---
title: "Toyota Finally Has a New RWD Two-Seat Coupe"
description: "And it has a whole 12 horsepower."
date: "2020-12-28"
modified: "2020-12-28"
authors:
  - name: "James Gilboy"
    job_title: "Contributing Writer"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/james-gilboy.md"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/tech/38447/toyota-finally-has-a-new-rwd-two-seat-coupe"
categories:
  - "Car Tech"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
  - "Toyota News"
tags:
  - "Toyota"
---

# Toyota Finally Has a New RWD Two-Seat Coupe

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2020/12/20201225_02_02.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Have you ever played "corrupt a wish?" It's a game where someone makes a wish, and the next person in line "grants" it, but adds caveats that ruin it. Toyota has seemingly been playing for years, first answering calls for a new, rear-wheel-drive sports coupe with [a rebadged Subaru that's got cylinder head problems](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37435/engines-keep-failing-as-the-subaru-brz-scion-fr-s-valve-spring-recall-debacle-drags-on.md>), then [a rebranded BMW with under-developed factory suspension](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/37457/theres-finally-a-fix-for-the-toyota-supras-most-nagging-suspension-headache.md>). And before 2020 was out, Toyota had to yank our chains again, releasing yet another lightweight, rear-drive two-door, this one compromised by its meager output of 12 horsepower.

The coupe in question is the C+pod, a $15,900 electric city car Toyota hopes will appeal to corporate fleets and local governments. It's about the same height as a Smart Fortwo (or [its weird high-performance Brabus version](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/33186/brabus-ultimate-e-electric-smart-car-actually-sounds-fun-as-hell.md>)), but four inches shorter in length, and over a foot narrower, making it just large enough for two adults and the groceries needed to feed them for a week. It's not completely spartan, either, as it features collision detection technology and both LED headlights and taillights.

![message-editor%2F1609181897274-toyota.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609181897274-toyota.jpg>)
**Toyota**

Rather than being a safety feature, though, those LED taillights are likely a measure to reduce load on the C+pod's minuscule, 9.06-kilowatt-hour battery. Toyota claims it to be good for 93 miles of city driving on the WLTP cycle, making the C+pod roughly twice as efficient as a long-range [Tesla Model S](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/38368/worlds-first-v8-swapped-tesla-model-s-is-gonna-make-a-lot-of-people-mad.md>). Much of this efficiency comes from the C+pod's minuscule curb weight, as low as 1,477 pounds, though some also comes from having a shrimpy motor, one which generates just 12 horsepower and 41 pound-feet of torque.

![message-editor%2F1609176564399-20201225\_02\_06.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609176564399-20201225_02_06.jpg>)
*Toyota C+pod EV, *Toyota**

![message-editor%2F1609176580989-20201225\_02\_20\_s.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609176580989-20201225_02_20_s.jpg>)
*Toyota C+pod EV, *Toyota**

![message-editor%2F1609176593184-20201225\_02\_09\_s.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609176593184-20201225_02_09_s.jpg>)
*Toyota C+pod EV, *Toyota**

Those may sound inadequate for keeping up with highway traffic, though with a top speed of just 37 mph, the C+pod isn't really highway-suitable in the first place. For countries where Toyota will actually sell the C+pod, though, where intercity transport doesn't rely on cars, that's hardly an issue. No need for a vehicle that does it all when it doesn't *have* to do it all.

![message-editor%2F1609179331125-20201225\_02\_01.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content-b/message-editor/1609179331125-20201225_02_01.jpg>)
*Toyota C+pod EV, *Toyota**

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## Author
James is a former staff writer for The Drive. He has changed the conversation around electrification, debunked misinformation online, and become a prominent hunter of what he calls "automotive cryptids."

### Author social links  
[Instagram](<https://instagram.com/jamesgilboy>)

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