I would not myself. I still feel that Toyota is pushing a new form of engine boosting with improved fuel economy as a minor side effect.

But, Hey if Toyota does well by this car then more power to them.

Jap (plural Japs)

(derogatory, racial slur) A person from Japan or of Japanese ancestry.

Comment by gilby7, posted on May11 at 6:42 am ”

wow that a pretty long rant considering that he simply abreviated japanesse, dumbass

now if they are just going to put their 300 hp direct inject v6 into a car that looks the concept, well then they might be onto something but even then its not going to work at the $40-50k pricepoint.

I’d like to see a new Supra that competes in size, performance and price with the Z and RX-8, which would rule out a V8 hybrid.. but then again, shouldn’t that be reserved for the $100K Lexus variant of this platform instead?

Which year are you talking about? Last version of the Supra was a beautiful car, with good but questionable performance (a C4 took turns better). It is still a very evocative name and I think well worth bringing back.

In fact, they are but the car they peg as the next Supra (That one looks sweet too) is more in line to compete with the Standard C6 Corvette in terms of performance and price (But not the Z06 forget the SS/”Blue Devil”/Z07). Sadly when the Supra does ship, if in that form, It’ll be behind the C7, which is said to base with specs on par with C6 Z06. If the FT-HS can make with Handling, it could be a solid runner though it’s max speed and/or braking could suffer (I expect a car that weighs in at around 3500 lbs at least)

Toyota, as I have said before is using Hybrid technology as a replacement for Turbos and Superchargers. They weigh more and cost more and they don’t add to the cars maximum performance, in fact they hinder it. But what Parallel Hybrids do is give instant and incredible acceleration, assuming th motors are very powerful. But then again the motors, Like a turbo or supercharger may only be boosting the smaller engine.

At slower speeds the motors could be useful to extend F/econ, for not considering what one has to go though to get one of the cars built (This may also apply to the VOLT so I’m not taking sides here), but Hybrids need batteries. Those batteries are typically highly toxic things, made in specialized facilities far from were the car will be sold. Those batteries must be shipped. Shipped takes a enormous amount of fuel, considering Toyota makes its batteries and ships them from JAPAN.

Those batteries typically CAN NOT be recycled so they have to be disposed of somehow when they wear out, more pollution and worse pollution. They are made with Heavy metals that defy recycling. Lithium ION/polymer/Magnesium batteries can be recycled but do have their safety issues (Li-Mg batts not so much).

In recent studies comparing a Prius to an H2, the H2 was far less polluting than the Prius because of the extremely inefficient manufacture and shipping of the Prius. The actually F/econ relative to the manufacturing shipping and so on was more like 5 MPG, Remember this includes shipping the batteries from JAPAN then all over the country to build the cars in the US, as opposed to the H2s 9 MPG.

It will require some looking in to, but I’m sure GM is aware of theses studies and will try to reduce the VOLT’s impact with more efficient manufacturing and shipping.

For me, a hybrid is the best option because it’d operate in electric mode most of the commute.

Everyone else – 25mpg is MY estimate. It’s an educated estimate considering what the similarly equiped Lexus GS450h gets. It’s also a logical deduction…The Prius only gets 41mpg average and that vehicle is meant to achieve very high standards. I’ll meet everone back here when the real numbers come out, see how close I am.

I appreciate Lotusfire’s intellectual honesty. Some others could benefit from this… I’m not trying to bash this car per se, I like the way it looks, and I like Toyota. I happen to really like the V8 that’s in this car. However, hybrid cars with batteries are not the answer to any problem, performance, economy or environment. There are other ways. If you are wondering why I don’t care for hybrids, I have detailed it out in my comments above. If you still don’t understand, I don’t know what else to tell ya.

Performance wise, it may do no better 0-60 or MPG (but we don’t know for sure yet, do we?) than a Z06….. but that costs quite a bit more than this cars estimated price point.

As the electric portion of this drivetrain improves in future models, so will the efficiency, much faster than the combustion engine portion. Applaud Toyota for the fact that they are trying to move on in this direction, when most companies have not even attempted to scratch the surface.

As far as weight, I have read about this car elsewhere, and have heard that they are considering a lot of lightweight materials, even going so far as to use carbon fiber for the WHEELS. (but this idea makes you question the price point again.)

For those who want to say that guys who like v-8′s won’t buy this car, you’re right. Some people are unrealistically attached to the throaty growl (which I myself enjoy) and insist that they have a combustion engine that has exactly 8 big cylinders in it. But more importantly, I like my cars fast and could ultimately care less if they can deliver their quoted speed/power at the quoted price.

