Tokyo Motor Show 2011 – Review

It’s the turn of the Japanese automotive manufacturers to showcase their talents and future-thinking at their home motor show, after the Germans made their big-dollar-stands-splash at the recent Frankfurt Motor Show, in September.

As we’d expect in these cash-strapped times, the focus is on eking out the miles-per-gallon with hybrid vehicles, smaller personal transports, and more fossil fuel efficient combustion engines. And it’s probably fair to say that no-one does futuristic better than the Japanese, with their clean, white design lines, cute styling and liberal use of warm-blue effect lighting, throughout some intriguing concepts. 

However, with perhaps the worst of the economic meltdown behinds us, some Japanese manufacturers that had completely retreated from anything with a bit of spunk and interest to it – focusing purely on better-selling, fuel efficient family cars – have again started to hint at some hotter, more fun models to come.

Probably the most widely-publicised cars are the new rear-wheel drive coupes from Subaru and Toyota, called the BRZ and GT 86, respectively. The sleek, curvy, 2-litre boxer engine’d, 200bhp coupes were designed in collaboration between the two companies and are near identical, although each company will hope that drivers sense the DNA of each brand in each car. 

So, here are the new coupes, mixed in with some far out all-white electric concepts, a Nismo-tuned Nissan Juke crossover, and a coupe-inspired SUV from VW that’s clearly got an eye on the Range Rover Evoque. Enjoy the show!


By Daniel Anslow

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