New Lexus IS

Lexus presented the new IS at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit. We will have our chance to see it in Europe for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show next week. As a car enthusiast, I believe the following is a must watch video: an interview of Junichi Furuyama, Chief Engineer of the New Lexus IS. Check it out after the break.

Editor’s note: We’re welcoming a new blogger to our midst. Carlos joined Toyota Europe at the end of 2012 and is currently working in the Marketing Management Division. We’ve invited him to share his insight of Toyota through his daily experiences. There’ll be plenty of great bits of news and views coming from Carlos so keep checking back for more!

The video is one of the first times for me to see the Chief Engineer of a car manufacturer clearly describes how competitor benchmarks were set as the new generation of the car is developed. They not only take into account the competition within the segment, but also the starting point: “What is ‘fun to drive’?”

In order to answer this question, a lot of analysis had to be done.

First, our engineers had to define what the meaning of ‘fun to drive’ before testing rival cars against the IS at Toyota’s Higashi Fuji proving grounds. Using several parameters like steering, breaking or speed sensation, the team could determine how ‘fun to drive’ the new IS was.

Toyota European Proving Ground (Zaventem, Belgium)

However, this type of procedure is not unique for the development of Toyota’s premium brand cars in Japan only. For example, this kind of analysis is also made at Toyota’s European Technical Centre in Zaventem, Belgium.

But Toyota is not only testing when it is required for the development of a car, also to understand market trends. This is what the people from Vehicle Dynamics, one part of our Vehicle Performance Department, are doing.

The amazing thing about this is that they test cars from other manufacturers, to find out in which direction the market is going in terms of vehicle ride, comfort and handling.

Through this, Toyota sets a rank of performance targets which will help to position the product according to the level that they want to reach, giving a final result which appeals and satisfies the customer.

As you know, this is my first blog post. But, if you are as passionate about cars as me, check our next articles about this fascinating world!

Acknowledgements: Vehicle Dynamics Team of Toyota Motor Europe

Toyota European Technical Centre:

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Left to right: Yasumori Ihara (TMC Senior Managing Officer), Takeshi Uchiyamada (TMC Vice Chairman), Herbert Diess (BMW Head of RD and Board Member), Klaus Frhlich (BMW Head for small and medium-sized cars)

This morning we announced a binding collaborative agreement with BMW Group on fuel cell system, sports vehicle, lightweight technology and post-lithium technology. Click through the break for Toyota Vice Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada’s speech.

In December 2011, we announced that we had begun collaborative work with BMW Group, and in June last year in Germany BMW Group Chairman Norbert Reithofer and TMC President Akio Toyoda together announced the signing of a MoU by the two companies. Today, a little over one year since our collaboration began, I’m very happy to be able to announce the signing of official contracts and to provide details.

The four projects signed today contain very exciting content for both companies and for me personally. Directly targeted at current issues facing the automotive industry, these projects hold promise for the future of automobiles.

Left to right: Yasumori Ihara (TMC Senior Managing Officer), Takeshi Uchiyamada (TMC Vice Chairman), Akio Toyoda (TMC President), Dr Norbert Reithofer (BMW CEO Chairman), Herbert Diess (BMW Head of RD and Board Member), Klaus Frhlich (BMW Head for small and medium-sized cars)

Environmental and energy issues are the biggest issues facing the automobile industry today, and I am of the belief that energy efficiency and diversification of energy sources are solutions. TMC has already launched gasoline-electric hybrids, a plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles—all eco-cars matched to their best use in the market. In addition to these, I personally have great expectations for the fuel-cell vehicle as the ultimate eco-car.

Fuel-cell vehicles run on electricity produced from the combination of onboard hydrogen fuel and oxygen taken from the air. All that comes from the exhaust pipe is water. Furthermore, on a full tank, a fuel-cell vehicle can travel as far—if not farther—than a conventional gasoline-engine vehicle. Refueling, also, is just as quick and easy as with a gas-powered car.　So, when it comes to convenience, fuel-cell vehicles and gas-powered vehicles are on par.

