Category: Toyota

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Toyota Supra, BMW Z4 sports cars to share platform

Toyota Motor and BMW will develop a common platform for two sports car models that will become the first products to come out of a comprehensive tie-up the two inked in January 2013.

The automakers will use the same platform as early as 2017 for the BMW Z4 and a planned revival of the Toyota Supra, a model popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The vehicles will have different body designs and be sold under their respective brands.

The car will have a front-engined direct-injection four cylinder turbo and electric motors driving all four wheels. The supercapacitor system will be derived from technology first seen in Toyota's Hybrid Supra HV-R in 2007 when it won the Tokachi 24 hour race and more recenly Toyota's Le Mans LMP1 race cars.

BMW will supply the 2.0 liter turbocharged engine combined with electric motors produced by BMW at its engine plant in Munich while a Toyota-developed electronics system is expected to provide torque-vectoring capability.

The partners also plan to discuss joint manufacturing and parts procurement. BMW is a leader in building cars with lightweight carbon fiber bodies, but the technology is expensive, leading many to focus on whether Toyota will adopt it.

Toyota's tie-up with BMW is aimed at making use of the German carmaker's luxury-vehicle expertise while lowering costs. Toyota and BMW also jointly work on research for lithium-air battery expected to be more powerful than the lithium-ion batteries used in many hybrid and electric vehicles,

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Toyota Prius Plug-in TRD sets Nürburgring lap record [VIDEO]

Three-digit records are nothing new at the Nürburgring, the go-to location when car manufacturers want to prove the pace of their latest models, but until now, these feats have always been about miles per hour, not miles per gallon.

Toyota turned tradition on its head when it took its Prius Plug-in hybrid to the track, setting out to show not how fast the car could go, but just how little fuel it could use on a single lap of the notorious Nordschliefe.

A first-of-a-kind Nürburgring record was in its sights, but with no help from any clever technical tweaks or trick bodywork. Instead, Toyota designed a genuine, real-world test with the car running in traffic during a public session and complying with all the circuit rules, including the 60km/h minimum average speed.

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Next Generation Toyota Prius To Get Electric All-Wheel Drive

Automotive News reports the next generation of Prius, set to begin production in December of 2015, may get an all-wheel drive option in addition to its default front-drive layout.

“I think we will possibly do it,” said Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of powertrain development, speaking about all-wheel drive. Saga also says that there will be two different battery options available with the 2016 Prius, a low-cost nickel-metal hydride unit or a more expensive lithium ion pack.

The choice of two batteries could possibly deliver a low-cost version using the tried-and-true nickel-metal hydride technology that Toyota has used since it launched the Prius in 1997. And for those wanting longer electric-only driving range, a larger-capacity lithium ion pack could be offered as an upper trim model with a higher price.

The 2016 Prius will ride on a new platform, making the car lighter, smaller and more efficient. ”The batteries will be renewed. Everything will be revised. And I think we will come up with a fuel economy that will surprise everyone,” Saga said.

It looks like the top selling Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV may get some AWD competition.

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Next Generation Toyota Prius To Get Electric All-Wheel Drive

Automotive News reports the next generation of Prius, set to begin production in December of 2015, may get an all-wheel drive option in addition to its default front-drive layout.

“I think we will possibly do it,” said Koei Saga, senior managing officer in charge of powertrain development, speaking about all-wheel drive. Saga also says that there will be two different battery options available with the 2016 Prius, a low-cost nickel-metal hydride unit or a more expensive lithium ion pack.

The choice of two batteries could possibly deliver a low-cost version using the tried-and-true nickel-metal hydride technology that Toyota has used since it launched the Prius in 1997. And for those wanting longer electric-only driving range, a larger-capacity lithium ion pack could be offered as an upper trim model with a higher price.

The 2016 Prius will ride on a new platform, making the car lighter, smaller and more efficient. ”The batteries will be renewed. Everything will be revised. And I think we will come up with a fuel economy that will surprise everyone,” Saga said.

It looks like the top selling Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV may get some AWD competition.

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Toyota i-ROAD: Tokyo Trials [VIDEO]

Toyota's i-ROAD compact electric personal mobility vehicle takes to the streets in Japan's capital.

Participants in the limited public trials share their feedback on the ultra-compact, fun to drive i-ROAD, which is available in five colors.

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Toyota Hybrid Takes Record Breaking Pole at Le Mans

Toyota Racing's Kazuki Nakajima set a new Le Mans qualifying lap record to put the #7 TS040 Hybrid in pole position for the 82nd running of the famous 24-hour endurance race this weekend.

It was the first pole position ever for a Japanese driver and lowered last year's pole position time by more than half a second.

Nakajima, who shares the #7 car with Alex Wurz and Stéphane Sarrazin, scorched around the 13.629km track in 3 mins 21.789 secs to record Toyota's second pole position at Le Mans.

The feat highlighted the performance and efficiency of the 736kW Toyota Hybrid System - Racing which set the fastest qualifying time despite a 25 per cent reduction in fuel consumption compared with last year's car.

