2007 Toyota FT-HS Concept Fuel Economy

Michael wrote about the Toyota FT-HS concept (the name stands for Future Toyota Hybrid Sports), which was unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show this week. This is Toyota designer’s answer to the question, “What is a suitable and appropriate sports car for the 21st century.”

This crazy-cool looking car puts up some really incredible numbers. The 3.5-litre V6 makes it go really fast, if you consider 0-60 in four seconds really fast, and most people do... A combined output of some 400 horsepower drives the rear wheels. And the sticker-price on this car would run a very reasonable $30,000. Impressive numbers on any vehicle, let alone a hybrid.

While Toyota puts on an entertaining show with the FT-HS, they may merely be showing us something shiny to keep us from focusing on this lightly-reported on number: 25. That’s the approximate fuel economy that the FT-HS is getting. That’s certainly better than what most gas engine high-performance sports cars are getting now, but it’s a far cry from “environmentally sound.”

So even though I like the way they’re thinking by creating a sporty vehicle for the image-conscious treehugger, let’s hope that they continue to work to get a fuel economy number as impressive as the power and price. ::The Toyota FT-HS Hybrid Sports Concept Car. See also: ::Ford Airstream Plug-In Hydrogen Fuel Cell Concept

TOYOTA FT-HS CONCEPT VEHICLE PRELIMINARY SPECIFICATIONS
DRIVETRAIN
3.5 Liter V6 hybrid electric

DIMENSIONS (inches)
Overall Length: 170.27
Overall Width: 73.23
Overall Height: 50.79
Wheelbase: 104.33
Wheels: Carbon Fiber
Tire Sizes: Front 245/35R21 Rear 285/30R21

Standard car article advice: Walk, cycle, carpool, take public transit, car-share, telecommute. Try to live close to the things you need and to where you work. But if you have to own a car, get the most efficient model that fills your needs, drive sanely, combine trips, keep it in good mechanical condition and keep your tires properly inflated.