In a recent announcement, Toyota Motor Co. revealed that two new hybrid models would be released by the automaker next year alongside the new Prius. One of those cars will be a new Lexus hybrid and the other a Toyota, however the level of mystery surrounding these new cars has given rise to speculation that the Toyota model may in fact be a production version of the FT-HS hybrid sports concept.

There’s only one problem with this theory: although Toyota declined to go into specifics about either of the new cars, Masatami Takimoto, executive vice president in charge of research and development, mentioned that the Toyota hybrid would be “larger than the Prius”. The FT-HS concept is just slightly smaller than the Prius in every dimension except for width, so unless the production model grows a few inches, Toyota’s new hybrid may just be yet another ho-hum snore-mobile.

However, Takimoto also went on to say that it would be “a totally new car”, so there’s still some hope yet. With Honda due to begin selling their hybrid CR-Z and Nissan contemplating a petrol-electric drivetrain for their upcoming Silvia replacement, Toyota really needs to jump on the performance hybrid bandwagon pronto if it’s to retain its crown as the world’s #1 manufacturer of hybrid vehicles. Then again, it does seem to like hanging onto its crown as world’s #1 manufacturer of boring, soulless automobiles too…

We’ll find out which mantle stays on Toyota’s head when the new hybrids debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January 2009.

[Source: Automotive News (subscription required)]
[Image courtesy of Toyota]