Fantasy Cars Debut at Tokyo Motor Show

This fall, The New York Times has been live-blogging the 40th Tokyo Motor Show, a seventeen-day extravaganza in Chiba City that’s open to the public. From super-cute, eco-friendly bubble cars to futuristic sports fantasies, the motor show has it all. (Ironically, visitors are asked to take the train to the show so their cars don’t clog up traffic!)

Building a lot of buzz is the BMW tii, a sleek, aerodynamic, light-weight sports car, and the 2008 Nissan GT-R, which has been in previews for several years, using concept drawings to make car fans drool.

I was intrigued by pictures of Mitsuoka’s Orochi. Only 400 will be made over a four-year period, and they’ll only be available in Tokyo. The low-to-the ground, almost cartoon-looking fantasy car starts at 12 million yen ($104,00). Orochi means eight-headed serpent, and it’s true the car resembles an animal; check out its snarling snout:

Toyota’s new plug-in hybrid car, the bizarrely-shaped, compact Hi-CT, could help car buyers alleviate guilt about global warming. It even has a removable rear trunk!

 

Sarah S.

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