Toyota’s Camry GT-S Concept is basically a body kit and handling package, but it needs to offer that paint immediately – Jalopnik

Apparently SEMA is happening again, and this year Toyota will show up with the Camry GT-S concept. Is it a radical transformation that will make you reevaluate your understanding of what a Camry could be? No, not at all. But the Inferno Flare paint looks excellent, and I want Toyota to start offering it on production cars immediately. Will it be a color everyone wants on their new Camry? Of course not. But don’t pretend the world wouldn’t be a little better if orange paint were an option.

If you were expecting a Camry with a Supra engine or something really exciting, I have some bad news about the powertrain. As Toyota put it, “Unlike the over-the-top builds that often take center stage at SEMA, the GT-S remains rooted in reality, with its standard 232-horsepower 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid system unchanged.” And if you want to know what changes Toyota has made to the interior, there aren’t any. Again, in Toyota’s words, “The interior also remains true to the production Camry, underscoring the build’s mission to emphasize the exterior design, stance and chassis tuning as a natural extension of Camry’s existing capabilities.”

While that may be a little disappointing, you have to admit that it’s a great twist to say the least. Toyota didn’t build this car on a budget. It only kept the GT-S grounded in reality and emphasized the exterior design, stance and chassis tuning. Naturally. (And if you’re the one who wrote this, I mean it as a sincere compliment, even if I’m being a little sarcastic here.)

So what did they change? Well, aside from a performance body kit and the aforementioned orange paint (plus a black hood and roof, as well as a few other black accents),”[t]In other words, the team has also focused on upgrades to complement the distinct GT-S body lines. In other words, it gets a handling kit with adjustable coilovers at all four corners, lowering the ride height by about 1.5 inches. They also added a big brake kit with eight-piston calipers gripping 365mm front rotors and 356mm rotors with six-piston calipers in the rear. Then they added 20-inch performance wheels. with a set of 245/35R20 tires.

Oh, and it also has a sports exhaust. I can’t forget the sports exhaust. That is very important, even though it is difficult to see in the press photos provided.

None of this will make the Camry GT-S faster in a straight line, but I’m willing to bet it will make the Camry a lot more fun to drive. And the new Camry is reportedly already a lot more fun to drive than its predecessor. Since it’s a SEMA car, I doubt journalists will drive it so they can find out, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if the GT-S concept previewed an upcoming Camry TRD. We weren’t particularly impressed with the last Camry TRD, but perhaps the improvements Toyota has made to the non-TRD Camry will translate into a more fun drive this time around.

Of course, I can’t know for sure, but Toyota seems to hint a few times in the release that this GT-S concept previews an upcoming Camry TRD, including in this statement from Mike Tripp, Toyota’s VP of marketing:

Camry has always been an important part of our range, and with the GT-S Concept we show what’s possible when you give a sports sedan even more attitude and performance-inspired personality. This construction is deliberately based on reality: it is the kind of car that customers can imagine driving home. SEMA gives us the opportunity to test new ideas, listen to enthusiasts and explore how we continue to evolve Camry in ways that excite and inspire.

I could be wrong here too, but all this talk about a Camry with a handling package that’s “grounded in reality” certainly sounds like we’re talking about a car heading to production in some form. Assuming this is the case, that shape needs Inferno Flare paint as an option, otherwise we’ll rebel. I demand an orange Camry, and you should too.