New 'GRMN', 'G's' Concepts to Debut at Tokyo Auto Salon
GAZOO Racing 'Automotive Seasoning' to Be Conveyed Widely
Tokyo, Japan, - Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) plans to display a total of 17 vehicles, including three concept cars from "GAZOO Racing tuned by MN" (GRMN) and "G Sports"1 (G's), plus production vehicles, at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011 with NAPAC2. The Tokyo Auto Salon, the world's largest customized car exhibition open to the general public, will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from January 14 to 16.
MC has seen the Tokyo Auto Salon as a place where peoples' dreams about automobiles convene, and as such has actively exhibited there. At the 2011 show, TMC hopes again to increase the number of car enthusiasts by promoting the "automotive seasoning" and joy of automobiles developed through GAZOO3 Racing activities to a wide range of people.
The GRMN concept car to be displayed is the "GRMN iQ Racing Concept", which is based on the limited-production "iQ GRMN" that sold out in one week in August 2009 and features a super charger and roll cage. Making up the G's concept-car display will be the "Prius G Sports Concept" and the "Vitz G Sports Concept", which are sports-conversion models based on the "Prius" and "Vitz", respectively.
In addition to the vehicle displays, TMC will conduct panel discussions featuring engineers and racecar drivers who will discuss the special features and aspects of the display vehicles, suggest how they can be driven and enjoyed, and also provide tune-up ideas. Various grass-roots motor-sports events will also be introduced, including the GAZOO Racing "Waku Doki" circuit events4 that began nationwide in November 2010.
During the exhibition, TMC will also conduct virtual events on GAZOO Metapolis5, a Japanese-language website featuring a virtual city (http://toyota.jp/sp/metapolis/), and the GAZOO.com website (in Japanese) will feature a special, exhibition-focused section (http://gazoo.com/racing/event/autosalon2011). Information will also be available on web-based social-media sites such as Twitter and Ustream to enhance the connections between car enthusiasts both inside and outside the exhibition venue.
