to-weight ratio.
The driving experience is further amplified by piping in a sound “inspired” by the RB26DETT into the cabin and programming the R32 EV’s shift logic to simulate the delay of shifting gears with a manual gearbox.
Sadly, Nissan confirms that there are no current plans to sell an electrified R32 or offer any sort of conversion kit.
The R32 generated sound and transmission lag thing are stupid. You kids get off my lawn.
It's 2025 and Subaru is bringing out ... yet another 300-ish horsepower motor. They haven't moved the needle much over the decades in that respect.
Would love to see the GR Yaris here in the U.S. One could dream.
In reply to J.A. Ackley :
The GR Yaris seems like it would be a harder sell here, given our (generally) bigger roads and greater distances. I'm actually a little surprised the GR Corolla made it to North America.
"The driving experience is further amplified by piping in a sound "inspired" by the RB26DETT into the cabin..."
Oh yeah? Well when we were kids, we used to clothespin playing cards to our bike frames to be flapped by the spokes when we rode to make sounds "inspired" by actual petrol engines...
I'll take an RB26DETT, thank you very much.
And some playing cards.
With that Yaris it's almost like they decided to do an "06 Cobalt engine swap, from front to back" just like in project forum. How weird is THAT!
In reply to brandonsmash :
I have to agree with you on that one. Obviously I'd love the Yaris, but I'm just thankful we get the Corolla.
AhBNormal said:With that Yaris it's almost like they decided to do an "06 Cobalt engine swap, from front to back" just like in project forum. How weird is THAT!
I can attest that Toyota has a few folks there that have the GRM spirit. Who knew that spirit would make it to a world renown show like the Tokyo Auto Salon?
Need to go back there as it’s been a minute. Any interest in seeing some Tokyo Auto Salon photos from back in the day?
David S. Wallens said:Need to go back there as it’s been a minute. Any interest in seeing some Tokyo Auto Salon photos from back in the day?
Absolutely!
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