Not Avalon, Aurion!

Toyota unveiled its new generation Australian big-six at the Melbourne Motor Show. Dubbed the Aurion, the car will debut in production form later in 2006 and partner the all-new but four-cylinder-only Camry.

The new car is powered by a 3.5-litre V6 which Toyota says will deliver more than 190Kw and 330NM. There will even be a supercharged performance version of the new engine, installed into an appropriately beefed up hotshoe version of the four-door sedan. The Aurion FPC (Future Performance Concept), which was also on display at Melbourne, points to the look and feel of the production version of this variant.

Toyota says the Aurion model line-up will cater for "a wide variety of customer tastes in the private, fleet and prestige market segments."

According to Toyota, the Aurion nameplate comes from the ancient Greek word for “tomorrow”.

Though based on the new Camry (launched at Detroit MAIAS in January), the Aurion has been restyled and re-engineered to suit Australian buyers. The new car features exterior styling themes penned by Toyota Styling Australia’s (TSA) lead designer, Nick Hogios.

Compared to the Avalon it replaces, the new car is substantially more aggressively styled. The company will increase local production to accommodate what it believes is the excellent export potential of the new car. China, the Middle East and other ASEAN markets are targets for Aurion.

“The Aurion ensures that Toyota Australia has significant separation between our locally manufactured four-cylinder medium [Camry] and six-cylinder large cars,” TSA Chief Designer Paul Beranger said.

“This vehicle will allow us to grow our share of the large car market. Australian retail customers and fleets alike are looking for an alternative to the big two in this segment.

“Aurion has what the large car buyer demands: muscular proportions and a performance package that will be very competitive with local rivals," Beranger said.

Toyota’s only showed the exterior of the car at Melbourne -- the windows were blacked-out on both standard and FPC models.

For more about the Aurion (including the in-depth story behind its development) check out March issue of Wheels magazine on sale February 22. For Wheels' own breaking news on the Aurion and other Melbourne models check out its website here.

And look out for more Melbourne Show news today, tomorrow and over the weekend at CarPoint and Melbourne Motor Show's official website here.