Drifting a lightweight, rear-wheel drive coupe like the Toyota 86, which is Japan's version of the North American Scion FR-S and the European Toyota GT 86, on a wet parking lot can be loads of fun just as long as you accept the increased risk of losing control. Which is what happened to one of the drivers trying out the 86 at a parking lot in Odaiba, Japan, last Friday on March 9. Fortunately for the driver, he didn’t hit the metal barrier hard thus reducing the damages to the car. If you want to see what happened, head past the break for the video.
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While Toyota has no current plans to develop a performance version of its latest generation Yaris (marketed in Japan as the Vitz), the automaker's tuning and motorsports partner Gazoo Racing introduced an interesting concept model at this past weekend's Tokyo Auto Salon 2012. The Vitz Turbo Concept is based on the three-door Yaris and comes with a raft of performance upgrades that may become available to the public in the very near future. The highlight of the tune is of course the modified 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that gains a turbocharger to deliver an output of 180PS (178bhp) and a peak torque of 220Nm (162.3 lb-ft). Power continues to be transferred to the front wheels through a five-speed manual transmission. To improve handling, Gazoo Racing added a new lowered sports suspension and a high-performance braking system while the supermini now rides on 18-inch wheels shod in low profile tires. On the outside, the Vitz Turbo Concept sports Gazoo Racing's signature colors along with a new wide body kit that includes a new front grille that extends to the lower part of the redesigned front bumper, a front lip spoiler, widened front and rear fenders, side skirts, a roof spoiler and a new rear bumper with a diffuser. The darkened HID headlamps and tail lamps complete the look. As for the interior, the Japanese tuner says it added new sports seats up front along with a different steering wheel while it also modified the instrument panel and changed the trim. VIDEO
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Surely, anyone with an iota of common sense would give it up when surrounded by at least three police vehicles, right? Well, maybe most people but not Alexandra Osteyee-Hoffman. The 28-year old North Carolina woman tried not once, but three times (!) to escape from the police last Friday. It all began when deputies came to her house to serve papers on a hearing. The officer approached her Toyota Corolla and asked for her at which point she took off only to be cornered by at least three police vehicles shortly after. From that point on, we have the video footage from the police car dashboard camera, which shows her fleeing the scene for the second time leading the police on a high-speed chase – well, as fast as a Corolla can go, that is… Police officers had no trouble passing here and dropping stop sticks on the road, one of which pierced her tire. However, the young woman wasn't about to give up as she attempted to flee on foot. The deputies had no problem catching her after a very brief chase… According to WBTV news, the woman faces several charges including, but not limited to, felony fleeing to elude arrest, fail to yield and stop, reckless driving to endanger and three counts of resisting a public officer. VIDEO
The first thing that came to mind upon viewing the videos of Toyota's brand-new TS030 Hybrid Le Mans Racer as it was leaving the pits at the Paul Ricard circuit in France for its first test run was the Batmobile – well, that or Anakin Skywalker's podracer from Star Wars Episode 1.And no, we're not referring to the racecar's shape and styling but the sounds emitted by the hybrid powertrain which starts off with the electric motor before the V8 engine kicks in like an afterburner – yes, it's that cool.After that, you get the usual screaming sounds produced by race-prepped engines. Toyota's racing team is still developing the TS030 Hybrid as it has yet to decide whether it will combine the all-new 3.4-litre normally-aspirated V8 petrol engine with an electric motor from Aisin AW powering the front wheels or an electric motor from DENSO driving the rear axle (regulations stipulate that electric motors can only power two wheels). The TS030 Hybrid will make its racing debut on May 5 in the Six Hours of Spa-Francorchamps for the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.VIDEO
About a month after Toyota revealed the Aqua at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, the North American version of the model named the Prius C made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show today. The Prius C is the most compact member of the Prius Family, which also includes the third generation Prius Liftback, the new Prius V minivan and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid that will arrive in early 2012. 
About the same size as the latest Yaris, Toyota's new dedicated hybrid model is a sub-compact five door hatchback that measures 157.3 in. long, 56.9 in. tall, 66.7 in. wide and tips the scales at 2,500 lbs (1,134 kg) or 542 lbs. less than the regular Prius. It's hybrid powertrain links a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that utilizes an Atkinson cycle and which produces 73 horsepower and 82 lb.-ft. of torque, to an electric motor and a 144-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack located under the rear passenger seat. The hybrid system's total output is 99-horsepower. Toyota claims that the Prius C returns the highest rated city fuel economy estimate of any vehicle without a plug at 53 mpg in the city, along with 46 mpg on the highway for a combined rating of 50 mpg (4.7lt/100km). The hatch offers three different driving models include Normal, Eco, and EV. The Eco mode reduces overall energy consumption by controlling the air-conditioning and throttle, while the EV mode allows the Prius C to be driven by electric power alone for under 1 mile at speeds up to 25 mph (40km/h). Full pricing has not yet been released, but Toyota said that the Prius C will arrive in dealerships across the States in March with a starting MSRP below $19,000. VIDEO
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The prize for the least surprising announcement of the day goes to Toyota. That’s not to say that the number one Japanese carmaker has done anything wrong. It’s just that, after Peugeot and Citroen revealed their updated 107 and C1 respectively, it was only a matter of time before Toyota presented the 2012 version of its jointly-developed and built Aygo city car. Like its French siblings, this is the second time the Aygo receives a facelift, with the first being at the end of 2008, three years after its initial launch. For 2012, the Aygo gets a redesigned front end that brings it closer to the family look established by models like the Prius and the new Yaris. Changes include a revised front bumper sporting a larger air intake and LED daytime running lights, darker-tinted rear windows and newly designed wheels. In the interior, the dashboard has gained a new dark grey finish while Toyota claims to have reduced the noise levels. There's also a newly-design steering wheel with paddles for the MultiMode auto transmission-equipped models, new grey, orange or black surrounds for the speedo, tachometer and air vents, plus an optional audio system with Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The Aygo's gets the same revised 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine as the two French models. Output remains unchanged at 68HP and 93Nm, but emissions drop from the previous version’s 105 to just 99 g/km while average fuel consumption is also reduced, from 61.3 to 65.7 mpg UK (4.6 to 4.3 lt/100 km). PHOTO GALLERY
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