Three concept vehicles highlight Toyota Motor Corporation’s exhibit at the 41st Tokyo Motor Show that opened last Wednesday at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City in Japan.  The exhibit continues its theme from the previous Tokyo Motor Show: “Harmonious Drive — A New Tomorrow for People and the Planet,” expressing the car manufacturer’s commitment to making unique cars that are also in harmony with society.

Taking center stage is the FT-86 Concept which is a compact, rear-wheel drive sportscar.  Alongside the concept sportscar is the Prius “Plug-in” Hybrid  and Toyota’s latest urban electric vehicle, the FT-EV II.

FT-86 Concept
FT-86 or “hachi roku” is a compact rear-wheel-drive sports car inspired by the Corolla-based AE86 sports coupe of the 80’s. 

The car is a product of Toyota’s ED2 styling studio in France and looks similar to the hybrid-powered FT-HS concept car unveiled at the Detroit Motor Show back in 2007.

The FT-86 is powered by a Subaru-derived 2.0-liter boxer engine that drives its rear wheels.  The engine sits lower in the engine bay to aid aerodynamics and help improve its center of gravity for superb handling.

A production model of the FT-86 will be released by 2011.

Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept
For the first time, Toyota uses Lithium-ion batteries to power their best selling hybrid car.  The Plug-in Hybrid Concept is based on the third-generation Prius and is capable of being charged from an external power source such as a household outlet.

Unlike the third-generation Prius which can only run 2 kilometers running solely on electric power, the use of the lithium-ion batteries allow users to run the car on electric power for 20 kilometers giving it better overall fuel efficiency.

With greater use of electric power, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid Concept has better overall fuel efficiency than conventional gasoline-electric hybrids, thereby lowering consumption of fossil fuels, reducing CO2 emissions and lowering atmospheric pollution.

The vehicle can also operate with the battery charged or not, thus it is not completely dependent on battery-charging infrastructures.

The Plug-in Hybrid has a fuel efficiency of 55 kilometers per liter and only produces 42 g/km1 of CO2 emissions. The maximum battery charging time is 90 minutes.

FT-EV II
This compact Electric Vehicle (EV) was specially designed for short distances.  This concept car is based on the idea of a future society in which EVs are common.

The FT-EV II features a high-quality package extremely convenient in urban settings.  The EV II can carry four passengers although it has a body that is more compact than an ultra-compact car.  It also has drive-by-wire technology that enables joystick operation of all controls including the accelerator, brakes and steering wheel.

The EV II Vehicle is designed with a low front nose and auxiliary window below the windshield for outstanding forward visibility.

It has electric sliding doors on both sides to facilitate ingress and egress, particularly in narrow spaces.

Even with its small size, the EV II has a top-speed of over 100 kilometers per hour and a range of 90 kilometers on a fully-charged battery.

The EV II is extremely quiet and gives a comfortable ride with smooth acceleration, thanks to TMC-cultivated motor-control technology, which is part of the hybrid system at  the core of TMC’s environmental technologies.