Toyota C-HR R-Tuned revealed at SEMA with 600bhp

The compact C-HR crossover has been a popular model for Toyota in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the meagre 1.2-litre turbo petrol and 1.8-litre hybrid drivetrain options hardly register as blips on our radar, but Toyota has certainly piqued our interest with this SEMA concept.

Called the C-HR R-Tuned, aside from the competition car paraphernalia Toyota has fitted a 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine from the RAV4 and Camry to perk up the package. Oh, and a whopping great Garrett turbo running 23psi of boost. The result is a faintly ridiculous 600bhp according to Toyota, sent through a 5-speed manual gearbox to - remarkably - the front wheels alone.

> Click here for all the details of the upcoming Toyota Supra

To try and contain the fury across the front axle, Toyota has fitted a limited slip differential, track-orientated tyres, 'race-style' suspension and a massive front splitter to try build front-end grip.

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The changes yield a lap time of 1:25.22 around California’s iconic Willow Springs Raceway, a record for a crossover/SUV and sixth overall for a production-ish car - between a Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 and a Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 SV.

Developed to highlight the capability of the CH-R’s modular chassis, shared with the Toyota Prius no less, a 600bhp production version is unlikely, but a performance version of the standard car with some Gazoo Racing badges isn’t so far fetched. Toyota has already previewed a hotter C-HR, called the Hy-Power, at the Frankfurt motor show earlier in the year.

> Read our review of the Toyota C-HR here

Thanks to the hot Yaris GRMN and an upcoming Supra on the horizon, Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is deadly serious about changing the perception of Toyota from just being a manufacturer of commuter vehicles and building desirable cars once again.