Camry coupe for US market

By ALASTAIR SLOANE

See what happens when stylists and engineers turn the Toyota Camry sedan into a two-door.

The result is the Camry Solara, a left-hand-drive coupe and convertible for the American market only.

The model was unveiled at the New York Motor Show and will go on sale in the United States in August.

Its name is rooted in "solar", but in this case it has more to do with Spanish for "noble lineage" than Latin for "sun."

Toyota could be accused of taking an ancestral liberty here, considering the two-door is only the second-generation Solara.

Whatever, the Japanese giant is describing it as the most American of any Toyota to date.

"All aspects of the Solara's product planning, technical and styling development has taken place in the United States in less than two years," said Toyota North America executive Don Esmond.

"The final creation is sportier, more powerful, more refined and larger, inside and out, than its predecessor."

The Solara will be built in Georgetown, Kentucky. It shares its four- and six-cylinder engines and automatic gearbox with the Camry sedan.

It comes with three trim levels (SLE, SE and SE Sport). The coupe gets six airbags, the convertible four. Both cars get four-channel anti-lock brakes. Satellite radio and a satellite navigation is optional.