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Mix a Toyota 86 with a Honda CR-Z and a Mazda MX-5 RF and you get this: the Toyota GR HV Sports concept, a targa-top hybrid sports car concept headed for the Tokyo auto show. It appears to be heavily based on the existing rear-wheel-drive Toyota 86, albeit with futuristic-looking headlights and taillights and a new gas-electric drivetrain that’s said to use technology from Toyota’s TS050 hybrid race car that competes at Le Mans.
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All we know about the GR HV’s mechanicals are that it’s rear-wheel drive, it has a mid-mounted battery pack in place of the 86’s rear seats, and it has an automatic transmission. Don’t be too disappointed about the lack of a clutch pedal, though, as Toyota has devised an interesting approximation of a manual gearbox. Shifting through park, reverse, neutral, and drive is achieved through a row of buttons on the center stack, while a button marked M enables the use of the shifter, which moves through an H-pattern gate to give the impression of shifting a six-speed manual. A funky solution for sure, but we’d have to try it out to see if it could mimic some the fun of a true stick-shift.
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- Tested: 2017 Toyota 86 Automatic
- Toyota Le Mans Heartbreak Was Caused by One Tiny Part
- Toyota 86 Research: Reviews, Specs, and More
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As concepts go, the GR HV Sports looks relatively realistic, but that doesn’t mean Toyota will build it. We’re not ready to rule out a production version of this concept, though, as the the 86 (and its Subaru twin, the BRZ) is getting old, and updating the car with hybrid technology could renew interest while also tying in Toyota’s Gazoo Racing motorsports division. We’ll hope to find out more about this enticing sports car and its real-world prospects when it officially debuts at the Tokyo auto show later this month.
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