Wednesday 7th August 2013

Toyota Hybrid-R concept

Yes, 'Toyota', 'hybrid' and 'PistonHeads' on the same page shocker!

---

Ping! 'Toyota says 'trybrid' this August!' And another press release goes straight from inbox to waste basket without being opened...

'Exciting new concept for road and track' Really?

In case you were wondering - and you probably weren't - Toyota dealers are promising 'a pleasant surprise' for hybrid sceptics willing to take a test drive in a Prius or one of the two Auris Hybrid variants this month. And the pay-off for this automotive lobotomy? You'll get your car cleaned while you're out. Pass the bucket and sponge, I'll do it myself and skip the hybrid experience, ta.

Ping! 'Frankfurt Motor Show first news: debut of new Hybrid-R Concept!' Another one for the bin? Actually perhaps not, even if it's perhaps the shortest press release in history:

"Toyota will showcase an exciting new concept for road and track at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, featuring Toyota Hybrid System-Racing (THS-R) technology.

"THS-R technology has been used in the TS030, Toyota's FIA World Endurance Championship car, which achieved second place at this year's Le Mans 24 hours. More information on the concept will be available in the coming weeks."

And that's it.

Concept hybrid inspired by this, not Prius

Now if the words Toyota and hybrid have your head full of greenwashed eco piety, CVT-linked Hybrid Synergy Drives and the very antithesis of all that PH stands for ... you'd be half right. But the Toyota Hybrid System-Racing is rather different to that in the Prius and Auris Hybrids, the LMP1 TS030's 530hp 3.4-litre V8 getting a 300hp electric boost to the rear wheels from regenerative energy stored under braking in a 'super capacitor' next to the driver. Good enough to give the Audis a run for their money (almost) at Le Mans this year, the Davidson/Buemi/Sarrazin finishing runner up at this year's 24-hour.

How does THS-R relate to a 'a concept for road and track' exactly? We're not sure yet. A GT86 with a 100hp electric boost to the rear wheels? It'd be an unexpected response to the 'not fast enough!' doubters. And have us considering popping down to the Toyota dealership to bag that free car wash.

 

 

[matbat]

This is the sort of Hybrid I'd like to see. Using it for performance! The Honda CR-Z could have been so much more if they used the IMA Hybrid attached to a screaming V-tec to give it a definite power boost.

[Aaron W]

i see what toyota wanted to do make the hybrid more desirable but myself i would never buy a hybrid

[lockup]

Aaron W said:

i see what toyota wanted to do make the hybrid more desirable but myself i would never buy a hybrid

Never? Ever?

[marshall100]

I think my Prius, it's tax avoidance, and 60mpg compliment my forester turbo, ignis sport, and two quad bikes quite nicely.

Just because I drive one doesn't mean I like to sniff petrol frequently. I'd go for a sport one if it appeared on my company car list.

[anonymous-user]

If you have ever been unlucky enough to experience re-generative braking on the back wheels of a road car then you'll know why that's a pretty bad idea! (hint: high CofG and no downforce)

[Fire99]

Not that Hybrid lights my fire but F1 should be given a 300hp regenerative boost instead of its current modest output. Would bring the power back up somewhere near where they should be.

[mitch78]

Hang on. Am I getting this right?

This new hybrid technology is Pistonheads-worthy, because it's so good, it can *almost* keep up with a diesel..?

Pistonheads has changed...

Edited by mitch78 on Wednesday 7th August 10:59

[Krikkit]

Fire99 said:

Not that Hybrid lights my fire but F1 should be given a 300hp regenerative boost instead of its current modest output. Would bring the power back up somewhere near where they should be.

Next year's power train will deliver about 150hp through KERS, but the switch to fuel flow-rate control means that power is pretty limited, they should match what they have now.

[MrTappets]

I wonder if Toyota feels in danger of losing ground to Tesla over the next few years?

