Toyota Sports GRMN Hybrid Concept II - named in honour of Hiromu Naruse
Toyota are to reveal the GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II – a 295bhp MR2-like Roadster – at the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race this weekend.
The New Toyota MR2? Probably not. But the Toyota GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II is certainly in the same mould as the MR2, and does show that Toyota hasn’t forgotten how to make an appealing car – even if it is a hybrid.
The Toyota GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept II (catchy moniker – henceforth to be referred to as just GRMN) is actually the second iteration (there could be a clue in the name) of this hybrid concept, the first having turned up at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2010.
But this new version – which Toyota plan to reveal at the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race this weekend – gets a more production-looking finish and feel and an uprated hybrid system.
Developed within Toyota by Gazoo Racing – and if that rings a bell it’s probably because they developed the LFA – the GRMN gets a mid-mounted 3.5 litre, 245bhp V6, an electric motor at the front and more electric motors at the back, which appear to contribute just 50bhp between them. Were they worth the effort?
Still, we’d expect the GRMN to offer a decent driving experience, especially as it has been developed by Gazoo Racing which, until his death last year, were led by Hiromu Naruse.
Hiromu Naruse was known as the ‘Meister of Nürburgring’, and it is in his memory that Toyota named this concept the Gazoo Racing Meister Nurburgring. Fitting.
But we’d have thought a better way to remember Hiromu Naruse would have been to name the limited edition LFA – the LFA Nurburgring Package – ‘The Naruse Edition’, rather than attach his hard-earned sobriquet to a modern day hybrid MR2.
We suggested as much to Toyota last year, but they told us that Naruse-san wasn’t famous enough to be commemorated by naming a special car after him. It seems they’ve changed their minds. Which is good.
Although it would still have been better to attach his name to an LFA.
Pedro R. says
Cars UK should have done some research about Toyota named this Gazoo Racing Meister Nurburgring just because of Hiromu Naruse…
http://gazoo.com/racing/english/grmn/index.asp
Here’s a link so you could see all the GRMN cars.
Again, when you said that the electric motors only contribute with 50hp you should do some research again.
It’s a fact that the ICE produces around 250hp and a car has a total of 300hp, but if you look to Prius you can see an ICE with 99hp and a combined power of 136hp. Considering what you’ve written in the article it would be easy to say that electric motor contribute with 37hp. But the truth is that electric motors have 80hp….
So I suggest Cars UK to study a little more about Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive.
Best Regards.
CarsUK says
Thanks, Pedro.
It was Toyota themselves who made it clear that ‘MN’ “…stands for “Meister of Nürburgring”, referring to Hiromu Naruse (1944-2010)”. And as far as Toyota’s HSD is concerned we are of the opinion that with such low outputs there is no advantage in having a hybrid powertrain. Making a car like this a hybrid is a purely political/marketing strategy. It would be quicker – and doubtless more fuel efficient – dumping the whole HSD setup and having the engine in a higher state of tune.
Just like the Prius.