Toyota Australia showed that it was keen to shed it’s image as the No.1 provider of boring cars, and announced that it will be expanding the TRD support network to every Toyota dealer across Australia. Toyota also launched the new TRD Hilux at the show, and showed off the FT-HS concept, a TRD Aurion tarmac rally car and Tony Wedlock’s 1300kW Camry Solara dragster.

TRD Hilux Makes Debut

While utes aren’t the most sporting of chassis, TRD Australia persisted with the Hilux and managed to turn out their own supercharged version of the standard 1GR-FE 4-litre V6. While solid numbers haven’t been released by Toyota, the supercharge V6 is said to be good for at least 225kW and over 400Nm of torque, endowing the four-door ute with a 0-100kph sprint time in the low 7-second range.

Of course, brakes and suspension have also been upgraded to reduce roll and braking distances, however at over 1500kg, a Lotus Elise this ain’t.

A Camry We Can Agree With: Tony Wedlock’s 1300kW Monster

One car that definitely stood out on the Toyota stand was Australian drag racer Tony Wedlock’s 1300kW Camry Solara drag car. Running in the Pro Factory Extreme class, the Camry is propelled down the quarter mile by a 3.25-litre 2JZ-GTE. With a Garrett GT55 turbo pushing 65lb of boost through the 2JZ, the Camry is able to accelerate to over 100kph in under one second and can complete the standing 400m in less than 6.5 seconds.

The car will be undergoing a re-shell in the near future, and will sport an Aurion body for its Australian (and Asia-Pacific) career.

TRD Aurion To Tackle Targa Tasmania

Rally champ Neal Bates will be campaigning a modified TRD Aurion in April’s Targa Tasmania, and although he’ll be competing against cars with a much higher power level (like this GT-R) and with the handicap of FWD, Bates is still confident of a top-ten finish for the Toyota.

FT-HS Makes Australian Show Debut

Toyota’s FT-HS is pretty old news, but the Melbourne Motor show was our first up-close look at the concept. This thing may look awkward in some photographs, but in person, it is a work of art. Sure, the front could use a bit more thought, and that interior looks like it’d mince you up good in the event of a crash, but the details are what make this concept really shine.

Take, for example, those carbon-fibre wheels (below). They’re simply massive, with spokes that wind around each other, yet never touch. Those brakes are huge too, showing that Toyota understands performance isn’t just about raw power.

Toyota Australia’s product planning manager Peter Evans recently mentioned that we could consider the FT-HS as “a vision for a Toyota Supra of the future”. After finally seeing the FT-HS concept in the flesh, we too reckon it would make an excellent addition to Toyota’s sports-starved line-up.

[All images copyright Rory Gardiner/JPCN]