BREAKING NEWS!! AVALON REPLACEMENT NAMED : "TOYOTA AURION"

[Cosmo]

Thought i'd just check my usual sites before I slept, and wham. News of the avalon replacement is out, it's called the Toyota Aurion. It means "tomorrow" in Ancient Greek, read more about it here:

Oh yeah, no news of specs just yet, we'll have to wait till tomorrow...

Toyota releases Aurion at Melbourne Motor Show

Toyota's Aurion: The manufacturer's new V6 it hopes will compete front-on with Holden's Commodore and Ford's Falcon.

09 February 2006

Paul Gover

Aurion - get used to it. It is the new name that Toyota plans to make as popular in Australia as Commodore and Falcon.

Aurion was chosen for the all-new V6 family car that is being unwrapped this morning at the press preview for the Melbourne International Motor Show. It will be set straight up against the Holden and Ford family favourites when sales begin at the back end of 2006.

The Aurion is based on an all-new Camry, which is missing from the Melbourne Exhibition Centre despite being previewed in the USA, but has a very different and more upmarket look.

There will also be an Aurion Sportivo.

Toyota has tried before to challenge Australia's showroom leaders, first with the Lexcen - a poor-quality re-badged Commodore in the 1980s - and then with the outdated and unimpressive Avalon.

It has always believed that it must have a credible and successful big-six contender if it is to win the heartland support it craves so desperately.

Toyota Australia has tried everything else to become accepted as more than just a Japanese brand, even buying the major sponsorship rights to the AFL and signing on as vehicle supplier for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.

This time it believes it has the right approach, as the Aurion was designed by an Aussie - 31-year-old Nick Hogios of Toyota Style Australia - and has been developed locally for Australian roads and owners.

It took a big push to convince Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan that the Australian team had the people and skills to do the job, which including sending Hogios to work in Nagoya and regular visits by Paul Beranger, the veteran head of Toyota Style Australia, to oversee the project.

Beranger produced the X-Runner pick-up and Sportivo Coupe which starred at earlier Melbourne Motor Shows.

The unveiling this morning will be one of the biggest in Toyota's local history, including a webcast to dealerships around the country and a major news stunt. But nothing is bigger than the Aurion story, which includes direct support from Japan, which plans to make the car a major export earner.

"It's all part of a global strategy," Beranger says.

The plan is to sell the Aurion only as a V6, with the Camry only available with a four-cylinder engine, using a premium position closer to the Holden Berlina and Ford Fairmont.

Toyota says it is far to early to talk about price or models or even the mechanical specification, but everything points to a $35,000 starter price with a full list of standard equipment.

The production target is also being kept quiet, but Toyota Australia's factory at Altona has recently been upgraded to produce as many as 140,000 cars a year, split between the Camry and Aurion. The Camry is still likely to dominate the production line, with Aurion numbers growing slowly.

The newcomer will also be built in China, Taiwan and Thailand with the Hogios looks, but wearing a premium Camry badge.

And what about the Aurion name?

Toyota admits that it is a made-up name, but says it wanted to avoid anything too obviously ocker Aussie - Kakadu or kangaroo - or a continuation of Avalon. Cressida, the name of a premium Toyota import in the 1980s, was also rejected because of its history.

"Aurion means 'tomorrow' in ancient Greek," Beranger says. "The name also has overtones of Australia and Aurora - the Latin word for 'the dawn'.

News Interactive

http://carsguide.news.com.au/story/0,20384...5002663,00.html

Edited February 8, 2006 by Cosmo

[Otaku]

I've been excited, waiting for you guys to find out about this for a year and a half.

Try checking out http://makeyourmove.com.au at 10.00am for a webcast of the launch.

[Terry]

i just watched that Webcast B)

it looks great :)

i so want that 3.5L S/C V6 model :D

[Cosmo]

hell yeah! Looks awesome! Check it out at

www.makeyourmove.com.au

Edited February 9, 2006 by Cosmo

[Hsien]

Love the agressive front..:)

[MsportivO]

looks a bit like a ford ba i rekon...

