Toyota concept vehicles (2000–2009)
On the exterior, the Pod could express its own feelings with coloured LEDs - red for anger, yellow for happy, blue for sad - and an antenna that wags, much like a dog's tail.
A new track - using segments from the Clubman Stage Route 5 course - was created which involved 6 Pods driving through the pitlane backwards before stopping in a special area for several seconds before being allowed to resume racing.
Toyota used a feature called Glass Vision, which is a full width, dash mounted screen which offers entertainment and navigational functions to both driver and passenger.
The body was made from fibreglass, with carbon fibre panels and numerous air scoops leading to the engine bay.
Designed in Japan and built in Italy, ccX features strong sweeping lines, sharp surface edges, a tall sloping roofline, rounded front and rear contours, two large power sunroofs, and a vertical glass rear panel, that can be retracted into the bumper.
Inside, ccX features a metal-and-rubber waterproof floor that includes four drain plugs for easy cleaning and see-through bucket seats, as well as mesh netting that can comfortably accommodate four passengers.
A blue instrument cluster is mounted in the center of the dash for reduced driver fatigue and better visibility, and a seven-inch multi-display monitor displays DVD, navigation, and audio functions.
It had a high roof, a low, flat floor and the door slid back on rails so that even disabled passengers could enter.
The front passenger seat could be folded up and slid forward under the dash to make even more room for wheel chairs or cargo.
The Rugged Youth Utility was a 4WD concept vehicle that was first shown at the January 2003 North American International Auto Show.
The Alessandro Volta is a concept car developed in the collaboration of the Japanese manufacturer Toyota and the Italian design company Italdesign Giugiaro.
[49][50] The concept vehicle named after Alessandro Volta, the Italian physicist who invented the battery (and the namesake of the volt unit of measurement), was officially unveiled at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show as a study of a hybrid electric sports car.
[52][53][54] The MTRC is a response to the youth's cultural interests, such as mobile phones, video games, computers and internet play.
[58] The Camry TS-01 was also a precursor to the launch of TRD Australia, to create performance enhanced versions of Toyota vehicles, similar to FPV (Ford), Ralliart (Mitsubishi) and HSV (Holden).
Its major features are the stylistic changes and the supercharged 1MZ-FE engine making 185 kW (248 hp) and 320 N⋅m (236 lbf⋅ft), 28 and 12% higher than the respective power and torque figures of the production Camry.
The car has a 5-speed manual transmission, together with a heavy duty clutch adapted from the Toyota Team Racing rally Corolla.
Carbon fiber surfaces were substantially used in the cabin and Optitron gauges replaced the instrumentation of the production Camry.
[61][62][63] In Japan and Europe it was called the Fine-T.[41][61] The Fine-X uses a fuel cell hybrid system which drives four independent motors - one in each wheel.
According to interior designer Laurent Bouzigue, the Hybrid X is supposed to be a very sensory experience, and the ambiance is linked to the passengers' sight, sound, touch, and smell senses.
[82][83][84][85] The concept features four seats accessed by two large sliding doors, and windows made of green glass, designed to reduce ultraviolet and infra-red light.
Through their relationship to the vehicle, drivers are encouraged to reevaluate themselves and, furthermore, to turn their attention to society and nature, producing a healthy rhythm for both mind and body."
Toyota says the car "creates a feeling of harmony with the surrounding environment by using sliding doors with a low window that lets you view nature at ground level, as well as headlights with light distribution control that take into consideration pedestrians and vehicles coming in the opposite direction.
The Toyota FT-HS is a hybrid sports car concept introduced at the January 2007 North American International Auto Show.
[92][93] The A-BAT is the first Toyota to have a mid-gate allowing cargo longer than the standard four-foot bed to extend into the cab (like a Chevrolet Avalanche or Honda Ridgeline).
The Toyota Winglet is a concept self-balancing two-wheeled personal transporter similar in form and function to the Segway PT and the Honda U3-X.
It runs on a 2.4-liter inline-four engine, where two carbon-fiber-wrapped tanks hold the 8 gallons of natural-gas, at a maximum of 3600 psi, giving the CNG concept a 250-mile range.
[112] The FT-86 rides on a modified Subaru Impreza platform with 101.2-inch wheelbase, with length, width, and height measuring 163.8, 69.3, and 49.6 inches, respectively.
[114] The concept is fitted with brakes from Advics, a joint venture company formed between Aisin Seiki, Denso, Sumitomo Electric and Toyota.
[118] At the March 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Toyota Europe announced that the production version of the vehicle will be released in November 2011.
The flat-four, longitudinal engine layout would also be fully coherent with the model policy and mechanical characteristics of all Subaru cars of the past 30 years.
