Furious Speculation About the Toyota Furia Concept
It seems like every week we hear about a new car that is going to be the best or coolest debut at the Detroit Auto Show next month, but this week’s is something to really get fired up for – The Toyota Furia concept.
Filled with mystery and flair (or should I say flare?), the preview that Toyota released teasing their Furia concept doesn’t leave us with very much. All that Toyota has told us is that the Furia is an “exciting sedan concept” that will make its world debut in Detroit. However, as you continue reading we will dissect every aspect of this video to speculate what this new car or concept might mean for Toyota’s future lineup.
Flames and Fireballs and Explosions, Oh My!
The first and most obvious thing to note is the way in which the Furia concept was presented. The preview is filled with sparks, floating embers, explosions and jets of flame. Since Toyota self-admittedly has a reputation for manufacturing cars that are effective and efficient, but not necessarily exciting, this is clearly meant to be a car that gets your heart pumping.
Looking Beyond the Special Effects
It’s difficult, but if you can look through the fire and brimstone in the preview video you can actually see a few very interesting features. Most notably, the orange Furia concept appears to feature accents of carbon fiber. We can see a carbon fiber rear spoiler as well as a carbon fiber diffuser. We can also see a slick looking honeycomb grille and chrome accents above the headlights.
Now, this use of carbon fiber is especially interesting since we know that Toyota, or at least Lexus, has been dabbling in in-house carbon fiber manufacture for at least the past two years. Granted, that dabbling has been for chassis development, not aesthetic use, but none the less. Either way, there’s no denying that the black carbon fiber looks awesome, especially paired with flaming orange and chrome.
Furiously Speculating About the… Furi-olla?
Since we don’t know anything about the Furia other than that it is a sedan concept, it is quite possible that it is previewing not a new car, but simply a new design. This seems especially likely since in the preview we can see fully functional, normal looking door handles… Not something you usually see in a pure concept car.
If you pay attention, the Furia’s profile at the very end of the video looks somewhat similar to the 2014 Corolla’s profile from spy-shots taken in August of 2012. It would make some sense for the Furia to simply be a Corolla design since it hasn’t been refreshed in over 4 years. However, in this writer’s opinion the Furia is not simply a Corolla re-design; the Corolla spy shots don’t appear to feature a honeycomb grille, and the Furia’s profile looks like it might be longer than the Corolla’s. Furthermore, the preview seems like it could be showing a rare two-door sedan, not a typical four-door like the Corolla.
As much as I hate playing into corporate marketing ploys, the new Furia concept really does have me fired up. Even if it is simply a Corolla design concept, it will be interesting to see how Toyota is going to compete with spicier and more stylish vehicles from its competitors like Honda and Hyundai. However, I’m still hoping for a brand-new vehicle that will add something sporty to Toyota’s lineup. Either way, be sure to tune in to the Detroit Auto Show in January to see for yourself.
Source: Car and Driver
