In a bid to squeeze the maximum amount of miles from every last drop of fuel, manufacturers are going to new extremes, but Toyota’s eyeball-searing new paintjob might be the most extreme yet.
Although it probably won’t win any beauty pageants, the fluorescent green finish can actually repel infrared heat in a bid to keep the Prius’ battery packs cool and thereby increase efficiency.
Available for Japanese customers, the special Thermo-Tect Lime Green paint scheme is the first use of solar reflective paint in the automotive industry. Minimising the amount of heat the car’s exterior absorbs, the paint is packed with tiny reflective titanium oxide particles.
Reflective titanium oxide particles
The idea is that by reflecting heat off the car’s surface, the interior stays cool, keeping the hybrid car’s batteries at optimum temperature and reducing the need for power-sucking air conditioning.
Toyota spokesman Takashi Ogawa said: “We expect heat increase control of around 5 degrees Celsius when comparing vehicle body surface temperature with and without thermal barrier function under the scorching sun in summer.”
Although the same effect can be had with regular white paint, which reflects around 70 per cent of the sun’s rays, this marks the first time that the same reflective quality has been offered in green.
Cooler batteries, more efficiency
Solar reflective paint has been around since the 1950s, when the US Navy adopted it to reduce the thermal signature of its battleships, while it’s also been used on NASA’s space shuttle.
However, this is the first time that it’s been used in an automotive application, and also the first time that it’s been used explicitly to extend the life of a battery pack.
The Thermo-Tect Lime Green finish costs approximately an extra £240 on top of the price of the Prius, though it’s currently unknown whether it’ll be made available outside of the Japanese market.
