Toyota Corolla vs Ferrari F430: Can You Guess Who Wins this Race?

Pitting a puny stock Toyota Corolla against a Ferrari F430 and asking which car would win in a straight line race sounds like a joke, right? Well, under any other circumstances, you would be right to take this as a shaggy dog story but this comparo, which was made for a Japanese TV show, has a peculiar twist to it: the race was run in reverse gear… So, now that you know, can you pick the winner? Enjoy the quirky drag race between the Corolla sedan and Maranello’s supercar in the video clip after the break.

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Toyota FT-86 Sports Concept II: New Pictures and Video from Brussels Photo Shoot

We’ve already seen and gone over all the juicy bits of the near-production Toyota FT-86 II sports coupe, but the Japanese automaker’s social media crew went over to the firm’s European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, for a new photo shoot last week offering us a fresh batch of pictures as well as a behind-the-scenes video.

The second iteration of the FT-86 study made its first public outing at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this month. Its main purpose is to preview actual production model that will go on sale in late 2012. The well-received styling of the original concept model evolved gaining new front and rear ends, more pronounced surfaces and a host of other fresh details, with Toyota claiming that the design changes were made for safety regulations as well as for practical reasons.

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New 300HP Toyota Avensis BTCC Racer Revealed in the Flesh [with Video]

The two new Toyota Avensis “Next Generation Touring Cars” (NGTC) received their public debut on Thursday at the Silverstone circuit today, a week before the start of the British Touring Car Championship. The Avensis racers went on display wearing the liveries of privateer teams Dynojet Racing and Hughes Motorsport/Speedworks.

The Avensis race cars will be driven by Frank Wrathall Jr. and Tony Hughes. “The Toyota looks amazing and we are all delighted with it," said Wrathall. "Yes, it is frustrating not to have done more testing, but the first few rounds were always going to be tough for us, so we will just get on with it and do the best, most competitive job that we can."

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Toyota FT-86 II Concept in the Flesh and on GT5-like Video Footage

Toyota has published two brand new videos of its FT-86 II concept car that broke cover at this week's 81st Geneva International Motor Show. The first video is a real-life 'walk-around' of the actual concept model while the second clip shows the FT-86 II in some virtual racing action in what appears to be -but is not mentioned-the Gran Turismo 5 game (if we're wrong on this one, let us know in the comments section).

The FT-86 II is the final concept version of Toyota's upcoming rear-wheel drive sports coupe before the production model comes to life next year. For the details on the styling changes over the original study, read our previous article here.

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VIDEO: What if Toyota Made a Cute Darth Vader Commercial?

Everyone seemed to love Volkswagen's Darth Vader Super Bowl commercial. In fact, some people out there liked it so much that they wanted to see what it would be like had Toyota made the ad. Well now we know (which is half the battle). Needless to say, the Toyota version isn't as heartwarming. It is quite entertaining, though. Check out the clip below for 1:08 of dark-sided hilarity.

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VIDEO: 2012 Toyota Prius V Minivan Presentation and Driving Footage

In a move that was more expected than surprising given the success of the Prius over the years, Toyota launched the first addition to the Prius family, the V-branded minivan, and announced an upcoming compact hatchback, previewed by the Prius C concept study, at the 2011 Detroit Motor Show. The two models will join the regular Prius hatchback and its forthcoming plug-in version in the North American market.

The production Prius V seen in the videos after the jump, is a practical five-seat minivan based off the hatchback version of Toyota's popular hybrid model. It uses the same 1.8-litre petrol engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive tech offering 50% more luggage space than its smaller counterpart, while returning an estimated 42 mpg city, 38 mpg highway and 40 mpg combined. The Prius V will go on sale in North America in late summer 2011 as a 2012 model year.

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New 2012 Toyota Yaris / Vitz Breaks Cover in Japan [Photos and Video]

The new Toyota Vitz, or as we'll come to know it on both sides of the Atlantic, the third generation Yaris supermini, was unveiled Wednesday in Japan. Even though what you see pictured here is the Japanese domestic market (JDM) version, as was the case with the previous generations of the Vitz, we expect the European and North American Yaris to look more or less the same when it arrives in the market late next year.

Toyota's newcomer has grown 100mm in length and now measures 3,885mm long, but is 30mm lower while keeping the same width as its predecessor. The Japanese carmaker says numerous weight saving measures has shaved off 30kg or 66 pounds, with the car tipping the scales at 1,000kg or 2,204 pounds (depending on the model).

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LA Show 2010: New Toyota RAV4 EV Powered by Tesla Appears in the Flesh [with Video]

[Updated gallery] Apparently the RAV4 is still around, and Toyota has partnered with Tesla to make a new EV version of the SUV so the common man can be just like Tom Hanks. The second generation of RAV4 EV is currently undergoing a 35-vehicle test run and analysis through 2011 (similar to the Mini E's pilot program), with production vehicles set to start showing up in 2012... as long as something catastrophic doesn't happen.

The creation of the RAV4 EV was a two pronged attack: Toyota engineers took care of the powertrain upgrade/engineering as they normally would a mid-cycle product change, while Tesla engineers developed the battery pack and related systems.

Toyota says that the EV version of Toyota's CR-V fighter weighs about 220 lbs more than a comparably equipped V6 model, but retains similar acceleration figures. Due to the weight gain (couldn't we call in Lotus to tackle that?), suspension and steering components had to be properly modified or relocated to maintain proper balance.

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