Toyota-BMW Joint Sports Car to Use LMP1-Derived Hybrid Tech
Race car technologies moving into road cars is nothing new, but using a supercapacitor-based hybrid system certainly is.
The result of a collaboration between BMW and Toyota, which will spawn a new Z4 along with the successor to the Toyota Supra (previewed above in the FT-1 Concept), will reportedly use the same supercapacitor technology that Toyota uses in its Le Mans LMP1 race cars. It allows the car to quickly recharge energy while braking, and then use that energy to provide a performance boost.
Supercapacitors are used because they can charge and discharge energy much faster than today’s lithium-ion batteries.
SEE ALSO: Toyota Yaris Hybrid R Concept Details
A story we first reported earlier this year, as for the rest of the powertrain, Autocar says that both cars will use a BMW-engineered gasoline motor with no more than 2.0-liters of displacement, hooked up to electric motors. Each car will sport a front-engine, all-wheel drive layout.
Toyota has already offered a glimpse of the powertrain with the Yaris Hybrid-R Concept, which used a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 300 hp, and a 60-hp electric motor for each of the rear wheels. Toyota says that the new car will be a departure from this setup, but the basics will remain nearly the same.
When it comes to the body, BMW is leading the chassis engineering and will use many of the lightweight materials employed in the i3 and i8.
[Source: AutoCar]
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Stephen covers all of the day-to-day events of the industry as the News Editor at AutoGuide, along with being the AG truck expert. His truck knowledge comes from working long days on the woodlot with pickups and driving straight trucks professionally. When not at his desk, Steve can be found playing his bass or riding his snowmobile or Sea-Doo. Find Stephen on <A title="@Selmer07 on Twitter" href="http://www.twitter.com/selmer07">Twitter</A> and <A title="Stephen on Google+" href="http://plus.google.com/117833131531784822251?rel=author">Google+</A>
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