Gear

Toyota's FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept: "Eco + Emotion"

You asked for it, you got it — a hybrid that’s an object of lust, not a token of virtue. Calty Design Research of Newport Beach has spent a year creating Toyota’s FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept. You can catch the unveiling on 7 January in Detroit. In the meantime, look and drool. Did we mention […]

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``You asked for it, you got it — a hybrid that's an object of lust, not a token of virtue. Calty Design Research of Newport Beach has spent a year creating Toyota's FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept. You can catch the unveiling on 7 January in Detroit. In the meantime, look and drool. Did we mention that this is a hybrid?

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Kevin Hunter, VP at Calty Design Research: "Toyota hasn't had a sports car since the Supra was dropped in 1997. We need some emotional punch in our lineup, a halo product."

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Hunter: "It's a new kind of sports car for the 21st century. Eco and emotion in a sports car concept with a performance target of 0-60 mph in about 4 seconds and a price tag in the mid-$30,000 range."

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Scott Oldham reporting for Edmunds:

A 3.5-liter V6 engine would deliver most of the thrust, and it doesn't require too much brainpower to connect the dots to the DOHC 3.5-liter V6 in the Lexus GS 450h, which already makes 292 hp at 6,500 rpm. You wouldn't have to look too far to find an electric motor to deliver the rest, because the water-cooled, 650V electric motor used in the GS 450h makes 197 hp at peak output, though this is just for seconds at a time.

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[Source: Edmunds]