Adding additional fuel to the ongoing speculation that Toyota will produce a sporty coupe version of its world-beating Prius hybrid hatchback is a new report from Japan's Best Car Magazine (via 4 Wheels News) that suggests the new model could be topped with a tailored sheetmetal suit courtesy of a famed Italian designer like Pininfarina or Italdesign Giugiaro.
As is often the case with such rumors, Best Car has seen fit to include a rendering of what a two-door Prius may look like – which is (rather predictably) kind of like a half-melted lozenge – but there's certainly no indication that the actual car would look anything like this bit of rendered speculation.
If Toyota does indeed offer up a hybrid Prius Coupe, it would do battle with the upcoming Honda CR-Z, which is expected to debut in production form this fall at the Tokyo Motor Show. Previous reports had suggested that Toyota could either bump up the power of the 1.8-liter four cylinder powerplant from the Prius or switch to the 2.4-liter unit from the Camry Hybrid for its sporty coupe.
source: green.autoblog
