What's the news?
The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling car in the world with over 39 million sold since 1966. If the Furia Concept, said to preview the styling direction of future Corollas, is anything to go by, then the sales will continue to rack up.
Exterior
Toyota is keen to ditch its somewhat 'dowdy' image and the Furia is as much a statement of intent as a preview of the next Corolla. Concept frippery like the 19-inch wheels and carbon fibre elements are unlikely to be offered as standard but the swept back windscreen, low roofline and short overhangs would certainly allow the Corolla to compete for younger buyers against the likes of the Honda Civic and Ford Focus.
Interior
No details on interior fittings have been revealed though we do expect the cabin of the Furia concept to be full of carbon fibre that will not make it to production.
Mechanicals
The Furia is a concept so could be powered by a herd of unicorns or a thermo-nuclear reactor, but if and when it makes production we expect something much more conventional like a 1.4-litre D-4D diesel engine.
Anything else?
Bill Fay, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division, describes the Furia as "an early indicator of where our compact car design may lead in the future." In other words there is still a possibility that the bean counters may get one over on the designers. Please petition your local Toyota dealership, parts department etc. to make sure it does not happen.