The First-Ever Toyota GR Corolla

The high-performance hatchback is clear about its sporty intentions

When Akio Toyoda took control of the company that bears his family name his stated goal was to transform Toyota from a rational brand to an emotional one. Toyota, he decided, would need to push its product into new frontiers of performance, design and technology to achieve it. The brand’s newly announced sports car—the first-ever GR Corolla—does all three. Toyota’s first sports all-wheel-drive in 20+ …

Japan’s First Hydrogen Train Begins Its Test Run

Developed by East Japan Railway Co, in partnership with Toyota Motor Corporation and Hitachi Ltd, Japan’s first hydrogen-fueled train is slated to begin trial testing next month—a plan that’s on track to assist the country in achieving its 2050 carbon-neutrality goal. The vehicle, a two-car “hybari” train (which combines the word hybrid with the Japanese word for a lark), can travel up to 140 kilometers …

How Toyota’s 2014 FT-1 Concept Became the 2020 GR Supra

We speak with Kevin Hunter, president of Toyota’s North American design studio, about making the car a reality

It’s been six years since Toyota‘s FT-1 concept car debuted in Detroit, and not many fully understand its relationship to the 2020 GR Supra (co-developed with BMW) that’s available now, nor just how novel the car was in the first place. When Kevin Hunter—president of Toyota’s North American design studio, Calty Design Research—was working on the FT-1, there was no plan to return the Supra to production and …