For the past few months, no automaker has seemed quite as energized as Toyota. Determined to bounce back from disaster-filled years, the Japanese behemoth has launched several successful new models and a passel of attractive concept cars such as the beautiful Lexus LF-LC. This is the Toyota FT-Bh, a hybrid concept at the Geneva Motor Show that gets 134.5 mpg. They can’t all be winners. A decade after the Prius first arrived, no other automaker has managed to produce hybrid vehicles in volumes approaching Toyota — a tribute to the company’s head-start in technology and business acumen. Some of that can been seen in the FT-Bh, conceived to show how to build a Toyota Yaris-sized hybrid for maximum efficiency without using exotic materials that would drive up prices. Weighing a scant 1,700 lbs., and sculpted for aerodynamics, the FT-Bh’s power comes from a 1-liter, two-cylinder engine — a smaller mill than what you find in large motorcycles.
Toyota FT-Bh, a hybrid concept at the Geneva Motor Show that gets 134.5 mpg. They can’t all be winners. A decade after the Prius first arrived, no other automaker has managed to produce hybrid vehicles in volumes approaching Toyota — a tribute to the company’s head-start in technology and business acumen. Some of that can been seen in the FT-Bh, conceived to show how to build a Toyota Yaris-sized hybrid for maximum efficiency without using exotic materials that would drive up prices. Weighing a scant 1,700 lbs., and sculpted for aerodynamics, the FT-Bh’s power comes from a 1-liter, two-cylinder engine — a smaller mill than what you find in large motorcycles.
Toyota?s new FT-Bh concept is a vehicle designed to take the efficiency of full hybrid vehicles to new heights. Making its debut at the Geneva motor show, it is an ultra-light concept, weighing less than 800kg, which demonstrates what can be achieved in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in an affordable family supermini.
Toyota?s new FT-Bh concept is a vehicle designed to take the efficiency of full hybrid vehicles to new heights. Making its debut at the Geneva motor show, it is an ultra-light concept, weighing less than 800kg, which demonstrates what can be achieved in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in an affordable family supermini.
Those figures are from a vehicle that is close in size to today?s Yaris, at 3,985mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,400mm tall, with a 2,570mm wheelbase. The emissions are about half the level of those produced by a 1.0-litre Yaris.
In their mission to achieve the best possible fuel economy and emissions, the design team focused on five key areas: reducing weight; driving resistance (including aerodynamic and tyre performance); powertrain efficiency; thermal energy management; and electricity savings
Toyota recognises that a real-world reduction of total global vehicle CO2 emissions can only be brought about if an affordable, ultra-low emissions vehicle can be manufactured and sold in sufficiently high volumes. That made it important that the concept did not require exotic, expensive materials or complex manufacturing procedures, but used instead only those that are already commonly available in the motor industry.
Design
?Ecomotion? was the theme for styling FT-Bh, with its shape demonstrating a new approach to bodywork design. Key panels, such as the roof, are formed to represent the way fabric can be stretched taut between fastening points, to reflect their ultra-light weight.
Toyota recognises that a real-world reduction of total global vehicle CO2 emissions can only be brought about if an affordable, ultra-low emissions vehicle can be manufactured and sold in sufficiently high volumes. That made it important that the concept did not require exotic, expensive materials or complex manufacturing procedures, but used instead only those that are already commonly available in the motor industry.
The way in which the cabin merges seamlessly into the rear of the vehicle, with an uplifted rear bumper and chevron-shaped corner elements, helps achieve the best possible aerodynamic performance and deliver a drag coefficient of just 0.235.a
