Toyota Roadster Combines MR2 and Prius in a Single Design

For our sake, we are glad when disparate design influences in a single vehicle come to fruition. If F. Scott Fitzgerald was right that “the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time,” it could be that the sign of a first-rate car is two radically different design languages in its composition. This could definitely be true of Toyota’s TE-Spyder 800 Hybrid Roadster Concept shown this week at the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Looking at its nuclear green exterior, you can see influences of the MR-2, the well-motored two-seat roadster that kept Toyota spry before it was discontinued in 2007. Calling a car’s stance “aggressive” is beyond cliche these days, so content yourselves instead to think of it as tightly-coiled (Just don’t think of it as a Slinky). The front lights are no more than narrow slits that communicate angular sprays of light down the road, and the chasm-like air vents and intakes through the body demonstrate that this is a car with a voracious need for combustion and cooling.

The second design influence is less easy to see because it involves the inside. Along with the 166 horsepower 1.5-liter gasoline-powered engine, a 102 horsepower electric motor straight out of the Prius supplements power and increases acceleration. Much of the interior console and instruments are out of the Prius, as well, which helps keeps the car’s weight under 2,200 lbs.

The raised glass of the rear window has some people claiming to see influences of the new Porsche Targa, but that is going a bit too far. It’s clear that Toyota’s sports car concept is a experimenting with form and technology, and we’re very glad to see it shown off at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Here’s hoping Toyota sticks with it and brings us a greener, more exciting new roadster.