Autocar confidential: Toyota believes it can fly, Suzuki gets its hustle on and more

In this week's round-up of automotive gossip, we chat hybrids with Mitsubishi, get swept up on Toyota's mad e-broom, talk Kei cars with Nissan and more.

Mitsubishi's hot air 

Mitsubishi showed a gas turbine range-extender powertrain at Tokyo, but don’t get your hopes up about it making production. Engineering boss Hiroshi Nagaoka said the technology has been in development for only a short time and is a long way from proving itself in areas such as heat management and control.

Toyota sweeps Tokyo

Bizarrest moment of the Tokyo show was Toyota boss Akio Toyoda unveiling an e-broom. Although no technical details were given, it appeared to have an electric wheel at the end of the brush that propelled a man on rollerskates around the show stage. “It doesn’t fly yet,” said Toyoda, ruefully, as the slightly bemused audience looked on…

Suzuki's side hustle(r)

Japanese cars have some unusual names and the oddest unveiled at the show was probably Suzuki’s Hustler. It’s not a dodgy mag or a conman, but rather a Suzuki Jimny crossed with an MPV. It looked charming, albeit without the desirability of the Jimny off-roader.