Toyota's FT-Bh Concept

[Grendal]

Light aero hybrid concept from Toyota. It kinda reminds me of Neil's CarBen in some ways.

http://green.autoblog.com/2012/03/08...t-geneva-2012/

[palmer_md]

I like it. Too bad they will never build it.

[NeilBlanchard]

You beat me to it! Save the disconnected front fenders and the fanciful interior (though I hope they keep the thin seats!), it looks to be pretty darn good!






Here's the very iffy front end:



A Cd of 0.235, and weight at about 1,800 pounds, 2 cylinder 1L long stroke Atkinson cycle engine, claimed 112MPG -- it all sounds pretty sweet.

[TruthSeeker]

How did Toyota come up with the idea for their new vehicle? On their own or by looking at the Aptera Forum? Either way, it is cool to see an idea you have be used by the major automaker. Good Job! Let's all raise a glass to NeilBlanchard.

[SEGsby]

It is interesting to see how Toyota's designers have ceased to make plastic parts resemble traditional metal body panels: plastic and its shapely properties, are no longer disguised-- but emphasized.

Not sure I'm looking forward to that becoming mainstream practice yet. Makes cars seem more like cheap, disposable appliances, to me.

[NeilBlanchard]

Here's an article with a little more info:

http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...lus-after-2015

[PatQ562]

Hard to believe this goofy, chopped up shape gets such a low drag coefficient, but whatever - my big question is why don't we ever get the fun and efficient interiors shown on these concept cars? I understand that with modern crash standards, "under 1800 pounds" is considered "fantastically light" (!!), but why can't we get the interiors, which you spend more time looking at anyway?

Pat Q

[SEGsby]

If it's not a Safety issue, I wonder if it's a "cultural" one; where most consumers expect big comfy looking, large padded, heavy Lazy-Boy recliner style seats, after spending $30k + dollars on a new vehicle?

In an Aston Martin Forum, I was reading they have a Lightweight Seating Option. But one loses the ability to have the seat heated, side Airbags, and multi-point seating adjustments; so not everyone will be comfortable sitting in them. However, they are significantly lighter than stock...



I think lightweight seating can be very attractive, save weight and make the interior cabin space seem even larger.

[NeilBlanchard]

I agree that the best thing about the FT-Bh interior is the thin but ergonomic seats. Someone on ABG mentioned that it will have thermal insulation in the chassis -- that is a great idea, which is why I've designed the CarBEN EV5 chassis the way I have. Another idea that they seem to have in common is the exhaust air vents that are flush along the trailing Kamm back edge.

I agree that the split wedge front fenders are odd looking from the front, and I hope they can be "joined" to the hood without hurting the Cd. The shape of the FT-Bh is quite aerodynamic, and it could be extended at the back, and the rear track could be narrowed, to gain more interior volume, while staying inside the needed shape.

The truncated Kamm back has only a small penalty in drag, because the remaining part of the tail cone is formed by a pocket of still air. That is why the crisp trailing edges are key to making this work.

Notice too, the asymmetrical wheels that are mirrored on each side of the car. I spy small flexible skirts around the wheel openings -- these would be for sealing the gap as much as possible while driving in a straight line, but letting the tires rub harmlessly when steering. Rear wheel skirts (at least at the top of the opening) would lower drag even more -- but would "upset" many people's sensibilities?

I just spotted the side view video cameras! They are at the top trailing corner of the front fenders.

[PatQ562]

All this and another proposed high performance 2-cylinder engine, like Fiat's TwinAir.

The trick with "selling" a thin-line interior is to bundle it with many other virtues - more legroom, an overall high efficiency vehicle, and let's get the price down! And why can't you have thin heated/cooled seats?

Pat Q