Toyota Aurion TRD

Toyota's TRD performance brand hopes muscle in on the traditional Australian muscle cars.

Toyota is trying yet again to shed its conservative image with a new performance range aimed at broadening the brand's appeal.

TRD - or Toyota Racing Development - is now part of the brand's Australian line-up, adding a new dimension to a brand that has traditionally excelled at attracting the massed.

The flagship of the Melbourne motor show unveilings was a modified Aurion TRD, which will go on sale by the end of the year as a rival to performance variants of the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore.

"This is a world-first for Toyota - and it is happening in Australia," says Toyota Australia senior executive director of sales and marketing. "It's the first time TRD has been established as a separate brand under Toyota. And it is the first time anywhere in the world Toyota will engineer and market a range of vehicles under the TRD banner.

"We are drawing on Toyota's motorsport heritage to add a new dimension to the Toyota brand in Australia to increase the desirability of the Toyota brand with performance-enhanced vehicles.

As well as big 19-inch alloy wheels, an aggressive body kit, firmer suspension, bigger brakes and other additions, the Aurion TRD gets a supercharged version of the already powerful 3.5-litre V6 engine.

While Toyota is yet to confirm the car's outright power, Buttner says something in the region of 235kW is the goal.

Still, that's short of the potential rivals including the 245kW Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo, the 260kW Ford Falcon XR8 and the 270kW Holden Commodore SS (the latter two having V8 engines).

Toyota is hinting that the Aurion TRD could be priced at around $50,000, which is as much as $10,000 more than its more established rivals.

With power sent to the front wheels rather than the rear - as it is in the Falcon and Commodore - enthusiasts are already debating the merits of the Aurion TRD.

Still, Toyota is confident the Aurion TRD will find a niche and - perhaps more importantly - help Toyota create a more desirable brand, particularly among younger buyers who are increasingly more important.

The company is planning on spreading the appeal of the TRD brand, even experimenting with a high-performance version of the Hilux ute..

"What you see here is just the beginning," says Buttner. "TRD is not about enhancing just one model. We are starting with two vehicles this year and then TRD will be progressively developed and expanded."