However, with current technologies, costs are still high. They will need to come down further for fuel cell vehicles to gain widespread use. For this, we need to put a lot of time and money into development. This brings me to the first of our collaborative projects. Under the BMW Group and TMC agreement to jointly develop a fundamental fuel-cell vehicle system, our companies will bring together their respective knowledge and experience, thereby significantly accelerating the process toward fuel-cell vehicle popularization. We also believe that our collaboration on related aspects of the effort, such as preparing hydrogen infrastructure, will be a great driving force.

In around 2020, we are aiming to complete joint development of a fuel-cell vehicle system aimed at furthering widespread use. Also around that time, TMC aims to launch a fuel-cell vehicle equipped with the jointly developed technologies.

Left to right: Akio Toyoda (TMC President), Dr Norbert Reithofer (BMW CEO Chairman)

The second project is the joint-development of a shared-platform for a mid-size sports car. It is clear that cars must be exciting. Driving one should be thrilling, the design should give you a glimpse of the future, and the environmental performance should be at the highest level.

As such, we have decided to work together on such a car: a car fit to be called “the sports car of the 21st century”. We want to show the next generation the charm of automobiles and the fun of driving. We plan to announce specifications and other details within the year.

The third project is our work on lightweight technology. Making cars weigh less contributes directly to improved fuel economy, handling and safety. If the reinforced composites to be jointly developed by BMW Group and TMC can be brought to market affordably, it could change the future of cars. This technology is also planned to be incorporated into the sports car I previously mentioned.

Lastly, the fourth project concerns joint research of post-lithium-ion battery technology. Our research is progressing with the aim of creating a lithium-air battery, a lithium battery that functions through an electro-chemical reaction with oxygen in the air. The energy density of this battery would greatly exceed that of current lithium-ion batteries.

So, as you can see, these four projects are vital to the future of making ever-better cars. And, as you may have gathered, I personally expect great things—I believe these projects hold promise for the future of automobiles.

BMW and TMC both represent their home nations and are steeped in the traditions of cutting-edge technology and craftsmanship. You can expect many fruits to come from our work together.

TMG Sports 650

Take a seat and listen carefully. Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) has launched a new car… and it’s not a race car.

You’d have thought with an FIA World Endurance Championship team to develop, as well as entry-level motorsport cars like the GT86 CS-V3 and Yaris R1A, the TMG team would have its hands full.

Not so. The latest high-performance car to roll out of the workshop doors in Cologne is a high-octane, high-end road car concept; the TMG Sports 650. More after the break.

Taking all the technical know-how built up over three decades at the top of motorsport, plus an endless passion for high-speed fun, a dedicated TMG team has spent the last 18 months or so developing this very special vehicle.

TMG Sports 650

Based on the Lexus LS 460, the TMG Sports 650 has been significantly modified to deliver incredible performance whilst retaining the original’s feel of luxury and comfort.

With a target top speed of 320km/h from its 4,969-litre V8 bi-turbo engine, this car offers serious performance; something TMG test drivers have already experienced in testing on the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

But it’s not only in terms of power where this car has been heavily modified. Using the two wind tunnels which TMG deployed to create our race-winning FIA World Endurance Championship car, the development team has refined the aerodynamics.

TMG Sports 650

Combined with modified multi-link suspension, coil springs and Sachs dampers, the TMG Sports 650 delivers incredible handling and smoothness of ride. And it’s pretty handy at stopping too with monster BREMBO Carbon Ceramic brake discs.

But why is a motorsport company like TMG now trying its hand at road car development?

Well, in principle it’s nothing new, with special TTE or TMG editions of Toyota and Lexus road cars leaving Cologne at a regular rate in the last decade or so. The scale of the development and performance upgrade is certainly more significant and this is for a simple reason: to showcase the technical capabilities at TMG.

