New Toyota Supra Powertrain Details Emerge
Toyota’s sports car partnership with BMW will give birth to a Supra successor that, according to the latest rumors, will use a complex hybrid powertrain.
Japanese magazine Holiday reports that the new car will use a hybrid system with three electric motors and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Two of the electric motors will sit in the front of the car powering the two front wheels while the third motor will be integrated into the engine and transmission to power the rear.
Toyota showed a version of that system last year during the Frankfurt Motor Show in its Yaris Hybrid R concept and again in more advanced TS040 Hybrid Le Mans prototype. As you might remember from past coverage, the Yaris Hybrid R uses a supercapacitor to store energy. That system is supposed to be the same equipment being packaged with the new Supra for a total system output of about 350 horsepower.
When Toyota revealed its FT-1 concept, which is widely thought to be a preview of the Supra, the Japanese company said it was targeting a curb weight somewhere around 3,000 lbs. Toyota is expected to reveal its new sports car sometime before 2017 as is BMW with its new platform-sharing sports car that will replace the current Z4.
GALLERY: Toyota FT-1 Concept
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[Source: Holiday via Motoring]
Luke is an energetic automotive journalist who spends his time covering industry news and crawling the internet for the latest breaking story. When he isn't in the office, Luke can be found obsessively browsing used car listings, drinking scotch at his favorite bar and dreaming of what to drive next, though the list grows a lot faster than his bank account. He's always on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> looking for a good car conversation. Find Luke on <A title="@lukevandezande on Twitter" href="http://twitter.com/lukevandezande">Twitter</A> and <A title="Luke on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/112531385961538774338?rel=author">Google+</A>.
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They are going to exclude a lot of potential buyers IF they go with a set up like this. A lot of tuners and just sports car enthusiast that will use the car for track days and driving event do not want a set up like this.
For some reason, this reminds me of an old Studebaker Hawk.