Toyota Camry GT-S Concept Is Lots Of Show, Not Much Go

The reappearance of the Toyota Camry in the UK market may have been brief, but the big saloon is still one of the most popular cars around in the US. It’s over there, ahead of next month’s SEMA show, that Toyota has unveiled the Camry GT-S concept, ‘a bold design study in what’s possible when performance-inspired styling, functional upgrades, and showroom-ready sensibility come together.’

To create it, Toyota’s Michigan-based CALTY design team has treated the Camry to a spicy new bodykit that could have come straight from Need for Speed: Underground 2. It has an angry-looking new front bumper and side skirts, while out back, the redesigned bumper and diffuser fit accommodate a performance exhaust system. It’s all been finished off in a two-tone orange-and-black paintjob, the main colour a new shade named Inferno Flare.

Elsewhere, the chassis’s been dropped by around 38mm, and there are new 20-inch wheels that shroud some truly massive brakes – 365mm discs and eight-piston callipers up front, and 356mm discs with six pots at the back.

Those brakes must be needed to keep some pretty serious performance in check, huh? Erm, no. The GT-S is otherwise an entirely standard Camry Hybrid, featuring a 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder and a CVT gearbox, with the entire system sending 232bhp to the front wheels.

We don’t have pictures of the interior yet, but that too is basically standard, says Toyota, although we can spot some orange seatbelts in some of the shots. Sporty. This all-show, no-go approach was very deliberate, says Toyota. It’s essentially an evolution of the existing faux-sporty XSE trim – think along the lines of an ST-Line Ford. Mike Tripp, Toyota’s group vice president for marketing, says: 

“This build is intentionally grounded in reality—it’s the kind of car customers can picture themselves driving home. SEMA gives us the chance to test new ideas, listen to enthusiasts, and explore how we continue to evolve Camry in ways that excite and inspire.”

In other words, something like this could be a real thing people in North America could buy in the not-too-distant future. It may not end up being much of a performance hero, then, but at least it means there’s less chance of a full-fat GR Camry that we’ll inevitably get jealous about not being sold in Europe.