2013 Audi A3

Toyota design chief gives insight into future lineup

 
7 2,965 views May 18, 2009
Follow Nelson

2010 lexus hs 250h hs250h hybrid sedan 028

2010 lexus hs 250h hybrid sedan live 14

2010 lexus hs 250h hybrid sedan live 14

Enlarge Photo
Gauging the future of automotive design is a tough and tricky business. Anyone that's ventured through the winding courses of Disney's famed Autopia knows exactly how easy it is to get things wrong. But Toyota is charting its own course to the future, and it's using efficiency as its North star.

A quick glance through the Toyota and Lexus lineup reveals a few interesting similarities. Take the new 2010 Toyota Prius and the upcoming 2010 Lexus HS 250h, for example. Though they are targeted at very different segments of the market and don't really look much alike, they feature some of the same key elements, including the forward-mounted badges on the nose, creased corners, low grilles and the new Toyota/Lexus catch-phrase of the day: 'free form geometrics'.

This last idea, like the others, is centered around extracting the greatest efficiency from the design and packaging constraints of the automobile. Free form geometry is the marriage of organic and geometric shapes to bring out pleasing designs that are also highly efficient.

The Prius and HS both feature many of these design elements for the obvious reasons: they are dedicated hybrids. "Prius is a showcase. We can try many design cues here first," Toyota design chief Wahei Hirai told Automotive News. "This has to be symbolic."

Another unique feature that incorporates many of these themes is the flat area before and after the wheel wells, especially noticeable on the front end of the new Prius. This flat area smooths out airflow around the wheel, minimizing drag. All of this comes together on the Prius to yield a coefficient of drag of just 0.25 - the best in Toyota's range. The HS 250h manages a nearly-as-sleek 0.27cd.

With such rewards for smart exterior design, expect all of these elements to begin making appearances in other Toyota and Lexus designs as new cars, SUVs and crossovers roll out. Looking even further toward the future, Hirai envisions a day when all cars are grille-less.

Given the current cooling requirements of combustion-type engines, however, that day hasn't yet arrived. Even electric powertrains generate some heat, so cars may never be fully able to do away with some form of frontal air inlet.
2010 Lexus HS 250h hybrid sedan
2010 Toyota Prius first drive

HI-RES GALLERY: 2010 lexus hs 250h hs250h hybrid sedan 028

HI-RES GALLERY: 2010 toyota prius first drive 017




Tags:
Posted in:
 
Contribute
Send us a tip Comment Contact the editor
Follow Us

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

  • Posting indicates you have read this site's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • Notify me when there are more comments
Comments (7)

  1. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 5/18/2009 9:35pm PDT

    If the Lexus HS is a symbol of things to come, I will never buy anything from Toyota or Lexus
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  2. ma_Vinzer avatar Vinzer Posted: 5/19/2009 12:41am PDT

    Not pleasing so much as it is repulsive.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  3. ma_saabfan avatar saabfan Posted: 5/19/2009 11:09am PDT

    I am thoroughly disappointed with the Toyota designer team. Can you please inject some passion into your appliances. Come on I see better looking vacuum cleaners.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  4. ma_james avatar James Martinez Posted: 5/19/2009 11:45am PDT

    in toyota-land does efficient=sexy? they want to get rid of all air intakes? do they have any insight into the fact that the air intakes are often part of the beauty in the design? also, they mentioned that the hs and the prius don't look similar - they look practically identical
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  5. ma_solo84 avatar solo84 Posted: 5/19/2009 1:00pm PDT

    for a hybrid vehicle, this is very attractive.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  6. ma_Tony avatar Tony Posted: 5/19/2009 5:11pm PDT

    Toyotas aren't bought out of desire, but need. Passion is not part of their design language, unfortunately I think they actually have no idea what personality is. After all, after 20 years of mechanical perfection, Lexuses still try to ape S-class sedans, rather than forge its own way and wipe out the Germans with stunning designs that rewrite the industry.

    Giving credit where it is due, they do, as a rule, make the most dependable vehicles on earth. They should admit to themselves what they are great at doing, and getting others to do what they don't do to well, since they can afford it anyhow. Let the Italians design everything from the Corolla to the Celsior (Lexus LS), including the dashboards, and just build them without altering the design details to "make it their own."

    Fact is, around the world, reliability is very important, but if that was all that sold a car, then Mercedes, Fiat, Renault and Citroen would have long been dead. They aren't.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

  7. ma_lopsided avatar lopsided Posted: 5/22/2009 6:56am PDT

    That Lexus HS is extremely disappointing. Flabby body of a Prius, grill swipped off a Ford Fusion, oversized badge and the backside of an IS. What a friggin' mess.
     
    Post Reply
    Vote
    Bad stuff?

 

Have an opinion?Join the conversation!

Connect with Facebook

Motor Authority. Now with your friends.

Discover stories your friends read.
Share stories more easily.
You control what you share.
Learn more

Research New Cars

Go!

More from High Gear Media

 
 
MotorAuthority
  • Follow Us
  • Twiiter
  • Facebook
 
 
© 2011 MotorAuthority. All Rights Reserved. MotorAuthority is published by High Gear Media. Stock photography by Homestar, LLC. Send us feedback.