gazoo-toyota-iq Toyota has announced a new limited edition version of the Toyota iQ tuned by GAZOO Racing. It will be launched in November 2009 and sold only through its Japanese Netz dealer channels. The GAZOO Toyota iQ will feature a customised suspension with lowered ride height, and 16 inch wheels with low profile tyres. Calligraphy-style livery has been splashed around the car to create its own look. But aesthetics (the bodykit you see on the car) will be supplied by Modellista.
Toyota’s iQ, Japan’s 2008 Car of the Year, , was prominently displayed in Toyota’s booth at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon with many different colors and variations. It’s a car that should appeal to most people who like the Honda Fit (or the Smart). It is stylish, very fuel efficient and surprisingly small for a car that seats four people.
It was one of the most popular cars with visitors at Toyota’s booth and indeed at the whole show. Gazoo Racing’s version wasn’t bad either.
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Aston Martin CygnetFirst official pictures
29 June 2009 09:00
This isn’t a joke, but a concept for Aston Martin’s new £20k city car. Called the Cygnet, it’s a tiny Toyota iQ-based commuter car redesigned inside and out, and will be sold to existing and future Aston owners from the end of 2010.
Well, an Aston city car. The Cygnet is much more than a badge and stickers special edition – the concept features a redesigned front end with the trademark Aston grille, a vented bonnet, plus air intakes around the iQ’s lights, all of which help to differentiate the concept from its donor car. There are also new door skins and Aston’s famous pop-out door handles, plus revisions to the rear.
Aston won’t be drawn into revealing details of the Cygnet’s interior, but promises the changes inside will be even more extreme that the tweaks outside.
Not until the back end of 2010, when Aston reckons it’ll have the project ready. In the meantime it still needs to finalise the styling, especially inside, and figure out exactly how it’s going to make the car. At the moment the company is planning to buy iQs from Toyota, then change them at its Gaydon HQ, but it still needs to decide the details, including what engine/gearbox combination it’s going to sell.
Not unless you already own a ‘proper’ Aston. Aston reckons around 50% of its customers also own a city car like a Smart for their day-to-day transportation needs, and wants to capitalise on that market.
Rather than have its customers pootle around in £10k city cars, Aston is designing a unique and exclusive city car, so the Cygnet will be offered to all existing Aston owners, and anyone in the future who orders a DB9, DBS, Vantage, Rapide, or even the One-77.
Aston CEO Dr Ulrich Bez, of course. ‘Now is the right time for Aston Martin to take this first bold step to embark on this special project,’ said Dr Bez. ‘This concept – akin to an exclusive tender to a luxury yacht – will allow us to apply Aston Martin design language, craftsmanship and brand values to a completely new segment of the market.’
‘Much work is still required, but I am confident that this project could become reality in the not too distant future. The offering of a Cygnet with a DBS, DB9 or Vantage is a unique combination of opposites and a novel transport solution allowing intelligent and sensitive mobility on an exclusive and innovative level.’
The tie-up with Toyota came after a chance meeting at a Nurburgring 24hr race. Akio Toyoda, recently announced as Toyota’s new boss, was racing at the ‘Ring and his team was sharing a garage with the Aston works team. Bez and Toyoda became friends, and the pair have helped form the project.
Next up is a Toyota-badged One-77 supercar. Probably…
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Beginning from July, Toyota’s iQ premium minicar will be offered in Europe with a new 100HP 1.33-liter Dual VVT-i 4-cylinder petrol engine. Featuring a Stop & Start system as standard, the new engine will give the miniscule four-seater a combined cycle fuel consumption of 4.8lt / 100 km (49.0mpg US) and CO2 emissions of 113g/km, using the standard six-speed manual transmission.
Buyers can also opt for Toyota’s Multidrive semi-automatic transmission. In this case, the iQ 1.33 returns a combined cycle fuel consumption of 5.1lt / 100km or 46.1mpg US with CO2 emissions of 120g/km.
official Toyota press release
Toyota’s in-house customization firm Modellista has introduced a pair of cosmetic packages for the all-new iQ mini car that is set to go on sale in Japan this November. The Modellista Version Maxi that costs around $4,000 is the sportier of the two packages as it adds a front spoiler, side skirts and a rear spoiler that houses twin sport exhaust tailpipes. The less extravagant Version Mixutre can be bought for the equivalent of $700 and it includes mirror caps, side window decals, a rear door lock cover and protective door strips which are available in various colors.
For those that aren’t contempt with the basic packages, Modellista offers many more accessories including 16-inch alloy wheels, a sport suspension and a different grille for the front bumper.
Toyota’s Scion sub-brand, aimed at ‘young urban trendsetters’, has got its hands on the iQ city car and given it an ultra-aggressive makeover. Called the Scion IQ Concept, it takes what you previously thought feasible with a car less than 10-feet long and rips up the rulebook completely.
Extra-wide Yokohama tyres are wrapped around 18-inch alloys, stuffing the arches to capacity, and giving the tiny Toyota a stance that punches well above its weight. Custom LED lights at the front and rear, plus a centrally mounted trapezoid exhaust pipe add more detail to the already futuristic styling.
Five Axis, a Californian tuning firm, were drafted in by Scion to create the maxed out bodykit. And with crazy blistered arches, ground hugging front and rear spoilers and the blinding luminous green paint job, this car has more presence than the rest of the Toyota range.
Inside the cabin, there’s modern honeycomb fabric on the seats, plus a scuba-like polyurethane headlining to give the interior the cutting-edge feel of the outside. A 10in LCD screen sits flat on the dash when not in use, but rotates into action when needed to control the various entertainment functions.
The car is strictly a concept at the moment, but Scion is convinced that small but funky cars like this are the future. And for a US only carmaker to be embracing a smaller and more fuel-efficient model so openly is excellent news.
The creative folks over at Japan’s Best Car magazine have come up with what appears to be a computer enhanced image that gives us an idea of what a Toyota iQ Cabriolet could look like if such a version were to be produced. While rumors across the pond make word of a more sporty roadster version of the iQ , Best Car seems to believe that Toyota would most likely go for a more simple approach removing the front and rear parts of the hatchback’s rooftop, leaving a center section that would not only act as a safety roll-bar, but also add to the structural integrity of the vehicle.
Since there aren’t any other changes, the iQ would probably be able to squeeze in 3 adults and 1 child, making it the world’s smallest production four-seater convertible.
Despite the fact that we have no official confirmation that Toyota is indeed planning to introduce a 3+1 convertible variant, we cannot see why the Japanese automaker wouldn’t consider the development of a drop-top iQ especially since the minicar is scheduled to make its way into the States as a Scion -read more details here.
Pic via: Best Car
Rumor has it that Toyota is developing a roadster version of its newly introduced iQ minicar that will make its first appearance in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show to be held from October 23 through November 8, 2009. This latest speculative rendering that comes from Japan’s Motor Magazine depicts a Daihatsu Copen-like two-seater roadster with a set of protective roll bars that is based on the underpinnings of the iQ.If the rumors turn out to be true and Toyota does decide to go ahead and build a production variant of the roadster, then it will most likely be equipped with the same powertrains as the iQ hatchback, including the 1.0-liter and 1.33-liter gasoline engines and quite possibly, a 1.4-liter diesel. However, since we have a long way to go before the 41st Tokyo Salon opens its doors to the public, we’re keeping this on Rumorville for now.
Source: Motor Magazine
