Hardcore, deep-dive Toyota fans know that, in the 21st century, the rarest, most sought-after ne plus ultra of Japanese domestic market (JDM) Toyota-branded high performance is represented by four initials: GRMN. Only a quintet of rare, limited-edition Toyotas were deemed worthy of wearing this vaunted badge. Just 100 copies each of four of them were […]

In a contemporary and future automotive world where B and lower C-segment crossover SUVs are the hottest and fastest-growing vehicle classes and most major carmakers are leading an inexorable march towards the holy grail of the fully autonomous vehicle, the traditional lightweight 2-seat roadster sports car is seemingly doomed to become the latest automotive dinosaur. […]

After the late March accident that killed a spectator at the season-opening VLN race at Germany’s Nürburgring threatened the 43rd annual ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring race and ultimately led to the imposition of speed limits on portions of the track, the show fortunately went on as scheduled. Of the 159 cars entered in […]

On the fringes of the “top tier” of super sports car makers (think Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and McLaren) that make their own engines for their much-admired creations lies another group of manufacturers that depend on larger outside carmakers for the powertrains that drive their exclusive boutique sports cars. The 1960s and 1970s saw a wealth […]

Back in 17 September 2010, at the British Embassy in Tokyo, an event rife with symbolism took place: Lotus Cars CEO Dany Bahar gave Toyota president Akio Toyoda a white Lotus Elise R powered by Toyota’s last Yamaha-designed 1.8-liter 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i 4-cylinder engine. The event was a Lotus/Toyota mutual admiration lovefest, as reported by Autoblog, […]

Anyone who has followed British sports car maker Lotus knows that its current model lineup (with the exception of the never-sold-in-North America and about-to-be-discontinued Europa) is powered by Toyota engines. As pundits pondered and pored over every detail and future variant rumor (such as upcoming convertible, automatic transmission and supercharged versions) of Lotus’ just-launched latest […]