TMG wind tunnel

With the knowledge and processes developed in various motorsport disciplines, not to mention state-of-the-art facilities, TMG has all the ingredients to deliver extremely high-performance road cars. We want to show this to the world.

Essen may be far from the centre of the motoring world for most of the year but here in Germany, in December the spotlight shines on this industrial town around 90km north of TMG. We’re looking forward to another moment in this spotlight; after the podium champagne in the WEC it’s time for TMG’s road car development to get some attention.

Who knows exactly where this path will end, but with cars like the TMG Sports 650 around we’ll certainly get there pretty quickly.

TMG Sports 650 Gallery

TMG GT86 CS-V3 Gallery

TMG Yaris R1A

Window to the World concept

Last year, we introduced our ground-breaking interactive augmented reality vehicle concept called “Window to the World”. The concept was first unveiled at the Our Future Mobility Now event in Brussels hosted by the European automobile manufacturers association, ACEA. One year on and our innovative concept has just been awarded the prestigious Core77 2012 Design Award! More and a video of the concept in action after the break.

The concept is the brainchild between engineers and designers from our own Kansei Design Division at Toyota Europe and the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design (CIID). Our Kansei gurus at our European R&D centre in Belgium work on what we call “emotional design”. What they do is creating products appealing to the emotions generated when we touch or feel certain things.

Using the window as a drawing canvas

So what does this interactive window do? Well, the concept came about when our designers decided to create something that’s not just pretty to look at but something that can bring genuine value to passengers in a car.

The concept allows back seat passengers to not only use the window as a transparent canvas to draw objects, but also allowing them to interact with the surroundings.

With the first feature, passengers can draw on the window using their fingers. The resulting image will then interact with the outside world as the car moves along.

The window becomes a digital screen

But, our designers wanted to do more and decided that, using modern technology, the window can become a digital screen. Passengers can use their fingers to pinch-zoom into the surroundings and get a better look at something further away.

Can you imagine that? Instead of squinting to see if that’s a sheep or another furry mammal, all you need to do is pinch-zoom like on your smartphone and you can quickly gain a new perspective.

Translating the world around you

Next up is to bringing in a little educational element. As the car passes a tree, for example, the passenger only needs to touch the point as the tree passes the window and the car will automatically figure out what it is and say it back in the local language.

On a road trip around the continent, you’ll definitely be able to learn something new everyday.

Distances displayed

“How far is that church to us?” Well, that question can also be answered by our Window to the World concept. Simply point and touch the window and the landmark’s distance to the car will be estimated by the system and information displayed right on the screen.

If you have a panoramic roof in your car, our clever concept has one more neat little trick up its sleeve. At night, the roof can display virtual constellations and information about them transparently overlaid over the actual sky as a backdrop.

Cool, right? Well, it’s still a concept for now, but we are moving into phase two of the project thanks to the great feedback we’ve gotten back from all of you, and the millions of fans who watched our video last year. Keep an eye out here and you’ll be the first to know!

Here’s a funny clip from The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from last year. It gave us all the giggles in the office.

And there’s more! Earlier this year, General Motors launched what they called “Window of Opportunity”. GM describes it as: “turning [sic] car windows into interactive displays capable of stimulating awareness, nurturing curiosity and encouraging a stronger connection with the world outside the vehicle.”

Notice something? Yup, we know… But, you know what? We all felt that our Detroit friends were quite sporting, especially naming their project after ours. It’s never bad for some friendly competition and I’m sure it’ll help challenge our designers and engineers from both sides of the Atlantic to come up with something really mindblowing!

GRMN Sports FR Concept on track

The all-new GRMN Sports FR Concept is a twincharged 320 PS track performer with its roots in the recently launched road-going Toyota GT86 sports coupe.  The concept, born as a design study for motorsports enthusiasts around the world, will be on display at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed (June 29 – July 1). In the mean time, here’s some more info and a full gallery from our recent photo shoot at Zolder Circuit in Belgium.

