Toyota FT-86 Sports Car Concept

• Looks like: A stubby sports car with big-boy aspirations
• Defining characteristics: Low-hung hood
• Ridiculous features: Audio controls embedded in dash fabric
• Chance of being mass-produced: Very likely

What you see here is the marriage of Toyota design and Subaru engine technology. This is the joint Toyota/Subaru compact sports car we’ve heard so much about for the past year. Still in concept form here, the production version might be further along than you think. Toyota hopes this is the dose of fun its car lineup needs, and from the looks of it, it might be.

The poorly named FT-86 — feel free to submit your own name ideas below — is only 163 inches long, nearly a foot shorter than the Scion tC and a few inches longer than a Hyundai Accent. The engine is a Subaru 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder, which allows for a low placement in the engine bay; that’s why the profile looks a little funky. It’s also rear-wheel drive. This could be one nimble little car that also promises to be lightweight.

The overall design is aggressive, but we wonder what the price will be for such a performance-oriented small car. If it encroaches on the new Genesis coupe’s $20,000-plus price tag, it might be a hard sell for American shoppers. Otherwise, we give a thumbs up to anything that would liven up the Toyota brand. More photos below.

Honda CR-Z Concept Gets Fleshed Out

We’ve been anticipating the new “sports”-oriented hybrid from Honda since we saw the first concept version in 2007. This latest iteration is a concept in name only. Honda has a history of showing nearly production-ready models at auto shows with just a few differences from what will roll off of the assembly line. In this case, the new CR-Z is slated for production in Japan early next year.

Expect the overall exterior shape and design to remain unchanged. Compared to the original concept, this CR-Z has toned down the bulbous hood that made it look like a beluga whale. The other major change is the taillights peek out from the rear pillar. Otherwise, the CR-Z looks like it’ll be extremely faithful to the original concept.

The inside looks sporty, as you’d hope in a car that Honda says will be fun to drive. A six-speed manual transmission will be teamed to a 1.5-liter four-cylinder with Honda’s hybrid system used in the Insight. The Insight has a smaller 1.3-liter engine and a CVT transmission, which most of us here at Cars.com aren’t big fans of.

Check out more photos below, and let us know if you think the changes help or hinder the car’s appeal.

Buick Compact Coming, Could Cost Under $20,000

Buick’s The Lab blog has a new video featuring a design study for a new Buick compact car. In the video, the study is called the Avant; it’s a two-door hatchback, kind of like a Buick Mini Cooper. Buick says this is just one of several ideas for a small car they will build in the future.

We confirmed with Buick that they will indeed roll out a small car — likely a sedan — by the end of 2011 and aim at a sub-$20,000 price tag.

With that time frame, we’d expect to see a formal concept during this year’s auto-show season, which kicks off in early December at the Los Angeles auto show.

Audi e-Tron Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

• Looks like: R8 meets A5, with an extension cord
• Defining characteristics: Battery-electric with four motors
• Ridiculous features: Wire-wheel look on a 21st-century car
• Chance of being mass-produced: Some aspects are sure to emerge

Audi, a purveyor of clean-diesel technology, has given hybrids the slip and tried its hand with a pure battery-electric sports car, the e-Tron Concept . Equipped with an electric motor for each of its four wheels, the e-Tron provides a new approach to all-wheel drive, which Audi has long championed with its Quattro system. The company says the lithium-ion battery pack provides a range of 154 miles in combined city/highway driving.

The motors, which are affixed to axle half-shafts — two in front, two in back, produce a maximum of 313 horsepower and 3,319 pounds-feet of torque (yeah, we had to read that a few times ourselves). The zero-to-62 mph time is a claimed 4.8 seconds. As a backup to the regenerative braking that's common among hybrids and electrics, Audi uses a single hydraulic brake on the front axle and two electrohydraulic components on the rear.

Lexus LF-Ch Concept at Frankfurt Motor Show

• Looks like: Lexus spent a lot of time to design a Mazda3
• Defining characteristics: Narrow headlights, taillights, grille
• Ridiculous features: iPhone docks behind the front headrests
• Chance of being mass-produced: Unlikely as is, but some elements could be seen in a future small Lexus

The full name of this little Lexus is “Lexus LF-Ch Premium Compact Hybrid Concept” which — while descriptive — is a bit long for a headline. The important thing to realize is that this concept isn’t about the powertrain. (It’s basically the same thing Toyota has powering the Prius and Lexus HS 250h.)

