Toyota FT-Bh – Automobiles Review

Toyota FT-Bh Explained [VIDEO]

The Toyota FT-Bh concept already did it’s premiere at the 82^nd Geneva Motor Show but the talk is still on. Here’s a clip of Alain Uyttenhoven, Product Management Vice President of Toyota Europe, explaining the ideas behind this B segment thing of the future.

Apparantly, the FT-Bh started in life as a set of goals – make it compact…er, retain the Yaris-ness nevertheless, keep the CO2 emissions bellow 50g/km but somehow provide an entertaining ride and an agile performance. We’ll have to wait and see about that last bit. Oh, yes. There’s a hint that the FT-Bh is production ready.

What we find particularly interesting is that Mr. Uyttenhoven talks about five key concepts behind the FT-Bh. “Pillars” he calls them. Coincidentally (or is it?), the FT-Bh seems to have five structural Pillars that support the roof. He does get to explain only three of them – lightness (Standing at 785 kg, the concept weighs 25% less than the ongoing Yaris hybrid), slipperiness and smartness of the drivetrain works. Power will come from a 1.0-liter, 2-cylinder Atkinson cycle engine and a pack of Li-ion batteries that will charge an electric motor.

Any ideas about the two other pillars?

httpv://youtu.be/G4mD7v7Alos

Source: Toyota

Video Source: ToyotaEurope via YouTube

March 29, 2012

Toyota FT-BH Concept

Toyota have released some teasers about their latest concept – the FT-Bh which actually means Future Toyota B-segment hybrid. It will be an ultralight supermini, built with clever materials and run by clever technology for the greater good of society.

It is said to weigh no more than 800 kg yet it will be a 5-door. So that leaves around 50 kg for all the other parts (Im not much good at maths). Anyway. One would expect it to be green considering the lightness and the hybrid genes inside and one would be right – 50% less CO2 emissions than a modern 5-door counterpart.

The FT-Bh will also make use of some industry friendly materials for its made. In other words, no animal lives will be sacrificed for the interior, no mahogany will be lacquered for the panels and no liquid gold paint will be wasted on the brake calipers. In fact even the drivetrain will be optimized, or more accurately – downsized.

The FT-Bh is scheduled for a reveal at the 82^nd Geneva Motor Show on the 6^th of March, early in the morning.

Source: Toyota

February 23, 2012

Toyota lineup at Geneva – Hybrids and Fun

The 2012 Geneva Motor Show is as close as ever and to build up the hype, manufacturers are revealing and teasing what to expect during those few days of motoring nirvana (from 8 to 18 March). Toyota has offered a quick summary of what their booth will look like with some clever machines and European firsts – four concepts, a production hybrid and a grand tourer – the Toyota GT 86. It is an almost identical car to the Subaru BRZ which also will be making its own premiere in Europe. It would be interesting to see which one gets more favor. News news from one of the world’s largest vehicle conventions – the Geneva Motor Show which starts early in March and will last for more than 10 days.

To start off we have a nice little Yaris Hybrid which will be a completely new addition to the European public. Here we go:

Yaris Hybrid

Toyota Yaris Hybrid (2013)

The Yaris Hybrid will make an appearance as a production car ahead of its production schedule. Sales in Europe are expected to start in June and at that time the Yaris would be the first full hybrid supermini in Europe. That means that Toyota are aiming to create a whole new customer group that might be interested in absolute efficiency in small, practical and nimble packages.

Toyota GT 86

The critically acclaimed Toyota GT 86 sports coupe will be ready for sale this summer. With its RWD, flat-engined layout, this grand tourer is sure to induce much excitement, adrenaline and smiles upon its arrival. And it’s pretty cheap too.

Toyota FT-Bh

The FT-Bh will be a concept of an ultralight full hybrid city car designed to be efficient in every way. Toyota has gone for the inexpensive way of making it by using commonplace methods of production instead of some grand new materials that are costly to research and develop.

NS4 and FCV-R concepts

Those two concepts will be also shown for the first time in Europe. The NS4 is a value-perfect, plug-in hybrid focused on driving experience without compromises. The FCV-R concept will be the big one though. It will pave the way for Toyota towards mass production hydrogen cell powered vehicles. A saloon-type car might be on the way for 2015.

Toyota diji

The diji concept is a weird looking thing. Imagine those digital frames on which you can upload photos from your computer and then it does slide shows for you. That’s what the diji is – an inside and outside environment made up of a screen. It can change it’s color and can be virtually infinitely personalized with all kinds of interfaces and applications. An interactive future of motoring or a visionary and ambitious idea?

Source: Toyota

February 13, 2012

Tag: Toyota FT-Bh

Toyota FT-Bh Explained [VIDEO]

Toyota FT-BH Concept

Toyota lineup at Geneva – Hybrids and Fun