Is This the 2010 Toyota Prius?

Prius gossip is alive and well, and along with the chatter come renderings of what the totally renewed 2010 model may look like when it debuts at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this coming January.

This seemingly real “photograph” might be a leaked image of the upcoming Prius, or for that matter a discarded design for a previous facelift of the current car. Then again it may just be the result of someone with excellent design skills and a lot of spare time on his or her hands.

The car shown integrates a number of current Toyota F1-inspired design cues such as the deep front valance with wide air foil-like air inlet and badge-capped protruding proboscis that extends up over the hood, mimicking the fuselage of the racing car. The recessed vertical fog lights also follow the brand’s latest styling trends, while the Maxima-esque headlamp clusters are particularly creative.

Making us seriously question the validity of this rendering is the car’s relative sameness to the current model in most every other way. It looks about the same size, and the 2010 Prius is to be larger, and its overall shape makes it look more like a well executed mid-cycle upgrade rather than a completely updated model.  The remade 2010 Prius is expected to be a more dramatic visual statement, not an evolutionary design like this rendering. Still, it’s possible Toyota doesn’t want to “mess with success” and something less futuristic, like this example, is in store. Either way, we’re not likely to find out until the cover comes off in Detroit.

As for the interior image, it certainly looks like a stock vehicle. A spacey looking dash-top organically forms into the instrument cluster, which from this angle appears to be centrally mounted, while the centre stack protrudes into the cabin like some other Toyota products have in the past, although this one floats above an open storage area below that also features dual-side access to power outlets, before connecting to the armrest-cum-storage bin to the rear. It’s an innovative idea that adds credibility to this overall design.

Whether or not this version of the world’s best-selling hybrid is real or just the figment of some creative soul’s imagination can’t be verified just yet, but stay tuned for any new information on what is turning out to be one of  the more talked about new model introductions this year.