2007 Tokyo Auto Show

The New Horsepower War

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The 2007 Tokyo Motor Show kicked off the press introductions last week, and the future looks bright for vehicles that are good to the environment yet fun to drive. Leading the parade was the Toyota 1/X (pronounced 1/Xth), which introduces carbon fiber as a mainstream automotive chassis material. While still many years away from actual production, the fact that a company as powerful and wealthy as Toyota chose this show to highlight its latest achievement in high-tech vehicle production must send a chill down the spines of competitors that are just now getting serious about use of aluminum in vehicle design.

2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STi Hatchback

The advantage of carbon fiber over steel or even aluminum is obvious: weight. Carbon fiber is used in all facets of upper echelon racing, such as Formula 1 and the Indy Racing League, and offers superior weight savings as well as incredible strength and safety. The only downside is that a semi-minor fender bender might not be fixable by your local body shop and instead may need full attention from the original manufacturer. But the big advantage is the MINI propulsion system needed to power such a light vehicle down the road...with a result of superior fuel efficiency.

In essence, a vehicle can extract the most mileage or the most power out of each drop of fuel...but on the other side of the spectrum, the Nissan GT-R succeeds on the power front. Under the hood is a twin-turbo V6 engine turning in more than 460 horsepower running through a 4wd drivetrain, good for 0-60 times around 3.6 seconds. Expected price is in the high $70s, so start saving your pennies and nickels now. This is an incredible machine, as it seats four yet exceeds the best from Germany or Detroit with a heavy dose of trendy Japanese style. And while exact MPG numbers were not released, word is the GT-R will also be the mileage king of its (very) high-performance class.

Looks to me like the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show will be remembered as when a new performance renaissance began...either with results in top speed or top miles per gallon.

Posted on 2007-10-29 | Permalink | |

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