Heyward Allen Toyota

After showing off the Tacoma RTR Concept, we didn't think Toyota could find another way to toy with our emotions. We were wrong. Rob Kauffman, the owner of RK Collection and co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing, has teamed up with Toyota Racing development to produce a street-legal, NASCAR-inspired high-performance Camry.

Those words don't seem like they should go together, but the parts list for the RK Collection Toyota Camry NASCAR Edition reads like the shopping list for a potential dream car. The most important piece of that list sits under the hood: a 358 cubic inch TRD NASCAR V8 engine producing 680 horsepower, which is paired with a Tremec T56 six-speed manual transmission.

It's as if Rob Kauffman was reading our dreams and then built the most exciting Camry on the planet. The RK Collection Toyota Camry NASCAR Edition will be waiting for our cameras (and our hearts) at the rapidly approaching SEMA Show in Las Vegas.

Scion invited the group over at Autoblog to its art gallery in Culver City, California last night, for a chance to preview part of the lineup it's bringing to SEMA this year. Parked out front was an xB that was transformed into a limo by Cartel Customs. The concept of a Scion xB limo sounds ridiculous, but in person it's ridiculously awesome. Rear suicide doors open to a comfortable environment outfitted with a large television, bar and wrap-around sofa. It's far cooler than your run-of-the-mill Town Car. The limo was just the beginning, though, because inside four more vehicles were waiting.

A Scion xB-turned-mobile DJ booth, which had been seen a year earlier at the 2009 SEMA show, was the perfect custom vehicle to see of the mood inside the Scion Gallery. Two sporty 2011 tCs were parked near each other, one by GReddy and the other by Crawford Performance, while another xB was parked across the room. This Scion xB is called the Salty Dog and it was customized by the U.S. Navy, as part of Scion's Battle of the Builds. The Marines, Army and Navy all put together cars and the winner will be crowned in Vegas.
This collection represents just a portion of what Scion has in store at SEMA.
 

At this point, SEMA is so close we can almost smell the tire shine. Toyota has rolled out a gaggle of official photos and information on the company's mighty Tacoma RTR Concept, saying it wanted to build the quarter-mile king to demonstrate what exactly is possible with off-the-shelf parts. For those that don't recall, the company's engineers managed to snug a supercharged 5.7-liter V8 borrowed from the Tundra into the engine bay. The final concoction is good for 504 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, and it all gets funneled to the rear axle via a six-speed automatic gearbox

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While we're on the subject of the rear axle, Toyota says the piece is a narrowed version of what's found in the stock Tundra, though a TRD limited-slip has been plopped in to get both wheels pulling from get go. The whole concoction should be good for quarter mile passes in the 11-second range. Hit the jump for the full details.

When the Toyota FT-86 concept was unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, we were surprised and delighted at the prospect of an attractive, rear-wheel-drive 2+2 with a $20,000 price tag. Could we just as excited for a $25,000 RWD Scion? We may not have a choice.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Toyota management told dealers in Las Vegas there will be a production version of the FT-86 badged as a Scion model. The move would help bolster the brand, which has been a bit product-starved of late. There are also rumors of a new price point - as high as $25,000 - and the possibility that the Subaru version will only be available in Europe.

While the report claims the FT-86 will be badged as a Scion, there is no definitive word there won't be a Toyota variant as well. We're sure to learn more this auto show season, as reports show that the production FT-86 could arrive at the New York Auto Show in 2011.

We've got a Tacoma-sized soft spot for factory-built high performance trucks, even if they're just concepts. Toyota  is helping to fuel that fire with the introduction of its new Tacoma X-Runner RTR. In this case, those last three consonants stand for "Ready to Race." The machine looks like our kind of absurdity and was built for that mecca of inanity, SEMA.

The RTR follows an age-old hot rodding recipe; shove the biggest engine you've got into the lightest chassis on hand. Under the hood, a supercharged 5.7-liter V8 borrowed from the larger Tundra should help the Tacoma RTR dominate the drag strip. The engine is coupled to a stock six-speed automatic transmission, also from the Tundra, and a Tundra rear axle dumps all of the power to the pavement.

Toyota says that the drivetrain is good for 504 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque, and that those numbers are good enough to get the truck to scoot down the quarter mile in around 11 seconds. If you can't tell, we're grinning from ear to ear.