The Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept was introduced to the public at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
The car's debut also marks the introduction of the "G Sports" badge. Toyota plans to use the badge in series of cars modified by motorsports firm Gazoo Racing to be released only in Japan.
One upgrade on the car was the addition of a turbocharger to the Subaru-made 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine. Body modifications include a wider, and smoothed-out front bumper that leads to wider wheel arches. A new front spoiler can also be seen at the bottom. The car's hood, now with air vents, is made from carbon fiber.
The car has a new rear spoiler sitting on top of the decklid, which now includes a new strip of lighting. The rear bumper is more squared off, with a diffuser that brings the dual exhaust pipes to the center. This concept sits on 19-inch alloy wheels wearing Potenza high-performance tires. Recaro seats round off the package.
No performance specs were revealed for the Toyota FT-86 G Sports Concept.
At the exhibition:
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TMC to Launch "G's" Sports Conversion Series
-Concept Car Debuts at Tokyo Auto Salon-
Tokyo-TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION (TMC) announces it plans to begin a gradual rollout in Japan in mid-2010 of its newly developed "G Sports"1 (G's) sports conversion car2 series. The series, to be sold through Toyota-brand dealers, is meant to offer to a wider range of people the "automotive seasoning" that TMC has pursued through its GAZOO Racing3 activities.
The G's series is designed for customers who strongly desire to own a unique vehicle, offering them a personalized interior and exterior design along with sports-driving performance. TMC has directly designed this sports conversion series, instead of the conventional approach of outsourcing development to a customization firm.
The base vehicle of the G's series is equipped with internal and external components that include sports suspension, aerodynamic parts and racing-style seats. A special focus has been placed on "driving seasoning" to make handling fun, through fine-tuning carried out by the GAZOO Racing test drivers who drove the Lexus "LF-A" in the 24 Hours Nürburgring race in Germany and developed the "iQ"-based "GAZOO Racing tuned by MN4" (GRMN).
TMC's aim is to bring that "driving seasoning" and the joy of automobiles to a wider range of customers by reducing production costs through partial inline customization5 and other measures.
TMC has been carrying out a diverse range of activities to broaden the joy and dreams that vehicles inspire, along with its ongoing efforts to use hybrid-vehicle and other technologies to address environmental issues.
In addition to the "FT-86 Concept" rear-wheel drive compact sports car and the Lexus "LFA" shown at the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show, plans call for TMC's sports model lineup to expand through the introduction of conversion models and sports-trim models of mass-produced vehicle series, such as the GRMN and G's series.
The new in-dashboard track display and Gran Turismo 5 integration:
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On display at the Toyota stand at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon will be the Toyota FT-86 G's Sports, which boasts an even sharper exterior and a world-first "GPS-track day" unit co-developed with the creators of the Gran Turismo franchise and automotive technology giant Denso. So what's so special about the unit, you ask? From what we've learned, you will be able to drive your real FT-86 around a real track -- the Nurburgring, for example -- and then remove the memory card from your car, plug it into your PS3 unit and either "watch" your lap virtually or race against yourself, as your real car appears as the "ghost car" that you battle against.
The GPS unit was tested in a fully race-prepped Lexus IS F at the Nurburgring last October. If you look closely at the FT-86's dashboard in previous press photos, you will see an outline of Fuji Speedway, a lap timer and an altimeter -- which hints at where Toyota is going with this technology.
Word from inside Toyota is that they plan to roll out the technology on "most" future models, with the first of course being the FT-86 in late 2012. Also, as has been previously reported, the Gran Turismo developers are also working on launching a 3D version of GT5 as soon as 3D TVs become available on the market. We've taken a quick demo spin of the 3D version, which looks fantastic in early builds. Of course, that assumes GT5 will ever be finished. Latest intel we have is late summer of this year at the earliest.
-Peter Lyon
Source: http://wot.motortrend.com/6612002/technology/race-at-the-track-then-against-yourself-virtually-in-gt5/index.html
Pictures & videos soon..
