You Will Geek Out Over This Toyota GR HV Sports Concept
In anticipation for the Tokyo Motor Show later this month, Toyota just revealed the GR HV Sports Concept. It’s really giving us some Batmobile-ish vibes. Taking inspiration from the TS050 Hybrid race car and borrowing the design language from the popular Toyota 86, the GR HV aims to bridge the gap between the thrill of a sports car and the efficiency of a hybrid.
The targa-roofed roadster will be powered by THS-R (Toyota Hybrid System-Racing). The front-mounted engine sends power to the real wheels. The whole thing is painted in matte black with futuristic LED headlights, making for a very utilitarian, military feel à la the Tumbler. The battery is situated in the middle of the car; Toyota says this contributes to improved performance as a sports car.
The transmission is where thing get even more interesting. It’s an automatic, but incorporates an H-pattern shifter. Basically, you can go from automatic to manual with the push of a button. You can shift gears once in manual mode without a clutch. It’s the same concept as paddle shifters but with a stick instead.
Toyota says it will bring this one-off hybrid sports car to the Tokyo Motor Show as part of the new Japanese GR performance line. Whether of not the concept will go into production is unknown, or even if it will be available in Canada. One thing we do know: if this is a sign Toyota’s returning to its Supra days, we can definitely get onboard with that.