[gofasterrosssco]

Not sure a GT86 would ever get or need an extra 100bhp from a hybrid system. This would just add excess weight to a package already not quite as light as hoped..

However a small / light / compact (not often associated hybrid systems) supplimentary system similar to the recently featured mk1 Honda Insight drivetrain, that provided and extra 40 bhp and 40 lb/ft through the rev range and allows an overall increase in engine efficiency would seem to me to be more credible than a "full fat" hybrid than could operate on electric only power (the Insight couldn't)

[AnotherClarkey]

MrTappets said:

I wonder if Toyota feels in danger of losing ground to Tesla over the next few years?

Toyota certainly take Tesla seriously - they are a strategic partner of Tesla and have worked on several collaborative projects including the factory/production line for building the Model S.

[Falling Down]

I am on my 4th Lexus, the most recent being a hybrid RX. I was a little sceptical at first, but I love it. It may not be typical PistonHeads fodder, but as an all round family car, it is pretty much the perfect car for us. With a 3.3L V6, a 165BHp motor at the front and a 65 bhp motor at the back - it shifts, but gives me more than 30mpg, a high level of refinement, smooth power with instant availability, and good winter traction. Not everyone's cup of tea, but for me, I love it. The difficulty comes to finding a decent replacement for sensible money, as these now start at £45K, and there is alot of quality metal (new and used) at that price point.

I confess that if I was shopping for a small car, I would like something more hot hatch than shopping basket, and the current small hybrids are concerned more with efficiency than performance. Makes me wonder though if tuners of the future can tweak these cars to give them more oomph than MPG as electrical motors can certainly give a pleasant shove to a car's performance that is more than a match for forced induction. Hybrids - embrace them, they are not a bad thing, believe me.

[Itsallicanafford]

marshall100 said:

I think my Prius, it's tax avoidance, and 60mpg compliment my forester turbo, ignis sport, and two quad bikes quite nicely.

Just because I drive one doesn't mean I like to sniff petrol frequently. I'd go for a sport one if it appeared on my company car list.

...spot on, i wish my daily driver did 100mpg + at a steady 70mph all day long..giving me more money to spend on the MX-5 and 635CSI for the weekends...

[Mark Wibble]

If the BRZ STi has the anticipated power bike, then wouldn't an e-boost GT86 compliment that quite nicely? Similar power but a different way of getting it...

[Axionknight]

Mark Wibble said:

If the BRZ STi has the anticipated power bike, then wouldn't an e-boost GT86 compliment that quite nicely? Similar power but a different way of getting it...

That would be cool yeah, but batteries and the associated equipment are very, very heavy.

[mugwump00]

It's good to see that many other PH readers are far-less reactionary than the micro-Clarksons now writing the site. I'm sure many 'Pistonheads' are happy to not subject their 18mpg show-pony to their daily commute. So why shouldn't the other car really be alternative?

[binnerboy]

Falling Down said:

With a 3.3L V6, a 165BHp motor at the front

that might be acceptable for an american car from the 50s but I mean the ford eco tech can produce the same hp at under half the capacity,

[kambites]

binnerboy said:

Falling Down said:

With a 3.3L V6, a 165BHp motor at the front

that might be acceptable for an american car from the 50s but I mean the ford eco tech can produce the same hp at under half the capacity,

I think you missed the comma and the "a"; although I'm not sure why it would matter anyway.

[chr15b]

isnt this an oxymoron.. the whole point of hybrid is to be better on the environment and use less fossil resources. this is just pointless "look we can make a car that doesnt just use an engine, yet goes as fast as a car that does..."

i dont get it

[kambites]

chr15b said:

isnt this an oxymoron.. the whole point of hybrid is to be better on the environment and use less fossil resources. this is just pointless "look we can make a car that doesnt just use an engine, yet goes as fast as a car that does..."

i dont get it

So presumably you don't "get" the latest batch of hypercars either, since they are almost all hybrids?

The purpose of hybrids in almost all circumstances is to give a good power to economy ratio.