No, the interesting thing about this concept is that it was designed in Lexus’ California studio to test the waters for smaller, luxury vehicles. Lexus calls it a compact car, but it looks sizable compared to something like a Mini.

And while we doubt much of this design can translate to a real production car — are those taillights even legal? — it would not be hard to imagine the front end making its way to the next generation IS sedan.

Inside looks like a wild concept car but the LF-Ch uses the same Remote Touch navigation system that is in the Lexus RX and HS. Obviously, the wildest thing going on inside are the iPod docks in the front seat headrests. Lexus only says they have “docking capability for audio and video entertainment.” We’re not sure why the driver doesn’t get the same treatment. More photos below. 

Mini Confirms It Will Build Two New Models

Surprise, surprise. In advance of the Frankfurt Motor Show where Mini will show off its Coupe Concept (above), which we brought you last week, the company says it will in fact build two new models. These are in addition to the traditional Cooper, Cooper Convertible and Clubman.

BMW’s chairman Norbert Reithofer confirmed that the Coupe Concept will go into production as will another model, which will be unveiled Sept. 15. That will most likely be the Mini SUV that has been spotted in testing all over the world, even in California. A photo of the SUV concept is below.

Mini Coupe Concept at 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show

• Looks like: A Mini Cooper trying to be a coupe
• Defining characteristics: Roof-hinged liftgate, two seats, turbo four-cylinder engine, blue-and-silver paint scheme 
• Ridiculous features: Roof-mounted spoiler, racing stripes
• Chance of being mass-produced: Wouldn't put it past 'em

Mini's Coupe Concept is a new take on the Cooper hatchback it currently sells in the U.S., and the automaker says it offers a glimpse of what future Minis may look like. It's scheduled to appear at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, which opens in mid-September.

The Coupe Concept is instantly recognizable as a Mini from the front, as its hood, headlights and grille are similar to those on a Cooper S. It isn't until you get to the roof where the Coupe Concept starts to differ from a Cooper; as its name suggests, the concept has the profile of a traditional coupe with its slanted rear window and short rear deck.

GM's Bare Necessity Concept Cars

GM is showcasing two new concept cars on its blog, The Lab. One is a truck, which you can read about on PickupTrucks.com, while the other is a bare-bones car that the company hopes will be the lowest-cost-per-mile vehicle on the road.

The concept is to have fewer parts included in a car to keep costs down for customers who don’t want frills. Call it the Ikea concept if you will ... except you presumably won’t have to put it together yourself.

There’s no mention of the power-plant, but because it will have fewer parts and be so small, it will be more efficient. However, if it ever hits the production stage, it will be interesting to see how safety equipment weighs it down. There are actually two different design studies for the project.

Check out GM’s video and more photos below.

Buick Business Small Van Debuts in Shanghai

The doom and gloom surrounding GM in the U.S. feeds on the perception that the company can’t build desirable cars. In China, however, the Buick brand has seen a boom in popularity over the past few years, and it features a number of relatively upscale products.

GM is still developing global products, and at this week’s Shanghai auto show it debuted the Buick Business concept based on its upcoming Chevy Orlando small van, which will be sold in Europe.

The Buick Business is aimed at China’s growing middle class, who are the people moving the dial on the auto market there. A Buick in China costs less than a Mercedes but still holds status it doesn’t quite retain in the U.S.

The Business will likely be a hit in China, but it has little chance of being one of the company’s products in the U.S. There’s word GM is bringing the more affordable Chevy Orlando stateside in 2011 to compete with the Mazda5 and Kia Rondo.

We could be wrong, though. Do you think a small luxury van could sell in the U.S.? Check out more photos below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Kelsey Versus the PUMA

If the Nerd Herd from NBC’s “Chuck” needed a new company vehicle, the GM/Segway PUMA could be it. The electric-powered PUMA can turn on a dime and carry two people in a “slow-motion roller coaster” kind of way. In this video, Cars.com’s Kelsey Mays talks to its designers and gets a brief ride that takes us through each step of the driving experience.