(22:27:08 Feb. 28, 2004)
2004 Geneva: Hybrid-powered Toyota coupe has Italian flair



By LUCA CIFERRI | Automotive News Europe


Hybrid technology does not have to be boring -- that's the message Toyota aims to deliver after teaming up with an Italian auto designer.

The Toyota Volta hybrid-powered coupe combines innovative Japanese technology with Italian flair. Toyota gave Italdesign-Giugiaro its latest hybrid engine, which is destined for the Lexus RX400.

Italdesign created a 4300mm long coupe and named it after Alessandro Volta, the Italian scientist who invented the electric battery.

The Volta has a total output of STET/408hp from a combination of an internal combustion engine and two electric motors mounted on the front and rear axles. The car can reach a top speed of 250kph and accelerates from 0 to 100kph in 4.06 seconds.

"The hybrid engine can provide great power and great performance, so I tried to pen a body that would express this dynamism," said Fabrizio Giugiaro, head of Italdesign's styling and model division, who was responsible for the Volta's look.

The Volta is no gas-guzzler. It can travel 700km on just 7.5 liters of gasoline.

There are no transmission shafts or exhaust tubes that need a central tunnel in the car since the 3.3-liter V-6 engine is mounted near the rear axle.

This allowed Italdesign to design a car with a flat floor that has room for three passengers in a coupe that is slightly narrower than 2 meters.

Italdesign, in addition to the styling, added a carbon-fiber chassis and racing-style front and rear suspensions.

Toyota supplied the entire hybrid propulsion system.

Brembo provided its ceramic composite-material brakes.

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