GRMN stands for GAZOO Racing tuned by Meister of Nürburgring. For those not familiar with GAZOO Racing, it’s a vehicle development and motorsports programme about communicating the pleasure, passion and dream of motoring to a new generation. The GAZOO Racing programme comprises of several events throughout the year, including a recent double class win at the 24 Hours Nürburgring race.

GRMN Sports FR Concept with sports body kit

The concept shares the same 2.0-litre flat-four boxer engine with the road-going model, although the targeted maximum power output is now increased to 235 kW (320 PS) with the addition of both a turbo- and supercharger. Torque is also increased to a maximum of 421 Nm, all of which gives the GRMN Sports FR Concept outstanding acceleration through the concept model’s broad powerband.

The concept promises superior handling performance with its dedicated GRMN-tuned suspension and larger brakes. The concept also comes with 18” wheels, wider tyres in the rear and a quad-exhaust layout, reinforcing its track performance credentials. The GRMN Sports FR Concept also sits closer to the ground than its road-going counterpart, at just 95 mm.

Roll cage, bucket seats, four-point harnesses

A specially designed and unique sports body kit is fitted to the GRMN Sports FR Concept giving it a more dynamic on-track visual presence thanks to its wider and more angular front and rear bumpers. The race-specific rear spoiler also serves to enhance the concept model’s aerodynamic performance.

The interior is also equipped with a roll cage, bucket seats and four-point racing harnesses. The centre console also sees the addition of turbo boost, water and oil temperature gauges.

Full concept vehicle specs is available here.

Full photo gallery

Ready and waiting	Wide body kit	In the pits
Side angle	Pit lane shot	Action shot
Track performer	New gauges

Toyota and Lexus at the 2012 Brussels Motor Show

Brussels’ 2012 Auto Salon draws crowds; hybrids attract huge interest on Toyota and Lexus stands

There was a sense of relief as car horns resonated in the halls of the Brussels Expo around 7 PM on Sunday evening to mark the end of this year’s edition of the Brussels Auto Salon. After standing on their feet and answering thousands of customers’ questions, the hosts and hostesses of the various automakers’ stands were tired but looked satisfied: more than half a million people visited the show, a clear demonstration that automobiles are still close to the hearts of Belgian customers.

And close to their wallet, too… With the recent change in the benefit-in-kind tax on company cars, many people came to look for alternatives to their current vehicles in order to optimise their tax bill.

Lexus CT 200h

“People came to our stand and looked at our hybrids,” says a Lexus attendant. “But after they visited our competitors’ stand, they came back to Lexus more interested than ever. One person even said he would leave his big German sports car aside and buy a CT 200h. With this new tax scheme we have a clear competitive advantage.” Many small business owners made up this crowd, as well as employees of companies offering company cars as a benefit, and fleet customers. Amongst the vehicles that attracted the most attention at Lexus were the RX 450h and the CT 200h.

On the Toyota stand, it was the same trend. Whilst a colleague and I were visiting last Thursday evening, a fog horn resonated four or five times within the 15 minutes we were there – each marking the sale of a new car. The star of the show was the last concept of the GT 86 (also shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September). But, people were very much drawn to the new Yaris (the hybrid concept was on hand) and the Prius line, with the Prius+ being in the target of much interest.

“It’s big,” said one customer. “One drawback is that you cannot take out the third-row seats completely,” commented another. According to a Toyota attendant, there could be as much demand for the five-seater version available in Japan and the USA as for the seven-seater, the only version that will be offered in Europe starting this spring.

Toyota Prius+

With over 500 liters of boot space with the third row down, it still makes for a very spacious hybrid. In general, customers were very interested in our hybrid vehicles, even if the economic uncertainty could be felt in their hesitation to go beyond information-gathering and towards an actual purchase – a tendency that all auto manufacturers noticed at the Auto Salon.

Walking around the rest of the show, it was nice to see so many people take interest in cars – with an equal mix of women and men, and many children collecting bags, posters, and memories. I snapped this picture of a little boy playing with an engine displayed at the Autoworld Museum’s great display of several historical cars.