Piablo, why are you worried about nickel mines? They also did not mention anything about Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, so this is just speculation. They may be using Lithium Ion, and don’t get me started about a lithium shortage, we (earth) have plenty of it we just haven’t found a cost effective way to mine and refine it yet.

AND FINALLY FOR FLYING SUKAHARA:

How dare you call us a bunch of gas-guzzling, know-nothings who care nothing about the environment (I’m paraphrasing) just because a Japan-based car company has a HYBRID sports car? Perhaps someone should remind you about a little American car company called Tesla, that makes an ALL-ELECTRIC sports car.(which, BTW is just as fast as this, is built on a modified Lotus chassis and is closer to production than this is). If we’re only going to compare one car to an entire country’s offerings, then I submit the Tesla Roadster. When Toyota makes something more efficient, call me.

I also am not particularly impressed with hybrids (a decent Honda Civic does about as well as a Prius) and the concept of 0-60 in 4 seconds plus 25mpg is yesterday’s news. But … if Toyota brings this performance to the market at 30k to 40k, then they one-upped the Corvette which is a pretty pricey item anymore.

With regard to styling, this is just a standard dated Nouveau-Gobot look but since Toyota can put stylistic shit on wheels and sell it, this will be all over the road too.

I have an ’02 Z06 with 450hp thanks to a few bolt-on mods that not only increased its horsepower, but also improved its fuel efficiency. It gets 33 MPG on the highway, and 25 MPG average city/highway. When it was stock, it got 28 MPG on the highway with 405 hp. “”

First off were the F**K did this 25mpg talk come from? there was absolutely no milleage posted in the article….

secondly, this is a hybrid engine, which generally speaking gets 25-30% more mpg then a conventional vehicle.

you say your 450hp Z06 can get 33mpg highway?? then you can bet your friggen ass this toyota is going to get high 30′s to mid 40′s..

Comment by homeboy234, posted on May10 at 2:30 pm

That’s the most sensible post homeboy234 has ever made. I’m shocked!

Nah – the ’02 Z06 I have weighs 3,150 lbs. with 405hp and did 3.9 seconds 0-60 when stock (published times), and that’s pushing it (power shifting, etc.).

“A stock G weighs about 3500lbs and only 280hp pulling about 4.5secs 0-60.”
Comment by njg35, posted on May10 at 2:26 pm

I know you corrected this to 5.5 seconds, and while it’s probably been done before, the 280hp InfinitiG35 coupe 6MT is a 5.7 second 0-60 car realistically. Many auto magazines tested it, and consistently got 5.7 0-60. I used to own an ’03 so I know first hand

Flying Sukahara
Too bad the Supra will never have the racing heritage of the Vette though Sure the JGTC is cool but American Lemans and Lemans 24hr is better. I may not be a Vette fanboy but don’t try to dismis it and what it has accomplished in automotive history. Now enough feeding the troll.

Basically the Supra has enough Fast abd Furious fanboys that will buy it regardless. 2009 will see the Camaro Challenger (2008 but still fresh), Nissan GT-R and this? What a good year for auto enthusiasts

I don’t have a 505hp Z06. That one gets 26 MPG on the highway, and about 21 MPG average. Hardly a gas guzzler, and I’m willing to bet this Toyota hybrid sports car won’t do much better if at all, with substantially less horsepower.

I have an ’02 Z06 with 450hp thanks to a few bolt-on mods that not only increased its horsepower, but also improved its fuel efficiency. It gets 33 MPG on the highway, and 25 MPG average city/highway. When it was stock, it got 28 MPG on the highway with 405 hp.

If the Toyota hybrid sports car can do better than that, I’ll be impressed. But if the hybrid Lexus LS600h is any indicication, it will be a miserable failure at improving fuel efficiency in this application.

“Ah sooo. I think me. So I win. Sooo sorry!”

I think you’re a rambling idiot. So sorry for you indeed!

Go bow down to your rising sun. I’ve gotta drive home in my 450hp 33mpg Z06.

“So selling a 50-60k car at 30-40k to steal Market share from the Mustang,Camaro, 350z, RX-8 and WRT-sti could actually be a positive step.” Comment by Jazz, posted on May10 at 10:02 am

I’m not so sure buyers of those cars would be very interested in a hybrid sports car. Buyers of V-8 Mustangs and Camaro’s are interested in the car’s styling and V-8 performance and sound, and for the most part really don’t care much about fuel economy or eco-friendliness. 350z and RX8 buyers are more interested in handing, styling, and bang for the buck. I highly doubt Toyota will be able to build a hybrid sports car that will handle better than those cars, given the inherent weight problem with hybrids, and Toyota’s history of building mediocre-handling cars in recent years.