[Mac]

look quite nice.... think there are some hints of the new camry and mark X in the exterior style there.. and some other cars of course :)

[Buddha]

looks a bit like a ford ba i rekon...

look quite nice.... think there are some hints of the new camry and mark X in the exterior style there.. and some other cars of course :)

You're both right to a degree ... Aurion is directly based on the Camry (exactly the same size, and shares roof, windscreens and doors), and the guy who designed it was the same guy who designed the BA XR models.

I think its Toyota's best go at this and I can hardly wait ... the only way it could have fared better is if it were RWD.

[Cosmo]

The only exterior difference between a camry and the aurion are the front and back. Here are some photos i took of the aurion from the motor show.

But the best part of it was that I got into the M3, M5 and M6 :D

Edited February 12, 2006 by Cosmo

[Buri_Sportivo]

The only exterior difference between a camry and the aurion are the front and back. Here are some photos i took of the aurion from the motor show.

But the best part of it was that I got into the M3, M5 and M6 :D

Is it going to be rear wheel drive or front wheel ? Its going to have over 250kws and i hope its rwd but it looks like fwd. Its still going to run and handle very well i think but it will just miss that extra fun that you will have in a rwd car. Still, i love the design and the power figures. Supercharged 3.5 v6 quad cam engine outputting 250+kw's. mMmmMmm RIP HSV & FPV.

Edited February 19, 2006 by Buri_Sportivo

[Terry]

the normal 190kw 3.5L V6 Aurion will be FWD...

but the performance S/C model with probably 250kw or so, Toyota are hinting it could come with AWD B)

http://racv.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.ns...A25711600020ED3

[Buri_Sportivo]

the normal 190kw 3.5L V6 Aurion will be FWD...

but the performance S/C model with probably 250kw or so, Toyota are hinting it could come with AWD B)

http://racv.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.ns...A25711600020ED3

Yessss, thats perfect. I knew toyota wouldn't destroy peoples dreams about sportivo aurion being awd or rwd. Awd is great news. Im definately thinking of cancelling my order for sportivo corolla and putting order for sportivo aurion in a couple of months. :)))))))

Edited February 20, 2006 by Buri_Sportivo

[perthcamry]

the normal 190kw 3.5L V6 Aurion will be FWD...

but the performance S/C model with probably 250kw or so, Toyota are hinting it could come with AWD B)

http://racv.goauto.com.au/mellor/mellor.ns...A25711600020ED3

Yessss, thats perfect. I knew toyota wouldn't destroy peoples dreams about sportivo aurion being awd or rwd. Awd is great news. Im definately thinking of cancelling my order for sportivo corolla and putting order for sportivo aurion in a couple of months. :)))))))

THis does not add make sense with the other fishy smell...........................Nothing adds up we need some real information!

[vin corolla]

looks a bit like a ford ba i rekon...

yah, i agree..........but rounder...maybe it's the angle of the photo taken

[BigBum]

I love it's *****... IS250 like :)

[Azza]

I love it's *****... IS250 like :)

Definitely, and I love it..... :P

[RME1]

...supercharged? wow what prices are we looking at atm? Holden and ford 25-30k mark?

:o

[MarkMish]

B)

[blue_rolla]

i saw this thread and was like wtf? this isnt breaking news..

anyway a supercharger will be sweet house... when are they bringing out factory supercharged corollas? or another factory turbo?

[xoom]

when are they bringing out factory supercharged corollas? or another factory turbo?

ummmmm ....never !!!!!!!!

[perthcamry]

when are they bringing out factory supercharged corollas? or another factory turbo?

ummmmm ....never !!!!!!!!

Pitty as the new Lotus has the corolla engine in it with a supercharger. Seems to go really well , tested in Wheels this month. 0-100 4.2 seconds I think.

[Brad!]

level 4 emmisions they trying to meet kinda makes it hard to make performance minded cars, but its good to see 250kw, but so sad to see the ol tivo disapeer... I think it will be years before a decent powered corolla comes out

just IMO

[blue_rolla]

off topic, but couldnt one of you sportivo people (if you wanted to) put the supercharged lotus engine in your cars some how? better still could you put it in a non-sportivo corolla?

[Azza]

off topic, but couldnt one of you sportivo people (if you wanted to) put the supercharged lotus engine in your cars some how? better still could you put it in a non-sportivo corolla?

Still Off Topic -

$$$$

[perthcamry]

Cheaper than a lotus :) and quicker than almost anything