TRD Aurion Pics

[don_85]

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[IWantAnAudiRS6]

Wow, that's really, really nice. Looks good... almost like a Commodore rip-off...

[Ferrer]

I was expecting it to look absolutely rubbish and actually it isn't bad at all.

[jorismo]

Looks pretty nice to me, although I'm not really into the big hole under the grill...

[fpv_gtho]

Looks alright, wouldve prefered to see Toyota go with something styled a bit more subtley. What they have now just follows along the typically offensive style of HSV and FPV. Its apparently only making 400nm as well, for a blown 3.5L motor. Also has 10.8:1 compression, bit surprising for a blown motor.

[don_85]

Specs
3.5L V6 Supercharged
Power 241Kw
Torque 400Nm
6 Speed Auto
FWD

TRD Aurion 3500S

The TRD Aurion 3500S is the entry level high-performance supercharged Aurion. It is priced from AUD$56,990 and is sold at a limited amount of dealerships. It features:


In addition to and superseding the features of the Sportivo SX6 model
TVS supercharged 3.5L V6
Performance mufflers
Dual piston aluminum front brake calipers with ventilated discs
Single piston aluminum rear brake calipers with ventilated discs
Datadot security
19-inch TRD alloy wheels (grey)
TRD mesh grille with body coloured surround
Twin plane rear spoiler
TRD sideskirts
Rear sports bumper with venturi style diffusers (black accents)
Body colour front bumper with integrated foglamps and spoiler (black accents)
Individually number dash plaque
Red alcantara and leather seats with black alcantara fabric bolsters
Red leather door inserts
Red and dark grey leather bound steering wheel with audio controls
Dark grey leather bound gear knob

TRD Aurion 3500SL

The TRD Aurion 3500SL is the upper level high-performance supercharged Aurion. It is priced from AUD$61,500 and is sold at a limited amount of dealerships. It features:


In addition to and superseding the features of the TRD Aurion 3500S model
19-inch TRD alloy wheels (silver)
TRD mesh grille with grey coloured surround
Rear bumper aluminum reinforment
Plum coloured leather seats with black alcantara fabric bolsters
Plum leather door inserts
Plum and dark grey leather bound steering wheel with audio controls
Two toned TRD embossed leather bound gear knob
Clearance & reverse parking sonar
Auto on/off headlights
Push button HVAC controls
Smart entry and start system
Dual zone climate control air conditioning with pollen filter

Info From Wikipedia.org

[syko]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

Looks alright, wouldve prefered to see Toyota go with something styled a bit more subtley. What they have now just follows along the typically offensive style of HSV and FPV. Its apparently only making 400nm as well, for a blown 3.5L motor. Also has 10.8:1 compression, bit surprising for a blown motor.

And all for the incredible price of 56,000 or 61,000. Think about what you can get for that money. XR6T is $10,000 less, phoon is the same at $61,000, SSV is similiar in price you can even get a evo for around the same money. Not really sure what their targeting anymore considering the price difference to the XR6T.

[Ferrer]

Ok so that's 326bhp and 400Nm through the front wheels...

That's not going to end well.

[motorsportnerd]

Good article here as well: TRD launches twin hotties August 2007 Car Review - CarPoint Australia.

I have a couple of points to mention.
First, at $56,990 it is expensive. It doesn't seem to have any direct market place competitors.
It is not as good value for money as the cheaper Ford Falcon XR6T & XR8 or Holden Commodore SS and would be unlikely to match these cars on the track (though I bet Motor and Wheels will do the comparison anyway). Besides, Ford/Holden traditionalists would never consider the Aurion anyway. It sends drive to the wrong wheels and worse, it has a TOYOTA badge.
The VW Passat 4-Motion V6 is the most direct market place competitor. A little less powerful, but not much smaller, similar levels of luxury and aimed at a similar type of buyer (someone in their 40s/early 50s who wants a nice mix of luxury, performance and quality). However, VW buyers would be no more likely to consider a Japanese car, and especially not a Toyota, then Ford/Holden buyers.
Other cars in the same mid-$50K price bracket include the Volvo S40 T4, the Subaru Liberty 3.0R B-spec & GT, the Saab 9-3 Vector, Peugeot 407 SV V6, Mazda6 MPS Luxury, BMW 320i, Alfa 159 2.2 JTS and Audi A4 1.8T. However, buyers of all these cars would normally sneer at a Toyota.

