Prior to today's Geneva Motor Show, Toyota had teased a selection of images of its hybrid small car concept, the FT-Bh.
Unveiled today, we can now bring you live images of Toyota's baby, sure to influence the design of subsequent hybrids in Toyota's range.
It was clear from the teaser images that the FT-Bh concept had a Prius-like roofline, designed for maximum aerodynamics. We weren't sure how it would work on a car the size of the Yaris, but seeing the FT-Bh in the flesh it's clear that the car is particularly low to the ground, with interior space maximized in the dramatically curved roof.
The front of the car has been designed to send air up the roof and down the sides of the car, and features blade-like headlights with front wings that stand proud of the car.
Towards the rear, the whole car slopes away to a low rear end, with wavy tail lights sitting vertically, cutting the car off abruptly to reduce drag. The end result is a drag coefficient of only 0.235, against the average 0.29 Cd of other cars in the sector.
What we didn't know before Geneva is exactly what would be powering the FT-Bh.
Toyota lists two powertrain choices, a twin-cylinder, 1.0-liter gasoline engine with electric motor assistance to provide a regular hybrid, and a similar setup utilizing Toyota's plug-in technology for even greater efficiency.
The former has a target fuel consumption of 112 MPG and target CO2 emissions of only 49 grams per kilometer, and the plug-in gets 294 MPG, with CO2 emissions of 19 grams per kilometer - which would put the car far ahead of even Toyota's own Prius C hybrid.
The FT-Bh also includes technology such as electrically-assisted steering, and exhaust gas heat recovery.
Courtesy of High Gear Media
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