Photo: X-Tomi Design
Long before the Scion tC, Toyota had another front-wheel-drive coupe in its lineup - the forgotten Paseo, which is Spanish for “a walk” or “stroll.” And let’s not forget about the Celica, which lost its rear-wheel-drive in 1985.
The Toyota Paseo came around in 1991 and with only 100 hp coming out of a four-cylinder engine, a stroll was the only thing you could do with it. The second generation generation was introduced in 1995, with its design loosely reminding of the much cooler Toyota Soarer or Lexus SC. Even though it was looking better and came with a drop top, the car was even less powerful, with only 93 hp coming at the front wheels. As you can imagine, the model sold poorly and in 1999, Toyota stopped manufacturing it.
A front-wheel-drive coupe was still on the market, with the Toyota Celica still being in production from 1999 to 2006 as in ints last generation. It was powered by a more potent 140 hp, while the high performance GT-S model made 180 hp. This too got discontinued due to low sales.
Toyota is currently busy developing its three-model lineup sportscar comprising the new Supra, GT 86 and another small affordable sportscar we will find about soon enough. So it may not have time for bringing back another dead FWD coupe nameplate, especially looking at how the Scion tC is doing in the US.
However, Europeans are a bit more crazy about FWD and most of them can be happy with one that is also a coupe if it comes with the right price tag. Lets say a new-generation Passeo based on the current Auris as you can see in the renderings here. Fit it with the 136 hp hybrid system and some might get crazy about it.
Toyota is currently busy developing its three-model lineup sportscar comprising the new Supra, GT 86 and another small affordable sportscar we will find about soon enough. So it may not have time for bringing back another dead FWD coupe nameplate, especially looking at how the Scion tC is doing in the US.
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