Photo: Toyota
We're not working with a lot of official information here, but hey, that's why they call them "teasers." However, the image is revealing enough to capture our attention, especially since the Prius lineup is up for a reshuffle.
If until the current generation, the Prius was a family of hybrids and plug-in hybrids with bodies that ranged from a small hatchback to a station wagon that could also pass as a minivan, the new model is going to change all that. With its edgy - both figuratively and literally - design, the new Prius is going to be a different vehicle from the previous model, and there's no room for station wagons and the like in its world.
Rumors about Toyota dropping the Prius V with the new generation have been going around for a while, and this image - as vague as it is - doesn't seem to show the rear of a station wagon, no matter how futuristic it may be. Or maybe it's just that we so desperately wish for Toyota to come up with something truly appealing.
Whatever it is, it will be shown in just a little over a week at the New York Auto Show. Accompanying the image is a short text that's just as cryptic as the image itself: "Toyota Reveals Stand-Out Style, Intelligent Eco-Tech at NY Auto Show - The city that never sleeps is about to get a wake-up call. Toyota is rolling out the next mechanical marvel in the Prius lineup at 9:10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, March 23."
A "wake-up call," they say. Never in the history of men and all the beasts that precede him has a station wagon been described as a "wake-up call." So this thing with wrap-around taillights is definitely something a lot more exciting. Still a Toyota hybrid, but a lot more exciting.
Yes, we do believe we have more than enough arguments to hope for something that, even though it won't go fast, will at least look decent and offer some sense of sportiness. Kind of like the GT86, then. As much as we'd like to believe so, that continuous line with a wavy drop in the middle isn't a wing, but the fact that the lights focus on the horizontal plane instead of the vertical does give us hope this will be a lower machine than the standard Prius.
"Mechanical marvel" also suggests that this car is going to bring something new to the Prius range, and a sporty interpretation of the Hybrid Synergy Drive would be just that. On the other hand, this is just PR talk, so that text could mean anything; and that image could also hide any sort of car. So it's best to just sit tight for one more week and wait for the official unveil. In the meantime, though, feel free to speculate in the comments section.
Rumors about Toyota dropping the Prius V with the new generation have been going around for a while, and this image - as vague as it is - doesn't seem to show the rear of a station wagon, no matter how futuristic it may be. Or maybe it's just that we so desperately wish for Toyota to come up with something truly appealing.
Whatever it is, it will be shown in just a little over a week at the New York Auto Show. Accompanying the image is a short text that's just as cryptic as the image itself: "Toyota Reveals Stand-Out Style, Intelligent Eco-Tech at NY Auto Show - The city that never sleeps is about to get a wake-up call. Toyota is rolling out the next mechanical marvel in the Prius lineup at 9:10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, March 23."
A "wake-up call," they say. Never in the history of men and all the beasts that precede him has a station wagon been described as a "wake-up call." So this thing with wrap-around taillights is definitely something a lot more exciting. Still a Toyota hybrid, but a lot more exciting.
Yes, we do believe we have more than enough arguments to hope for something that, even though it won't go fast, will at least look decent and offer some sense of sportiness. Kind of like the GT86, then. As much as we'd like to believe so, that continuous line with a wavy drop in the middle isn't a wing, but the fact that the lights focus on the horizontal plane instead of the vertical does give us hope this will be a lower machine than the standard Prius.
"Mechanical marvel" also suggests that this car is going to bring something new to the Prius range, and a sporty interpretation of the Hybrid Synergy Drive would be just that. On the other hand, this is just PR talk, so that text could mean anything; and that image could also hide any sort of car. So it's best to just sit tight for one more week and wait for the official unveil. In the meantime, though, feel free to speculate in the comments section.
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