Toyota FT-1 concept

Early this month, at the North American International Auto Show, Toyota debuted their first sports car since the MR2 was discontinued in June of 2007. So, they came out with fist flailing with a awesome design by CALTY Design Research from Newport Beach, CA. The car is called the FT-1 or Future Toyota One which is suppose to represent the new beginning of fun to drive cars from Toyota.

The design itself is inspired from F1 racing, with every little nook and cranny put in for a purpose. They were also inspired by the Supra and 2000GT, which both had very sleek and sexy profiles. Like the Supra, the FT-1 has a long nose with a very tight cabin that is almost at the very stern of the car. The nose of the FT-1 extrudes to shape a F1 style nose, that shows how much this car was designed next to TRD (Toyota Racing Department). While we are at the back of the car, they added a nice small duck fin spoiler that raises  to become a full spoiler when the need desirers. Although it is not a mid-engine car, the engine is behind the front axle and the cabin is in front of the rear axles, which (hopefully) make the car a very good handling car. Since it is a concept, there is not information on the drivetrain, but there have been hints that the engine might be a straight six.

On the inside, it looks as if it came right out of a since fiction movie. With a HUD, heads up display and a small screen on the top of the steering wheel that displays a tachometer, what gear you are in and the driving mode you are currently in. The seats are minimalist, in the way that the thick padding is where you will be in contact with the seat. All the switches even look like they were taken straight from Star Trek.

I have been wanting a car like this from Toyota for a while. Its sleek and sexy, which is something that they could benefit from sometimes. There is no set price yet, but it is rumored that it could cost somewhere around $60,000, which would be awesome. I hope another dippresion does not still birth this awesome concept, like many others that have come before.

Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4

Lamborghini made a big decision recently on cutting its biggest money maker from production after 10 years: the Gallardo. Don't worry, because they are going to replace it with something even better. This new Gallardo is smaller then the Aventador, but bigger. Lamborghini is jumping into Ferrari 458 and McLaren 12C territory with a smaller, luxury super car called the Huracán. I thought that this is interesting, "... like the Gallardo and most other Lamborghini models, derives its name from the world of bullfighting. The fighting bull Huracán of the Spanish Conte de la Patilla breed was known for his outstanding courage and strong sense of attack. He fought in Alicante in August 1879, showing his unrelenting character and remaining defiant and invincible, thus entering into the legend of fighting bulls' history." from Netcarshow. They seem to draw some of the anger and fight from the bulls into the car also.

Pronounced ‘Ooh-ra-cahn', the 'baby Lambo' is coming into the field as a under dog. Not only because its the new kid on the block but, also it has less power then the 12C, only 602 hp and 413 lb-ft of torque comes from the 5.2 liter V10. Even though they designed the Huracán from the ground up, they did not revolutionize the little Lambo. Instead they evolved it by adding 50 hp to the Gallardo's fuel injected V10. However, the Huracán has Lamborghini's four-wheel-drive, which unlike the Gallardo, is distributed by a proper flappy paddle, dual clutch gearbox. Lamborghini calls it "Lamborghini Doppia Frizione" (LDF) which most likely shares DNA from Audi's S Tronic system. The LDF gear box snaps the Huracán from 0-60 mph in just 3.2 seconds and help the Huracán "over 202 mph", which probably has nothing to do with the 458's top speed of 202 mph.

Until March. we just have to wait for Lamborghini to officially unveil its new Gallardo at the Geneva Auto Show. This should be a good summer with the Ferrari 458, McLaren 12C, Audi R8 V10, Porsche 911 Turbo and Mercedes-Benz upcoming C190 all wanting the top position. Who do you have your money on?