The Toyota FT-1 Concept Car Trades Sensibility For Sexiness, But Here's Why It Works

This Toyota Trades Sensibility For Sexiness, But Here's Why It Works
The Toyota FT-1 concept car during a press preview at the North American International Auto Show January 13, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)
The Toyota FT-1 concept car during a press preview at the North American International Auto Show January 13, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

It's not often the terms "Toyota" and "sexy" are thrown around together.

The company that's known for making such cars as the Camry and Corolla is usually associated with words like "sensible" and "reliable," but if the FT-1 concept reveals Toyota's future, then we might soon be seeing a racier side of the automaker.

Toyota unveiled the FT-1 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit Monday. Though the car company hasn't yet said what will power the sleek sports car, they did say it is front-engined and has rear wheel drive, and its proportions certainly reflect that.

Like a supermodel with a Ph.D, the FT-1 concept offers more than just divine looks. Here are five of our favorite features.

5
Retractable Rear Wings Are, And Will Always Be, Cool
Toyota
Retractable rear wings may be a dime-a-dozen these days -- even the Audi A7 has one -- but as long as supercars like the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder continue to employ this technology, retractable rear wings will continue to remain cool.
4
It's Not A Scion!
Toyota
Yep, that's a Toyota badge. No beef to Scion, but Toyota has a history of making sports cars that its Scion brand simply lacks. From the legendary 2000GT to the frisky MR2, we hope that if the FT-1 does make it to production Toyota doesn't pull an FR-S on us and throw Scion badges on the North American market model while the rest of the world gets shiny Toyota badges.
3
We Can Drive It Tomorrow
Toyota
So maybe we can't really drive it, but we can virtually drive it. Toyota has teamed up with Gran Turismo 6 to make the car available for gameplay on Tuesday January 14.
2
There's A Window On Its Hood
Toyota
Sure, Chevy already did this on the ZR1 Corvette, but the window on the FT-1's hood is bigger and thus by default cooler. This is America and bigger is always better. We're not sure exactly what type of engine we're looking at because, as Autoblog Green notes, all the FT-1 concept car has for momentum is "a small battery and motor to move it around on stage."
1
That Steering Wheel
Toyota
Toyota merely refers to the steering wheel as "F1 inspired." Frankly, any steering wheel that displays information on its rim and has an integrated starter button gets our hearts aflutter.

See more of the cars being revealed at the Detroit auto show below.

Detroit Auto Show 2014

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