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The Toyota 4500GT concept debuted at the 1989 Frankfurt Motor Show. A 2-door, 2+2 coupe signaled Toyota's entry into the competitive upper-level luxury coupe class. Although the show-goers almost universally disliked the car's controversial styling at the Frankfurt show, its mechanical components were far more relevant, as they carried over much more closely to its production offspring than the styling did.
Toyota claimed the 4500GT could transport four passengers and their luggage comfortably at a speed of 300 km/h (186 mph). The car had to be both efficient and powerful to achieve this. The body's unusual shape (dropping snout, flat and abrupt rear end) yielded an extremely low drag coefficient for the time of Cd=0.29.
The power plant was quite impressive. A derivative of Toyota's then-new 1UZ-FE V8, the 4500GT boasted an additional 500 cc of displacement over the production unit, twin overhead camshafts per cylinder bank, and five valves per cylinder. This alloy V8 was mated with a six-speed manual transmission, which was mounted at the rear with the differential to even out the front/rear weight balance. This high-tech masterpiece produced 220 kW (295 bhp) at 6600 rpm and 390 N⋅m (288 lb-ft) at 4800 rpm.
The suspension used double control arms front and rear. The front utilized upper A arms and lower L arms, and the rear used upper L arms and lower A arms for increased camber to promote stability in high-speed corners.
No acceleration testing was ever done on the car, but with 220 kW (295 bhp) and a curb weight of 1,450 kg (3,197 lb), the rear-wheel-drive 4500GT could be reasonably expected to achieve 0–97 km/h (0–60 mph) in less than 7 seconds.
The 4500GT never made it directly to the showroom; however, it was the predecessor to the third generation Toyota Soarer (also known as the first-generation Lexus SC). The Soarer/SC400 utilized a milder production version of the 4500GT's V8, a 4.0 L with 250 hp (186 kW). In the eyes of many, the styling of the Soarer/SC400 was much more cohesive and attractive, and it went on to great commercial success on the mechanical backbone of the 4500GT concept.
Source: wikipedia
Images: www.2000gt.net; eye-love.jp
