For some time at Car Showroom we’ve advocated Toyota’s good-looking Prius hybrid hatchback was crying out for a performance car upgrade.
Toyota has delivered at the North American SEMA after-market show by revealing a sporty Prius developed in Japan by its Conversions and Accessories (C&A) Group.
The right-hand-drive Prius features an extensive body kit with all exterior panels except the doors made from light-weight carbon fibre. There are aero side skirts with vertical spoilers, front bumper and wheel arch flares with massive air intakes plus a roof spoiler.
Underneath, sports suspension has lowered the front end by 10cm and the rear by 15cm. Combined with 18-inch alloy wheels and 215/40R18 eco sport tyres, the look transforms the Prius into a potent-looking sporty.
Inside are Recaro sports seats and totally revised instrumentation including a Denso navigation system.
Alongside the sporty Prius at the SEMA exhibition, Toyota showed a neat-looking racing Yaris – the Yaris GT-S Club Racer.
Stripped inside, and running carbon fibre for the bonnet and rear hatch, the racing Yaris has shed 180kgs, while the exterior paintwork is reminiscent of the GTP Eagle race cars from the 1980s.
The 1.5-litre engine is highly modified and delivers 36 per cent more power.
Underneath are 13-inch racing alloy wheels.
It all works too – the Yaris GT-S Club racer was victorious straight out of the box in a recent event at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California.