The #8 car of Anthony Davidson, Nicolas Lapierre and Sébastien Buemi will start Saturday's race from third on the grid.

As well as starting from first place on the grid, the TS040 Hybrid enters this year's race with two wins from the opening two FIA World Endurance Championship races.

This is the fourth pole position for Sarrazin who achieved the honour in 2007-09 and who has been runner-up three times, including last year. He praised the team for its work in setting up the #7 car and Nakajima for a "brilliant lap".

"It is promising for the race because we feel so confident in the car," he said. "We can push on every corner, every lap. Like that everything is positive. The race will be very long, we know that we have to be very calm and not attack it like a short sprint."

The 24-hour race begins at 11 p.m. tomorrow AEST.

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500hp Plug-In Hybrid BMW Supra / Z7 due 2019

Following reports in November about Toyota testing a BMW i8 at their Mt. Fuji proving grounds as a pre-lude to a joint venture sports car, a report now claims BMW and Toyota are already developing a second sports car which, like the i8, is a mid-engine model that will battle the Porsche 911.

According to Car Magazine, the model is codenamed "Silk Road 2" and will spawn a BMW Z7 and Supra. The cars will reportedly be developed by BMW in Munich and is expected to be launched in late 2018 or early 2019.

While development is reportedly at an early stage, the magazine says the car will be a plug-in hybrid featuring a twin-turbo 3.0-liter six cylinder engine, a 150 bhp (111 kW) electric motor, a small battery pack between the seats (again like an i8) and a seven-speed dual clutch transmission. This setup will reportedly enable them to have a combined output of 400-500 bhp (298-372 kW).

If everything pans out, the cars will weigh less than 1650 kg (3637 lbs) and cost approximately €90,000 ($122,010 / £72,720).

Source: Car Magazine

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Aero Comparo! Tesla Model S vs Volt, Prius, Leaf, Mercedes [VIDEO]

Car and Driver gathered five slippery cars to study their drag and lift properties at a wind tunnel to determine which brand did the best job optimizing its car’s aero performance.

The overall winner was the Tesla Model S by virtue of its larger 25.2-square-foot face and lower 0.24 drag coefficient, which yield the same 6.2-square-foot drag area as the Prius. Low drag is a tougher challenge with a larger frontal area, hence the Tesla’s overall win.

Source: Car & Driver

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Toyota Prius now 2nd Best Selling EV in US

Hot on the heals of news earlier this week that Nissan's Leaf has set a new monthly sales record of 3,117 sales in May, comes official sales figures from Toyota showing the Plug-In Toyota Prius is now the 2nd best selling EV in the US.

Toyota sold 1,741 Prius PHV in May, up 180% on the same month last year. That knocks the Chevy Volt back to 3rd place with 1,684 sales for May.

The number of Plug-in Prius sales are all the more remarkable considering it is available in only 15 states.

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Toyota Improve hybrid fuel efficiency by 10% with SiC Inverter

Toyota in collaboration with Denso has developed a silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor for use in automotive power control units. Toyota will begin test driving vehicles fitted with the new PCUs on public roads in Japan within a year.

Through use of SiC power semiconductors, Toyota aims to improve hybrid vehicle fuel efficiency by 10 percent under the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's JC08 test cycle and reduce PCU size by 80 percent compared to current PCUs with silicon-only power semiconductors. SiC power semiconductors have low power loss when switching on and off, allowing for efficient current flow even at higher frequencies. This enables the coil and capacitor, which account for approximately 40 percent of the size of the PCU, to be reduced in size.

PCUs play an important role in hybrids and other vehicles with an electrified powertrain: they supply electrical power from the battery to the motor to control vehicle speed, and also send electricity generated during deceleration to the battery for storage. However, PCUs account for approximately 25 percent of the total electrical power loss in HVs, with an estimated 20 percent of the total loss associated with the power semiconductors alone. Therefore, a key way to improve fuel efficiency is to improve power semiconductor efficiency, specifically by reducing resistance experienced by the passing current. Since launching the “Prius” gasoline-electric HV in 1997, Toyota has been working on in-house development of power semiconductors and on improving HV fuel efficiency.

As SiC enables higher efficiency than silicon alone, Toyota CRDL and Denso began basic research in the 1980s, with Toyota participating from 2007 to jointly develop SiC semiconductors for practical use. Toyota has installed the jointly developed SiC power semiconductors in PCUs for prototype HVs, and test driving on test courses has confirmed a fuel efficiency increase exceeding 5 percent under the JC08 test cycle.

In December last year, Toyota established a clean room for dedicated development of SiC semiconductors at its Hirose Plant, which is a facility for research, development and production of devices such as electronic controllers and semiconductors.

In addition to improved engine and aerodynamic performance, Toyota is positioning high efficiency power semiconductors as a key technology for improving fuel efficiency for HVs and other vehicles with electrified powertrains. Going forward, Toyota will continue to boost development activities aimed at early implementation of SiC power semiconductors.

Toyota will exhibit the technology at the 2014 Automotive Engineering Exposition, to be held from May 21 to May 23 at the Pacifico Yokohama convention center in Yokohama.