So, just who is likely to buy the Aurion TRD? I suspect it will be a few Toyota fans (yep -there's one or two around, though they are rare) who have been hanging out for a performance Toyota. There will be a few buyers not loyal to any marque that will buy it. And some who would have settled for the $50K Aurion Presara (the previous range-topper) may find the extra $7k for the TRD worth it for the extra performance/dynamic capability.
All this will add up to a few hundred cars sold each year.
However, the publicity generated by the TRD badge and having the car sitting at the top of the Toyota range as something of a genuine performance/luxury car will be worth it from a marketing perspective. Especially as I have little doubt the next TRD Aurion will employ AWD (it will have to if the engineers are to chase more power and the marketing team more buyers).

So, this car will act as the inital car to bring the TRD badge to the public mind. Many people won't buy this car, but by the time the next TRD arrives in a year or two with even more impressive hardware, they may well walk into a Toyota showroom One can never be certain, but I reckon we will see an AWD Aurion TRD with a 270-280kW version of the supercharged V6 in a year or two and I do think the Lexus IS-F V8 motor would fit under the bonnet as well - giving Toyota a genuine HSV/FPV competitor and something that might withstand competition with the M5 or Audi RS6.... This is a few years and an AWD setup away though. One can dream anyway.

Finally, although Toyota is not shouting from the rooftops about this - it seems that the Aurion TRD's main claim to fame is that is in fact the most powerful FWD production car on sale in the world today (and I think of all time).
I checked before - the Chevrolet Impala SS and Pontiac Grand Prix GXP have 227kW (303bhp) - which is 14kW less than the Aurion.
I cannot think of anything else that comes close.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by Ferrer

Ok so that's 326bhp and 400Nm through the front wheels...

That's not going to end well.

The standard Aurion has 200kW through the front-wheels and non-switchable electronics. Torque steer isn't an issue. I suspect the electronics will be employed in the TRD to ensure that torque-steer isn't an issue with 241kW either.
Also, worth noting that US magazines actually rate the dynamics of the Impala SS/Grand Prix GXP quite highly. While less powerful than the TRD, both cars have a V8 engine which is likely to be heavier than the TRD's V6 - so in theory at least the TRD should be less nose heavy. So, there is no reason to assume that the TRD will be a pig in the dynamics department.
I just assume that it won't rewrite the book on vehicle dynamics either. I'm thinking it will be "just above average" in dynamic capability.

[adrenaline]

Originally Posted by syko

Not really sure what their targeting anymore considering the price difference to the XR6T.

IIRC They have said they are targeting the kind of person that buys a Subaru Liberty GT.

Edit: MSN's post has a nice explanation.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by syko

And all for the incredible price of 56,000 or 61,000. Think about what you can get for that money. XR6T is $10,000 less, phoon is the same at $61,000, SSV is similiar in price you can even get a evo for around the same money. Not really sure what their targeting anymore considering the price difference to the XR6T.

No-one considering an XR6T or an SS-V (or an Evo or an STi) is going to look at the TRD.
Only the local magazines will try to compare them. It will be an interesting comparison - if only to show how different the TRD is likely to be from the other two. I think the TRD is a quite different sort of car.

[Ferrer]

Originally Posted by motorsportnerd

I cannot think of anything else that comes close.

In a completely weird sort of way, the Cadillac Seville and its Northstar V8 do match the Aurion's output.

[Delmaster]

Is that a Australia-only toyota?

[adrenaline]

Originally Posted by Delmaster

Is that a Australia-only toyota?

The TRD variant is.