Toyota has us really confused with its FCV concepts and the hydrogen fuel-cell powered production car it will lead to with a launch “around 2015”. On one hand, last week, it showed prototypes of a camouflaged FCV prototype that strongly resembled the Toyota Sai / Lexus HS250h twins, and now, it has unveiled a new concept that looks far more conceptual than the original FCV-R study from 2011…
The new FCV Concept that will be displayed at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show later this month, has a different and seemingly less production ready design than the previous study – it even lacks exterior mirrors, replacing them with cameras and screens.
It has also grown in dimension with the new FCV measuring 4,870mm long (+35mm), 1,810mm wide (+20mm) and 1,535mm high (+25mm), while the wheelbase is 2,780mm or 80mm longer than that of the 2011 FCV.
Under the aerodynamic body, the four-seater FCV sports a revised version of Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell technology that combines a modified variant of the Prius’ Hybrid Synergy Drive system with light-weight FC Stack and two 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tanks
According to Toyota, the new FC stack “has a 3kW/l power output density, which is more than twice that of the system previously used in the FCHV-adv concept, and a maximum power output of at least 100kW”.
Previously – as in August, Toyota had said that the system returned a maximum driving range of about 420 miles or 676 kilometers, but in this latest release, the Japanese carmaker said that the vehicle has a “driving range of at least 500 km [311 miles] and refueling times as low as three minutes”.
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