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New drifting world record set in Toyota GT86

We have entered a drifting arms race. Last year, BMW smashed the Guinness World Record for the longest drift by hanging the tail out for 51.3 miles around a wet skid pad in an M5 at the BMW Performance Driving School in South Carolina. That beat the previous milestone of nearly seven miles. Now, Bimmer's record is up in smoke as well and is in the possession of a Toyota.
German driver Harald Müller pummeled the old record to drift for 89.55 miles around a 0.15-mile (235.5-meter) course in Samsun, Turkey, in a Toyota GT86 (or Scion FR-S as it's known in the US). According to the Guinness World Records website, it took him 612 laps and 2 hours, 25 minutes and 18 seconds to manage the achievement. Sit back to watch a few minutes of the German's two and a half hours behind the wheel with the tail out.

Toyota teases 2014 4Runner, will debut on April 27

The 2014 Toyota 4Runner appears to be getting a styling refresh that is as out of the ordinary for Toyota as the venue at which it will be debuting. Launching on April 27 at the 2013 Stagecoach Music Festival in Indio, CA, the 2014 4Runner looks to be getting more of an in-your-face design. Toyota says this marks the first time it has ever revealed a new product at a music festival.
While we only see two images of the updated 2014 4Runner, the new headlights break from the rectangular shape present on the current model for an edgy, scalloped shape. Below the headlights are vertical air inlets - looking quite similar to the 2014 Subaru Forester XT - but it isn't clear if all models will get these or just special trim levels. The other image Toyota released was of the smoked, LED taillight.
As the presenting sponsor of the music festival, Toyota will have legendary off-road driver Ivan "Ironman" Stewart at the show as well as an off-road driving course for people to drive the automaker's trucks and SUVs. Scroll down for a press release giving some additional information about both the 2014 4Runner and the Stagecoach Music Festival.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R is road-going version of brand's racing technology [w/video]

Did you know that the Yaris is Toyota's best-selling vehicle in Europe? That may help explain to us Americans why the car that's lowest on the company's totem poll here in the US got turned into an all-wheel-drive hybrid track monster for the 2013 Frankfurt Monster Show.
Called the Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R, this three-door pocket rocket isn't just a hybrid making a lot of horsepower - it incorporates technology from Toyota's TS030 Hybrid racecar that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship series, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The Yaris Hybrid-R packs a 300-horsepower, turbocharged, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine under its hood, which should be enough for most speed freaks, but Toyota pairs it with two 60-hp electric motors at each rear wheel (the same ones used in the production Yaris Hybrid that's sold in Europe). That makes total system output an insane-for-this-size 420 hybrid horsies.
But that's not all, as the Yaris Hybrid-R forgoes the traditional battery pack below the rear seats in favor of a supercapacitor, which can both hold more energy and has a much faster power charge/discharge speed than traditional batteries. Paired with the supercapacitor is a third 60-hp electric motor/generator positioned between the engine and six-speed sequential transmission. Its job is to feed the super capacitor energy during deceleration and direct its power to the rear electric motors when more grip and oomph is needed.