By Daryl Lee

IT WAS ALL out Nippon-frenzy at the 2009 edition of the Tokyo Motor Show with Japanese manufacturers out in force on their home turf – they made up the bulk of exhibitors with some notable exceptions, including Lotus and Caterham.

Offerings at the show could be summed up as such: the very fast, the very green and those that were a spicy mix of both.

Lexus LFA

Four long years after its concept debut at the 2005 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Lexus is finally confirming its production.

Motive power comes from a Yamaha co-developed hand-built 4.8-litre V10 producing 552bhp, mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox.

Carbonfibre and aluminium contributes to the LFA’s low 1,480kg weight and 0-100km/h takes 3.7 seconds and will hit a top speed of 325km/h.

Just 500 LFAs will be produced at a rate of 20 a month. It’s understood the car will be on its way here, the only question being just how many will be allocated. At 368,000 Euros, it’ll probably cost a million bucks or more here. Really.

Toyota FT-86

Ever since the demise of the MR-S, which never officially made it here, Toyota hasn’t had an overtly sporting model to call its own until now.

Toyota labels it ‘hachi-roku’ or 86 in Japanese, the nickname for the legendary AE86 Trueno coupe from the Initial D animation.

There are more allusions to the AE86 with the FT-86 having rear wheel-drive, light weight and compact dimensions.

The FT-86 takes power from a 2.0-litre horizontally-opposed 4, however there’s no official word on induction methods or gearboxes.

Toyota remains tight lipped on whether it’ll enter production but to our eyes it looks eerily production-ready.

Honda CR-Z

Honda marks the world premiere of its prototype CR-Z, a direct descendant of the CRX sports hatchback from the 1980s.

Honda’s president and CEO, Takanobu Ito says the CR-Z, “will create completely new value by combining the fun of driving and outstanding fuel economy.”

The promised fuel economy comes from its 1.5-litre i-VTEC engine with Honda’s ‘Integrated Motor Assist’ (IMA) hybrid technology.

The CR-Z puts the fun into hybrids with its six-speed manual transmission, light weight and low-slung hot hatch stance.

The Japanese launch is in February 2010 and local sources tell us to expect a 2011 or 2012 arrival.

Subaru Hybrid Tourer

The design of the Hybrid Tourer recall Subaru’s short-lived SVX coupe from the 1990s.

The coupe is equipped with dramatic gullwing doors and a steeply raked wraparound windscreen.

The Hybrid Tourer sports a direct injection turbocharged 2.0-litre horizontally-opposed 4 along with four wheel-drive transmitted through Subaru’s ‘Lineartronic’ CVT gearbox.

This represents the first hybrid system link to a horizontally-opposed motor and features two electric motors supplying 10kW and 20kW to the front and rear wheels respectively.

Paul Tunnicliffe, Subaru UK’s managing director said the Hybrid Tourer, “hints at our future design direction”. A gullwing Subaru? That’s a welcome sight indeed.

Suzuki Swift and SX4

Suzuki presents two old models with a fresh green twist: the Swift plug-in hybrid and SX4 powered by a hydrogen fuel cell.

The Swift can run 20km on electric power alone but can be run like a conventional car and is equipped with a 660cc petrol engine.

Charging the Swift’s batteries is done through a conventional wall socket or recovered energy from braking.

The SX4 is undergoing road testing in Japan and powered by a hydrogen fuel cell with its only emissions water vapour.

A capacitor also reduces load on the fuel cell while accelerating and provides regenerative braking abilities.

Mitsubishi PX-MiEV

Mitsubishi came out with all its green guns blazing with the PX-MiEV concept.

The PX-MiEV hybrid SUV is powered by 1.6-litre petrol engine working in tandem with two electric motors, which can recharge the batteries through regenerative braking.

Its batteries can be recharged through a wall socket and has a greater electric-only range than hybrids today with fuel efficiency reaching in excess of 50km/L.

The PX-MiEV is also claimed to be as safe as houses and has onboard receivers to utilise road infrastructure technology that can detect and warn the driver of the presence of other road users or pedestrians.

Mazda Kiyora

The Kiyora concept is the embodiment of Mazda’s ‘Sustainable Zoom-Zoom’ ethos, which combines high levels of driving pleasure with excellent fuel economy.

It features a 1.3-litre ‘SKY-G’ petrol engine mated to an advanced ‘SKY-Drive’ six-speed automatic transmission.

The Kiyora is also equipped with regenerative braking and stop-start systems perfect for city driving

Even without an electric motor or hybrid systems of any kid, Mazda claims the Kiyora can achieve fuel economy of an astounding 32km/l.

The featherweight aluminium and resin foam Kiyora weighs approximately 850kg and if you think that isn’t radical enough, the way it looks should convince you.