Child playing with engine

Two of my own sons didn’t want to go to the show. “I don’t care what our next car is,” said one of them… The third one came, though, and loved all the high performance cars and for some reason had a thing for German cars. In the end, though, his imagination was completely captured by what is probably one of the most homely cars of the show: the little electric Mia – made by a small French car company from the Charentes region and featuring a centrally-positioned drivers’ seat and steering wheel at the front with a sliding door like a van.

“It’s the coolest thing!” he said. Strange? Perhaps not – I find that kids are more and more interested in cars that “do not pollute” and cars that will enable them to do all the things they do without getting in the way, like bring stuff, listen to music, play on their electronic gadgets, pick up friends but park easily and, well, “not pollute”.

Toyota Touch Life

Unsuprisingly, I guess, a study published just last week indicated this exact trend. Put it simply, Generation Y (that’s youngsters aged 19 to 31) want hybrids brimmed with technology. Perhaps we’re on to something with our hybrid strategy and the introduction of more and more in-car connectivity, such as Toyota Touch Life.

Are you part of this new trend? Tell us what you think.

FCV-R Concept

Toyota today joined as a founding member of the new UK H2 Mobility industry group to plan out a road map for the launch of hydrogen powered vehicles by 2015. Here’s what our colleagues at Toyota UK had to say about it.

Commenting on today’s announcement by the Government, Didier Leroy, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Europe said:

“In our quest for sustainable mobility Toyota is investing in a range of environmentally friendly technologies to address key issues such as energy supply and transport emissions. Alongside Hybrids, Plug-in Hybrid Electric and pure Electric Vehicles, we believe that Fuel Cell Vehicles, or FCVs, will play an important role in realising a low carbon society.

Mark Prisk MP refuels Toyota's FCHV-adv

“We plan to commercialise Fuel Cell Vehicles in 2015 and to achieve this goal a hydrogen charging infrastructure will be required. That is why we welcome the establishment of the UK H2 Mobility Group to confirm the potential for hydrogen as a low carbon fuel in the UK. A close and positive working relationship between vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure companies and Government is of vital importance.

“We look forward to mutual and constructive dialogue with members of UK H2 Mobility from which all participants can mutually benefit. We are strongly motivated to make our contribution to the further enhancement of leading edge environmentally friendly technologies in the UK”.

Toyota Environmental Leadership in Sustainable Low Emissions Transport.

Toyota is one of the world’s leading automotive companies and has a proud history of environmental leadership. It firmly believes that it must continue to make the environment a priority management issue for the automotive industry, if the automobile is to remain a positive force for progress. Only in this way can automakers successfully meet the challenges of the future, including CO2 reduction, air quality and energy diversity.

Toyota strives for zero emissions at every stage of a vehicle’s life cycle, from initial research and development, through design and customer use through to final disposal. Now more than ever it is committed to developing advanced and innovative technologies to make the break from dependence on oil, which is key to securing a low-carbon society.

Toyota joins UK H2 Mobility group

Toyota’s strategy of developing greener vehicles involves the simultaneous exploration of a wide variety of technological solutions including Hybrids, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, pure Electric Vehicles and Fuel Cell Vehicles. These different applications of full hybrid technology will each play their role and co-exist in the future, in line with Toyota’s principle of “the right car at the right place at the right time”.

Toyota has been researching fuel cell technology and hydrogen storage for almost 20 years and in 2002 its first generation of Fuel Cell Vehicles underwent field tests in Japan and the US. Most recently it revealed its FCV-R Concept (pictured, top), a vision for a practical saloon-type fuel cell vehicle that is scheduled for launch in 2015.

Within Toyota’s broad-based hybrid power strategy Fuel Cell Vehicles will provide a practical solution for long distance driving and for powering larger sized vehicles, Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles for mixed ranges and pure electric systems will be best suited to short journey, urban driving. For more information visit www.toyota-global.com.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) made Nürburgring history on 29 August by setting a new electric vehicle (EV) lap record on the fearsome Nordschleife track.

