PRIUS TURNS A COOLER SHADE OF GREEN
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday January 8, 2010
The Toyota Prius probably isn't the first name that comes to mind when you think of modified cars.But Japanese tuning house Tommy Kaira - renowned in the car-tuning world for its more radical interpretations of Nissan and Subaru sports cars - has turned its attention to making the world's most-famous hybrid car look meaner rather than greener.The Tommy Kaira Prius retains the stock-standard 100kW of combined engine and electric-motor power, so the changes are mainly cosmetic.For starters, the Kaira Prius hugs the ground with a lowered ride height and sits on 19-inch wheels wrapped in low-profile rubber.A more aggressive-looking front end includes a huge central air intake and carbon-fibre front splitter and fog-light surrounds.It also gains side skirts and a modified rear bumper with a lower lip that runs over the top of four shiny exhaust pipes (incorporating a dual-muffler system).Tommy Kaira doesn't reveal fuel consumption figures for its special Prius, though the revised aerodynamics and larger wheels would be expected to produce an inferior result to the standard Prius's 3.9 litres per 100 kilometres.It might not turn your key but at least Tommy Kaira has put in the effort to make "green" mean "cool".
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
