These are Toyota's Dear Qin concepts, in hatch and booted format, on show this week at Auto China in Beijing.
Take a long, hard look, and ignore the silly names, which probably mean something suitably aspirational in Mandarin. These two concepts point to the direction in which Toyota is taking its design language, so long derided by critics as bland and unexciting.
They're also going to morph into a new global model, slated to hit the major markets as early as next year
GLOBAL ARCHITECTURE
More importantly, they're built on a global architecture that will underpin not one but three new front wheel-drive platforms, eventually forming nearly half of Toyota's annual production.
It's specifically tailored to have a lower centre of gravity than current offerings such as the Yaris and Aygo and will deliver “superb handling” (Toyota's words, not mine).
Toyota isn't giving any nuts-and-bolts details about the two concepts, which probably means they're not runners, but promises “emotional designs” with “bolder styling” on the generation of vehicles they will inspire.
And that's something Toyota will need, to stand against the Korean onslaught.