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Toyota GT86 14R-60 shows how to do lightweight at a steep price

Toyota is finally making good on its Griffon concept from last year with this limited-edition 14R-60 that basically hops through the Toyota Racing Development catalog to imagine the ultimate lightweight GT86 (the continental relative to the Scion FR-S/Subaru BR-Z). Unfortunately, it's not coming stateside, and even if this modded Toyobaru were coming here, you might not want to pay the rather steep price.
Like the concept, the 2.0-liter boxer engine still makes the same 197 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque. However, the drivetrain isn't entirely untouched thanks to a new air filter, engine oil cooler, a reinforced clutch, lightweight flywheel, and mechanical limited-slip differential from TRD. The six-speed transmission is also tweaked, with different gearing in first and second and an altered final drive ratio.
To keep things planted the suspension gets a new coilovers, a V-shaped tower brace in the front and another in the rear. Improved deceleration comes thanks to upgraded brakes. There also are even more goodies on the outside, including a complete body kit that includes a carbon-fiber roof and massive rear spoiler. The stock wheels are replaced with 18-inch forged magnesium units, as well.

Tesla pulling plug on Toyota RAV4 EV battery deal

The future of the Toyota RAV4 EV appears to be in doubt. Tesla supplies the EVs battery packs, and it says that production ends later this year.
"Toyota is expected to end the current RAV4 EV model this year," Tesla said in its quarterly financial filing obtained by Bloomberg. "Our production activities under this program are expected to end in 2014," the company said.
This timeline fits closely with the original production plans for the RAV4 EV. When the $100-million project was first announced, Tesla said that it expected to supply battery packs for the vehicle from 2012 to 2014. Building components for the Japanese automaker continues to bring in money, though. In the company's Q1 2014 letter to shareholders, it said: "Automotive revenue included $15 million of Toyota powertrain sales." According to Bloomberg, Toyota has sold just 1,594 RAV4 EV models from 2012 through April 2014. Initially, the business had estimated that it would sell 2,600 units of the electrified crossover.

Toyota, Mazda form electric car technology venture

TOKYO — Toyota has established a new venture to develop electric vehicle technology with partner Mazda, seeking to catch up with rivals in an increasingly frenetic race to produce more battery-powered cars. Policymakers in key markets like China are pushing a shift to electric cars over the next two to three decades, while relatively new rival Tesla is gaining momentum and diesel cars are going through the fallout of the Volkswagen diesel scandal, pressuring traditional automakers to crank up plans for fully electric vehicles (EVs). At the same time, declining battery costs are enabling more power to be packed into cars, making an electric car future easier to imagine. Toyota said in a statement the new company will develop technology for a range of electric cars, including mini vehicles, passenger cars, SUVs and light trucks. Toyota will take a 90 percent stake in the joint venture, called EV Common Architecture Spirit Co Ltd, while Mazda and Denso Corp, Toyota's biggest supplier, will each take 5 percent. The plans build on a partnership announced in August when Japan's biggest automaker agreed to take a 5 percent stake in Mazda and two said they would jointly develop affordable electric vehicle technologies. Although Toyota is providing most of the financial firepower and existing EV know-how, Mazda's engineers have gained the admiration of the industry with breakthrough technologies such as its compression ignition engine announced last month. Shares in Mazda surged to end the day 3 percent higher, while those in Denso rose 1.8 percent. Toyota shares were flat. Both automakers are somewhat behind rivals, with neither having a fully electric passenger car on the market yet. After years of focusing on bringing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to the market, Toyota last year set up a division to develop electric cars which is led by President Akio Toyoda, and said it plans to introduce EVs in China in the coming years. Toyota has also announced it will bring a game-changing solid-state EV battery to market by 2022. That division would continue as a separate entity from the new joint venture, a Toyota spokeswoman said, while adding that the two teams would co-operate on technology development. Mazda has an R&D budget a fraction of Toyota's, which has made it difficult to develop electric cars on its own. Even so, it has said it plans to launch EVs in 2020.