Build by Toyota motorsports partner Gazoo Racing, the GRMN iQ Supercharger is just the sort of concept car that’s too wild to ever become a reality. Right? Wrong!

To the surprise of, well, everyone, Toyota has announced it will offer a limited production of the car, which was unveiled in its second-generation prototype stage today at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Based on the 1.3-liter version of the iQ (it’s largest engine option), GRMN engineers have strapped on a supercharger to increase power output from a factory 94 hp, up to 130 hp, while torque increases from 89 lb-ft to 133.

Additional upgrades include the widebody seen here, an upgraded suspension and brake setup, larger 16-inch wheels with 195/55R16 tires and a close-ratio 6-speed manual transmission – much unlike the CVT offered on the North American Scion iQ (read our review here).

Inside the car gets custom sports seats and new gauges that go all the way up to 200 km/h (124 mph), a speed the standard car most certainly cannot achieve.

Set to go on sale this summer, the GRMN iQ Supercharger will be built in extremely limited quantities with just 100 cars being made.

GALLERY: GRMN iQ Supercharger

See AutoGuide’s complete 2012 Tokyo Auto Salon Coverage Here

It might sound like an oxymoron to hear Toyota iQ City Racer, with its 1.3L VVT-i engine pumping out the ever-so massive 98-hp. But that’s not going to stop Toyota from releasing a limited edition iQ aimed at the French market with some sporty aesthetic modifications.

Only 300 units of the iQ City Racer will be produced with several color choices to choose from: Orange Tabasco, Red, Pearl White or Gray Aluminum. To give it the good ‘ol race-inspired look, contrasting racing stripes are added on the vehicle along with new mirror covers, a rear skirt with a black chrome exhaust tip, tinted windows, some imitation carbon fiber elements, City Racer graphics and 16-inch black wheels.

The limited edition City Racer will be available at €19,950 – about $26,000 based on today’s conversion rates – which might sound steep, but considering a Subway footlong is €5 in France rather than $5, we’re assuming it’s a fair price to ask out there in Europe.

GALLERY: Toyota iQ Racer

[Source: Topspeed]

Toyota‘s miniature city car, known to us as the Scion iQ, is clearly a budget-friendly subcompact but who is to say that you can’t have a little fun and comfort while driving it? After Vilner transformed the Smart ForTwo they set their eyes on the next city car project this time keeping the modifications strictly in the interior. Looking to add luxury with the iQ’s eco-friendliness, Vilner fills the interior with brown Napa leather and Alcantara throughout.

Vilner claims their iQ’s interior brings it “close to the interiors of highest class luxurious cars,” but we’ll leave that up to your judgment. The seats are completely reupholstered in brown Nappa leather, including the letters “iQ” on the headrests and an interesting rectangular-pattern throughout the rest of the seat. The entire ceiling and pillars get redone with brown Alcantara while designer and laser-engraved elements are placed on some elements throughout the interior.

GALLERY: Vilner Scion iQ

The Aston Martin Cygnet might seem like anathema to everything the company stands for, but Aston Martin is hoping that the Cygnet will become the number two seller for the brand.

With a projection of 1,500 units sold per year, the Cygnet would trail the Vantage as Aston’s stop selling model. Aston sold a total of 4,250 cars in 2010.

The Cygnet is based on the Toyota iQ city car, and Aston Martin is marketing the car not based on performance, but on luxury. ”Prior to Cygnet your choice was, you open the door and it smells of plastic; now you open the door, and you’ll be hit by this wonderful smell of leather,” Chief designer Marek Reichman told Automotive News.

[Source: Automotive News]

As we anticipate the launch of the Scion iQ here in North America, parent company Toyota is preparing to introduction an all electric version of the mini-car in Europe.

Set to debut at the Geneva Auto Show in March, the car uses a lithium-ion battery located under the floor. As a result it doesn’t take up any passenger space and with all the weight down-low, it also improves the car’s center of gravity.

The car’s range is set at 65 miles and a leasing program is set to begin in Europe in 2012. A similar program will then be launched in the U.S.

The Toyota iQ EV will debut alongside the FT-86 Concept II, the Yaris hybrid and the Prius+ in Geneva.

Get more Toyota/Scion iQ news and info at iQ-Forums.com

Toyota‘s iQ microcar will get a fully electric version in 2011, the Japanese automaker has confirmed. The iQ will come as part of a plan to launch 11 hybrid or electric vehicles by 2012, including a hybrid version of the Yaris hatchback, a plug-in version of the Prius Hybrid and a Prius-based minivan.

In a statement released by the firm, Toyota stated that “improving the efficiency of its internal combustion engines, which account for the majority of sales, while raising performance, reducing costs and expanding the range available”. The company is also investigating new battery technologies that will bring big advances in performance that will be needed for electric cars to succeed in the mass market”.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Aston Martin‘s Cygnet minicar will come to the United States sometime in 2012 according to Automotive News. The Cygnet will reportedly cost $35,000 despite minimal changes from the Toyota iQ it’s based on.

