The Toyota Aygo is the perfect urban: it is small, easy to park, reliable and has a fairly good consumption. What if Toyota took this practical, no-nonsense car and turned it into a 200bhp, rear-wheel drive sports car? The answer exists and is called Toyota Aygo Crazy.
It was in 2008 when Toyota asked this question and decided to answer it… investing just over 100,000 euros at the time. With this budget, the engineers had a free hand to raid the Japanese brand’s parts warehouse: there they found the perfect part around which they would orchestrate the Toyota Aygo Crazy.
The engine of the Toyota Celica and MR2
The Japanese urban said goodbye to its engine, a 1.0 gasoline that developed 68 CV, to welcome the 1.8 VVT-i: Yes, the block in charge of driving the Toyota Celica and the Toyota MR2. This mechanical configuration must not have seemed enough to them, so they added a turbo and its 140 CV became 200 CV; the maximum torque was 240 Nm. Compare the figures and you will get an idea of the differences.
It was complemented with a custom refrigeration system, a suspension signed by MacPherson and adjustable shock absorbers from Tein. The front and rear tracks are 2.5 centimeters wider than the standard ones, and by the way, the Toyota Aygo Crazy had neither ABS nor power steering.
Your acceleration ability
This configuration provided the small urban with completely sporty performance, but coming up with the idea was not easy. The reason? The engine that he had inherited did not fit in his vain. Toyota found the solution to this problem in the Renault 5 Turbo: they moved the block to the back and, for this, they eliminated the rear row of seats. This change led them to modify the traction: the 200 CV of the Toyota Aygo Crazy went directly to the rear axle.
With a weight of 1,050 kilos, the sports version of the Japanese urban reached a maximum speed of 204 km/h It was capable of going from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.75 seconds: a time that improved that of the Renault Clio V6, which, equipped with a V6 of 230 CV and 300 Nm, achieved that acceleration in 6.4 seconds.
A handcrafted and tailored bodywork
It seemed, at first glance, that the Toyota Aygo Crazy had only received a kit to modify its aesthetics: the truth is that its bodywork was handmade and made to measure. It was painted white and adorned with some graffiti. In addition to the widened tracks, it sported 17-inch wheels, a rear spoiler made of carbon fiber and a dual exit exhaust. The interior was done by O’Rourke, installing custom-designed sports seats with four-point safety harnesses, a Sparco steering wheel and a roll cage.
It was unveiled at the 2008 London International Motor Show and Toyota’s only goal was to show the world how creative it could be. It’s a shame that the Toyota Aygo Crazy was a one-off and they never entertained the idea of taking it to production, not even as a limited edition. It wouldn’t have been very practical, but it would have been a lot of fun.
