Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Tokyo Show 2011 Highlights: Toray Teewave AR1 Concept


Up in the supplier hall of the Tokyo Motor Show, Toray (motto “innovation by chemistry”) showed off a quite fetching concept car built to show off its carbon-fiber monocoque technology, dubbed TEEWAVE AR1 (Toray Eco Efficient Wave Advanced Roadster 1).

The Gordon Murray Design bodywork looks like it could be a reskin of a Lotus Elise, but it’s all bespoke and considerably lighter (1865 lb). It’s also a pure electric, powered by a 47-hp/133-lb-ft electric motor and a 16-kW-hr lithium-ion battery pack that can scoot the TEEWAVE to 62 mph in a reportedly leisurely 11 seconds on its way to a 91-mph top speed. Range is said to be 115 miles.

The most interesting part of the car, though, are the 3-piece, carbon-fiber tub (which supposedly has a 10-minute curing cycle time), and the energy-absorbing carbon-fiber front crush box. Hopefully the stylish skin helps gain Toray some notice for this promising weight-saving tech.

Thanks to: Motor Trend

No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...