The Cygnet is a risky move for Aston Martin; a product like this is conceivably a good idea in places like London, where a congestion charge applies to most vehicles driving in the downtown core, or in traffic-ridden locales like Manhattan, Miami or Los Angeles. Outside of these small niches, it’s hard to imagine who would buy a Cygnet for any reason at all.

[Source: Automotive News]

Day 4 Of the MINI Takes The States Tour was an exciting one for me, as I was able to sample the all-new MINI Countryman before nearly anyone else.  Saturday’s epic blast through two states left me exhausted, and I was expecting the Countryman to be a little more laid back than the Clubman S I drove yesterday. I was wrong. Don’t think of the Countryman as a MINI SUV, but as a MINI Cooper S for people with obligations.

Hit the jump to read more about the MINI Countryman

The Countryman, MINI’s 4-door crossover might be longer, wider and taller than you’d expect a MINI to be, but a blindfolded drive in the Countryman (if such a thing were possible) would fool anyone into thinking they were driving a Cooper S or Clubman S.

While the Countryman is 5.5-inches longer than a Clubman, and nearly 16 inches longer than a Hardtop, it still comes in smaller than a Golf. And yes, the Countryman drove very similarly to the rest of the MINI lineup, so much so that the higher driving position and ride height became a non-issue in the enjoyment of this vehicle. In fact, the higher vantage point in the Countryman feels more like a “normal” car than anything – it’s just not as low as other MINIs.

The Countryman S I drove uses the familiar turbocharged 4-cylinder engine making 181 horsepower and 177 ft-lbs of torque. The power delivery is a bit slower than its two door stablemates, due to the weight and the ALL4 all-wheel-drive system, but the same taut steering, slick-shifting 6-speed gearbox (try getting that in a Jeep Compass) and powerful brakes are still present. Despite the slightly sluggish acceleration, the car is still capable of effortlessly passing traffic on the highway, while pulling strong throughout the rev range. Expect 0-60 times in the mid 7 second range. One positive trade-off of the All4 system is that it eliminates the sophomoric torque steer present in the front-drive models.

While the car doesn’t feel as nimble as the Hardtop or Clubman, it does feel very planted and stable, thanks in part to the long wheelbase and all-wheel-drive. There weren’t too many opportunities to test out the handling of the car on the kind of roads I saw with the Clubman, but on-ramps could easily be taken at high speed, and with the sport button engaged, the car mimics the characteristics of the other S models, namely the heavier steering and sharper throttle response. The ride is still fairly firm, not as much as the Clubman S, but enough that traditional crossover shoppers will be in for a fight. I could see this turning off some prospective customers, but the flip-side is that it drives like a MINI rather than the body-roll-infused competition. MINI CEO Jim McDowell let it slip to me that the ALL4 system will cost an extra $1700 on top of the base price (which he didn’t divulge) and that he expects 30% of buyers to opt in.

The Countryman’s rear seat layout apes the minivans of the 1990s, in that it offers two rear seat buckets that can slide back and forth. Some buyers might be turned off by the lack of a middle seat, but the truth is, in most small crossovers, the middle seat is not a place you’d like to spend time. The sliding seats offer a unique way to maximize passenger space as well as cargo room, but we’ll have to see whether customers take to it as well. According to McDowell, the 5-seat layout also didn’t mean federal regulations, necessitating the 2+2 configuration. As I mentioned during my Day 1 coverage, the rear seats are quite spacious in all dimensions, and the adjustable rear seats add a considerable degree of flexibility, as space can be optimized for carrying either passengers or cargo.

MINI will host a formal driving event in October, but from the couple hours I had behind the wheel, I was fairly impressed. That’s not to say the vehicle is flawless; the four-seat configuration may turn off some buyers, the relatively high price and harsh ride won’t be for everyone, and some purists may scoff at the notion of a “big MINI”.  I’d personally take a Clubman S, but my shopping list consists of a few boxes of Mac N’ Cheese and a case or two of beer, while my back seat is used for carrying a socket set and my helmet bag during track days. For car shoppers with two strollers, a diaper bag, car seats and the desire for an alternative to a crossover SUV, the Countryman is worth a look.

GALLERY: MINI Countryman

A Chat With Jim McDowell:

Along the way to Columbus, I rode with Jim McDowell, the head of MINI USA. McDowell and I chatted about the car industry, future product plans and his journey through the car world. At one point, we missed an exit for a scheduled stop on the route while chatting in the Countryman.

Having worked with Porsche and BMW both in America and Germany (where McDowell and his family lived for a number of years), McDowell returned when BMW began constructing their assembly plant in South Carolina. McDowell joined MINI five years ago, and has overseen growth of the brand since.

For MINI, cars like the Fiat 500 and the Scion iQ don’t represent much of a threat, according to McDowell.  He feels that the driving experience in the 500 won’t compare to MINI, and that while the 500 is a small car, MINI is first and foremost a premium, sporty car that happens to be small.

