The 400hp, four-wheel drive GRMN Sports Hybrid Concept is Toyota's latest attempt to prove that 'alternative' drivetrains can be fun.
If it looks a little familiar, that's because the GRMN Sports Hybrid unveiled at last weekend's Tokyo Auto Salon is actually based on the defunct MR2 roadster. Call us cynical, but we reckon the Sports Hybrid might have been rushed into public view to steal a little of the Honda CR-Z hybrid sports coupe's thunder - we certainly can't remember the last time a concept car based itself so publicly on a long-dead model range.
Still, it's the drivetrain that's key to the new Toyota Sports Hybrid - and it's a little meatier than the 122bhp CR-Z. Petrol power comes from a mid-mounted 3.3-litre V6 and drives the rear-wheels. Electric locomotion is courtesy of Toyota's THSII hybrid system, which powers the front wheels and can haul the car without the aid of the petrol motor in urban environments.
Between them, the two engines are said to produce 'more than 400hp' and a kerb weight of between 1400kg and 1500kg means that 0-60mph is supposedly achievable in 4.5secs.
And the 'GRMN' bit? Apparently it stands for Gazoo Racing Master of Nürburgring. Gazoo is the team that motorsport nut and Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda competed the 2009 Nurburgring 24 hours with behind the wheel of the
Lexus LFA racer we drove recently
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 4 3"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E)