Toyota 86 hybrid is under development according to report
According to a report, there’s a hybrid version of the Toyota 86 in the works and production is expected to begin sometime soon.
According to Toyota drivetrain engineering senior manager, Koei Saga, the development of the hybrid Toyota 86 – known as the GT86 in the UK – is quite advanced, and will blend several of the manufacturer’s hybrid systems used both on the road and the track.
Saga said that they are quite prepared because Toyota already has a hybrid system that can be used on a hybrid sports car and it won’t be very far into the future till the green light is given.
Introducing a hybrid system could be used to actually increase the 86’s performance. Even though the sports car has a naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine capable of producing 147kW and 205Nm, the 1220kg-model is widely regarded as capable of handling more power. The Japanese carmaker has recently revealed the 313kW Yaris Hybrid R concept as one example of how their proprietary hybrid technology will significantly boost a car’s performance.
According to mister Saga, the company’s current hybrid technology is flexible enough to be applied to a sports car – the Lexus brand uses a hybrid powertrain for their rear-wheel drive GS450h and LS600h as well as the Yaris Hybrid R which is an all-wheel-drive concept.
The report further indicates that a hybrid 86 would still look to preserve the vehicle’s standard manual gearbox in order to maintain driver appeal, but one expected problems associated with adding a hybrid drivetrain would be increasing the vehicle weight.
Even if the hybrid version will be a bit heavier, with a good layout design, the car can still be a fun drive.
One way of compensating for the adding of the hybrid system would be to place the batteries lowin the car and stripping some weight from the base car.