McDowell also said that the Countryman is the biggest MINI we’re going to see, but hinted at other variations – namely a Beachcomber concept – as candidates for MINI’s future. McDowell also hinted at the prospect of smaller displacement four-cylinder engines or even a three-cylinder engine as being able to provide the necessary efficiency without losing any performance. Interestingly, McDowell also said that while the MINI E will never be a production vehicle, technology from the E, as well as information gleaned from its development program will filter down to BMW’s upcoming Megacity electric city car, and play a major role in helping bring down the R&D costs of the vehicle.

Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Indianapolis, to check out the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and do a lap of the track. This will be my final leg, but the rally will continue on. Stay tuned to our news blog and Twitter feed for coverage of tomorrow’s leg.

With markets like China, Brazil, India and former Soviet bloc countries becoming more prosperous, the demand for a low cost, bare bones car for the sake of personal transportation. Tata’s Nano, Renault’s Logan and all manner of Chinese upstart brands have been filling the void in these up and coming locales, and now Toyota wants a piece of the action.

Toyota is apparently looking at producing a car to slot underneath the Yaris, which would retail for under 1 million yen, or $11,500. This car will be targeted at China and Southeast Asia in particular, with the aforementioned markets getting their own cars suited to local tastes. Toyota’s first emerging market car, the Etios, will be launched in India in late 2010, and future cars made for emerging markets will follow practices used by the Etios, like local assembly, which should cut costs dramatically.

[Source: Reuters]

***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

The pieces of puzzle are starting to come together and it looks like Toyota is planning on launching a hybrid version of the iQ mini-car in North America, branded as a Scion. According to a report by InsideLine, the a concept version of this car is the “dedicated hybrid concept” that Toyota will unveil at the Detroit Auto Show next week.

The iQ Hybrid will be offered as both a five-door hatchback and as a sedan, with the hatch going on sale in 2011. Impressively, it will get over 60 mpg thanks to a 1.5-liter engine used as a part of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy drive.

In addition, the 3-door, currently sold in Europe and Japan will also be branded as a Scion in North America. The Smart fortwo-sized hatch will be powered by a 99-hp 1.3-liter 4-cylinder and be offered as a convertible as well. With the hybrid and non-hybrid versions, this will essentially add four new models to Scion’s product lineup.

Scion unveiled a concept version of the iQ at the New York Auto Show last year. See more of that car in the Gallery below.

GALLERY: Toyota iQ

GALLERY: Scion iQ Concept

[Source : InsideLine]

Aston Martin has just released a selection of photos of its Cygnet mini-car concept, giving us the first real look at what this luxury econo-box will be like. Officially still a concept, the Cygnet is expected to go on sale next year in the U.K. and is based on the Toyota iQ mini-car.

Sold exclusively to current Aston Martin owners and then offered to new car buyers, it will be available late in 2010. Aston Martin plans to retrofit the cars at its facility in Gaydon in the U.K., after receiving the basic vehicles from Toyota.

From the new photos the car gets a typical Aston Martin grill, which honestly doesn’t look a ridiculous as we might have expected. It also gets some aggressive hood vents, some larger Aston Martin-style wheels, some fender vents, Aston’s signature door handles and some LED taillights.

Inside it’s seriously luxurious with plenty of leather, as well as some high-tech goodies.

Under the hood we expect to find Toyota’s 99-hp 1.3-liter 4-cylinder engine.

Aston Martin expects to sell from 1,000 to 2,000 units of the car but insists the decision to sell the Cygnet has more to do with offering well-heeled owners a practical city car, rather than to help the large-engined British automaker to meet increasingly strict corporate emissions regulations.

GALLERY: Aston Martin Cygnet

[Source: AutoCar]

***See AutoGuide’s LIVE 2010 Detroit Auto Show Coverage Here***

Toyota will debut an all-new hybrid concept vehicle at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit in just a few weeks. This new concept will be a dedicated hybrid model, meaning that like the Prius, it will only be offered as a hybrid. Toyota has said that it will offer hybrid versions of all of its models by 2010, but it is also working to increase its lineup of dedicated hybrids as they help to promote a strong “green” identity” as a brand.

There are several rumors as to what this new model would be. The color and flat-nose front seem to indicate it may be a version of the iQ (which Toyota showed as a Scion model at last year’s New York Auto Show). There is also a strong possibility that this could be the long-awaited Prius Coupe.

We’ll be sure to bring you details as we get them, with full coverage of the Detroit Auto Show starting January 11th.

GALLERY: Toyota Dedicated Hybrid Concept

Official release after the jump:

PRESS RELEASE

Toyota to Debut Dedicated Hybrid Concept at 2010 North American International Auto Show
2010 NAIAS Hybrid Concept 001
TORRANCE, Calif., December 14, 2009 – - Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. will stage the world debut of a new dedicated hybrid concept vehicle during the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The vehicle will be revealed during a news conference held on Monday, January 11th in the Riverview Ballroom at COBO Hall.  News conference schedules are being finalized and exact timing will be revealed in the coming weeks.