Nov 5, 2003 – Tokyo 2003 will be most remembered for the proliferation of fuel cell and hybrid powertrains in many concept and several production cars - of the 27 concept cars covered in our show Highlights, one third have hybrid or fuel cell powertrains! Both Toyota and Honda announced new developments in their FC Stacks that bring the advent of the mass produced fuel cell powered car one step closer, and both brands also showed petrol-electric hybrid concept cars that complemented their production Prius and Insight models. Beyond the significant environmental implications, the Toyota Fine-N, Honda Kiwami and Jeep Treo also showed how fuel cell powertrains enable and drive new configurations and proportions in vehicle design.

The Tokyo show differs most from its international counterparts in exhibiting a far greater proportion of concept cars relative to new production designs; this year’s only significant new production debut was the technically innovative Honda Odyssey. And within each of the major Japanese brands’ large concept car portfolios, there is a wide range of vehicular type and aesthetic design identity, the seven Nissans featured in our Highlights bearing testimony to this. But the smaller Japanese car brands of Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru are progressively producing designs that relate more closely to their predecessors and siblings, in particular Mazda’s Ibuki making literal references to the first generation MX5 and Subaru’s concept cars all bearing the new three part corporate grille graphic.

Honda Asimo robot Mini Subaru R2, R1e

Much of this more European type of approach is attributable to Moray Callum, Olivier Boulay and Andreas Zapatinas, the new European design directors for Mazda, Mitsubishi and Subaru respectively.

Also part of this more European feel to the show was that there were fewer unusual concept cars, with nothing as extreme as the Honda Unibox, Nissan Nails and Toyota Pod from Tokyo 2001.

This year’s show cars are nearer production reality and thus more like the recent European and American concept car idiom of relating closely to a forthcoming production design. They are also more classically automotive and emotional: witness the sportingly retro Ibuki from Mazda and similar small front engine sports car concepts from Subaru and Nissan, the svelte and dynamic Lexus LF-S, and the Honda HSC supercar.

Toyota concepts Toyota PM

Toyota’s theme to the show was ‘ecology and emotion’ and even Mitsubishi was citing ‘passion’ as a core part of their design philosophy, underlining this subtle but important shift in attitude towards design from the Japanese brands.

Despite this subtle western influence, the Tokyo show and Japanese car market in general are still very different to those of America and Europe. No car illustrates this better than the Honda Accord based Nouera making its production debut as the latest addition to Mitsuoka’s range of retro designs based on modern cars, the best known of which is the Viewt, a pastiche of a Mk2 Jaguar based on a second generation Nissan Micra!

With such a wide diversity of styles at the show it is not easy to identify many definitive design trends, although the concave bodyside shoulder surfaces evident on the Lexus LF-S, Mazda Kusabi, Honda HSC, Mercedes F500, Nissan Redigo and Subaru B9 Scrambler, is a new and distinctly Japanese design characteristic (BMW X3 and Ferrari Enzo excepted), and the product-like ‘slot’ shapes used extensively on the Mazda Ibuki, Nissan Effis, Conran Cube, and Redigo also seems to be very fashionable. Beyond the concept cars and design trends at Tokyo, a notably unique aspect was the effort the domestic brands went to in producing solutions to the needs of disabled users.

Nissan Effis Nissan Redigo Nissan Conran Cube

Honda had some impressive products from their Almas series of special needs vehicles that facilitates the use of a car for wheelchair bound people and also a Techmatic system for those with two disabled legs and a Franz system for those with two disabled arms.

Fuel cells, lots of concept cars, a subtle shift towards more European design sensibilities and an unequivocally unique and inspirational event is the essence of the 2003 Tokyo Motor Show. The next passenger vehicle show is in two years and we’re looking forward to it already...