Toyota launches Camry Atara R special

TOYOTA has put together a sporty special edition of its Camry mid-size sedan just in time for Christmas, packing a claimed $3000 of upgrades in return for a $1330 premium over the $30,490 (plus on-road costs) Altise base variant.

As the name suggests, the Altise-based Atara R borrows styling features from more expensive Camry variants, including a body kit and twin exhaust system that increases maximum engine power by 2kW, to 135kW.

The Atara R also gets a wheel upgrade from 16-inch items to 17-inch alloys with a full-size spare, front fog lights and special edition decals.

Inside is an upgraded multi-function steering wheel and an 6.1-inch screen for the audio system that doubles as a display for the reversing camera.

Toyota will build around 2500 examples of the Atara R at its Altona plant in Melbourne until the limited production run finishes at the end of December.

Available exterior paint colours comprise Diamond White, Silver Pearl, Graphite, Eclipse Black, Wildfire, Magnetic Bronze and Reflex Blue.

The Camry Atara R follows up the recently announced Aurion SE, which is limited to 1500 units and similarly receives a wheel size upgrade, exterior garnish and premium multi-function steering wheel.

Camry sales are up 22.9 per cent to the end of September, with 17,120 units sold in Australia.

The Aurion is not looking so good, with 5877 units representing a sales dip of 14.1 per cent despite the arrival of a new model in April.