TMG set itself a challenge to lap the legendary German track within eight minutes using only electric power. That was a tough target considering only relatively few road-legal super cars have ever achieved broken the eight-minute barrier.

Testing before the event gave us hope but, as anyone who has experience with the Nürburgring can confirm, you trust the Eifel weather at your peril. So, the first focus on arriving at a very quiet Nordschleife was the weather. Large patches of blue sky calmed the nerves but dark clouds are never far away in this part of the world.

There was no rain but there was certainly tension in the air when Jochen Krumbach rolled the TMG electric vehicle out of the tent to start his record lap. For many of us witnessing the event, this was the first time we had seen an EV driving flat-out on a race track; none were disappointed.

Jochen Krumbach on his record lap

Despite the lack of engine noise, the EV makes a startling impression as it blasts past. Unusually for a high-performance car, you see the EV much before you can hear anything and this gives a feeling of unreality. When it passes, observers are hit by a quiet cacophony of air turbulence – you can literally hear the aerodynamics.

Then it’s gone; a brief squeal of the tyres coming through loud and clear a split second later and the record lap has begun. A very nervous wait follows as the clock ticks towards eight minutes but then there’s a flash of white, red and black. The clock stops: 7mins 47.794secs – a new EV lap record.

More pictures and official TMG press release on Toyota Europe Mediasite:

http://corporatemedia.toyota.eu

A new EV lap record on teh Ring

TMG electric vehicle

Do you associate speed, excitement and on-the-limit driving with electric vehicles? Thought not. But Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) is working hard to change that and this month we hope to surprise a few people.

TMG will attempt to set the electric vehicle (EV) lap record at the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife, using a two-seater sports car powered by TMG’s own 100% electric powertain. The current record is just over nine minutes but we want to break the eight minute barrier, which seems within reach based on testing.

Maybe not everyone is yet convinced by the fun factor of EVs. We hope to demonstrate that green-thinking technology can also deliver emotion and excitement. After all, we will drive a road-legal car to the most famous race track in Europe, set a new lap and then drive back to the garage again with zero emissions. Quick and dirty is the past, fast and clean is the future.

Can it be the future of motorsport? That is an important question for TMG and we believe the answer is yes. The electric powertrain in TMG’s EV car is ideal for any single-make championship so maybe a lap record is only a first step towards an electric future for top-level motorsport.

Log on at the end of the month for full photo and video coverage of the lap record attempt, just don’t reach for the volume; EVs are not only clean, they are almost silent too. And that’s even when lapping faster than some of the most famous sportscars in the world…

In addition to running the class winning race-prepared LFA, GAZOO Racing also sprung a surprise by entering a GAZOO Racing CT in the SP4 class during VLN3. The CT racer is based on the road going full-hybrid Lexus CT . The only difference is that the 1.8-litre engine was swapped with a more powerful 2.4-litre powertrain. The GAZOO Racing CT finished second in its first time out in the SP4 class, showing that the innovative full hybrid technology and lower fuel consumption is a major advantage for endurance racing!

The #119 LFA finished ninth overall, second in its class, just behind the class and overall winner, a Ferrari 458. The LFA racer posted a best lap time of 8:29.611, showing a step forward from the initial VLN1 race lap time of 8:36.922.

Last weekend, on May 28, GAZOO Racing participated in the VLN4 race with two LFA racers. They achieved pole and second during qualifying in the SP8 class, 17th and 23rd out of 140 cars. Unfortunately, during the opening lap of the race, the #111 LFA was forced to retire from the race after being hit by another competitor. After a grueling four hours, the #119 LFA won its class with a massive two lap lead and finished 17th overall.

LFA #119 @VLN4

The next race is the VLN5 at the famous Nordschleife circuit on June 11, followed by the moment we’ve all been waiting for: The Nürburgring 24-Hour.

For more information about VLN races, please visit www.vln.de

More pictures of both races should be soon available.