| Subaru Hybrid Tourer Concept | ||
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(Tue 13 Oct 09) Subaru's stand at the Tokyo Show later this month will feature the new Hybrid Tourer Concept. The large cabin with its gullwing doors are interesting, but the more significant parts are hidden from view.
As with all current production Subarus, this one has four-wheel drive, and the engine - a two-litre turbo petrol in this case - is a "boxer" (with two cylinders sprouting horizontally from each side of the crankcase rather than all four pointing straight up, leading to a reduced centre of gravity). There are also two electric motors, fed by lithium-ion batteries, and this car is therefore the first hybrid to include a boxer engine in its powertrain. The further back of the two motors is the one used for low-speed running when performance requirements mean that the engine is not required. The forward one spends most of its time acting as a generator for the batteries, but it also works as a power booster, particularly when the car is climbing uphill. "The Hybrid Tourer Concept perfectly demonstrates our commitment to environmentally-friendly innovation," says Subaru UK Managing Director Paul Tunnicliffe. "This vehicle shows that our engineers are capable of developing something which is both technically advanced and stylistically enthralling, hinting at our future design direction." |
