Honda-Acura.net - So maybe we'll get that Toyota Caldina...

So the Caldina GT-4 is this kind of ugly tall sport wagon thing that looks a bit like the Matrix, but it has awd, an independent rear suspension (instead of the Matrix's twist beam) and a 260 hp version of Toyota's 3S-GTE (MR2 Turbo, Celica GT-4/alltrac) motor. Of course it does also come in fwd versions ranging from 30 to 150 hp. But we can hope for the hot version. :D

(Excuse the gratuitous interior shots, the Toyota Japan website is rather dumb.)

http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/01.jpg
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/02.jpg
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/03.jpg
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/04.jpg
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/05.jpg
http://www.toyota.co.jp/Showroom/All.../images/06.jpg

http://www.roadandtrack.com/article....article_id=422

Letter From Japan test
Toyota Caldina GT-Four "N" — sports car of the New Age

By Jack K. Yamaguchi

Executive Vice President Akihiko Saito is quick. Quick at the helm of Toyota's giant R&D and at the wheel of the Toyota Seven, a '70s monster Group 7 racing car recently restored to yesteryears' glory.

Saito has let it be known that Toyota is changing — very quickly. Reliable, durable and well equipped may still apply but the key words now are exciting, distinctively stylish and fast. The first significant car coming from the New Toyota is the Caldina, in particular the GT-Four "N." And the Caldina will no longer remain a Japan-only car; a variant will be a new Scion product in the U.S., likely to be called the ccX.

Back to the "N" designation. It does not stand for normal. It's anything but. It is the last initial of Hiromu Naruse, long-time lead development driver of the giant automaker, whose achievements include the Supra and Lexus IS 300. Though past corporate retirement age, he heads "Team Naruse" established by Saito.

The GT-Four is a cross between a station wagon and a sedan. The car is 177.1 in. long and 68.5 in. wide, featuring four conventional doors and a top-hinged tailgate. At a height of 57.1 in., it is not sports-car low. But it does offer comfortable accommodation for four adults and their luggage.

The Caldina is a front-drive car with a transverse inline-4. The GT-Four's engine is Toyota's venerable, if raucous, 3S-GTE dohc 16-valve 2.0-liter four, force-fed by a turbocharger. It puts out 260 bhp at 6200 rpm and 239 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm. In Japan, where automatics are the norm, the rule applies to the GT-Four. A 4-speed auto, which has a manual sequential-shift mode, must do until Toyota has a transverse 5-speed tough enough to handle the engine's torque. All four wheels are driven via a center differential and viscous-coupling differential limiting device, with a rear Torsen limited-slip differential. Propulsion and traction are very sporty, to say the least.

More impressive is the chassis. A new multilink rear suspension is combined with the MacPherson front arrangement. Naruse lived and breathed the car in Europe, from French rural roads to the Nürburgring. The "N" is equipped with a set of new inverted, high-pressure gas-filled Kayaba shock absorbers up front and monotube shock absorbers at the rear, and very special Yokohama tires.

The "N" handles impeccably, quick to respond to the smallest steering input, yet extremely stable at speed. An interesting feature is a "sprung" brace bar that ties the front shock towers. A coil spring is inserted at the mid-length of this bar. On undulating surfaces such as those found on secondary French roads, the bar pushes and stiffens the top mounts.

Will the Scion ccX get Naruse's magic touch? You'll have to ask Dr. Shigeyuki Hori, chief engineer of the platform.