Toyota has been something of a pioneer in terms of mass-market hybrid production cars. The Japanese company has been in the hybrid game since 1997 with its Toyota Prius, but despite having over 15 years of hybrid heritage under its belt, none of the hybrid models have been particularly exciting thus far. The Toyota Hybrid R concept might remedy the situation for Toyota hybrids of the future.
Toyota have taken one of their most modest products, the humble Yaris sub-compact hatchback, and equipped it with the hybrid system from the Toyota TS030 Hybrid – a car that competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, including the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The Toyota Yaris Hybrid-R is driven by a 1.6-litre GRE (Global Race Engine) developed by Toyota Motorsports, coupled with a pair of powerful electric motors. The combustion engine powers the front wheels, while the electric motors send power to the rear axle, effectively creating an all-wheel drive system. A Kinetic Energy Recuperation System (KERS) converts energy generated under braking and stores it in a capacitor instead of a battery, ready to feed up to 73 kW to the electric motors. In total, Toyota say the Hybrid-R has upwards of 294 kW.
It’s highly unlikely that we’ll see a hotted-up Yaris Hybrid-R enter production, but the system could well make it into a contemporary version of the Toyota Supra that’ll take on the likes of the upcoming Honda NSX. The Toyota Hybrid-R Concept will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 10th.
