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I have always been a speed junkie no not drugs but cars and if anyone would have told me I would interested in a economy or ecological car like today’s hybrids I would of said that they were a few cards short of a deck. But thanks to Italdesign-Giugiaro I found that I can have my cake and eat it too.

The Toyota Volta is hot, it not only looks space aged sporty but has the muscle to back it up. At 408Hp this 1250Kg puppy can rocket from 0 to 60 in just 4.0 sec. That’s not too shabby when you consider that took the hemi Supper Bee with 425 Hp 6.3 sec to do the same, but it weighed 1863 Kg. and got about 7MPG opposed to the over 30MPG that the Volta gets.

The new concept hybrid sports car from Toyota will definitely be a head turner. When you see this car the first thing that may come to mind is the Lamborghini Diablo; only the Volta is eco-friendly. Let us take a closer look at this little lady. The Toyota Volta is a hybrid which means that it is powered by electricity as well as gasoline so its name is fittingly inspired by the Italian inventor of the battery, Alessandro Volta. This is only appropriate since this vehicle does run on a type of battery.


The car was built on a carbon fiber chassis and features a four wheel drive hybrid powertrain of the Lexus RX 400h which combines a 3.3-litre V6 gasoline engine with two electric engines. The gasoline engine is fitted behind the rear axle and motion is ensured by two electrically powered engines, one per axle thereby securing all-wheel drive and enhanced safety. As such, this epoch-making mechanical layout paves the way to eliminating the traditional transmission and gearbox longitudinal encumbrance. Operating electronics enable the power transmitted by the electric motors to the wheels to be modulated, thereby rendering superfluous the gear/clutch unit. Housed under the lightweight, carbon-fiber chassis are the batteries, weighing 70 kg. The combination gas and electricity develops a maximum output of 300 kW (408 bhp), which enables the car to accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.03 seconds and reach the top speed of 155 mph. The fuel tank that holds only 13.7 gallons that will allow it to go 435 miles when filled up. The car seats three people abreast and features drive-by-wire controls. In order to obtain maximum driving seat adaptability, Fabrizio Giugiaro also turned a keen eye to dashboard design. Dashboard information has been stripped down to the essential: speedometer, speed indicators and fuel level confirmed; temperature indicators eliminated; navigator and stereo Toyota interfaces installed. The Volta sets the standard in classic supercar livery: compact volumes, downward flattened trim, tapered bonnet, minimum rear overhang and truncated tail. The dragon-fly winged doors are upward hinged in the front riser. Ample aeration in the grill design, slanting lamps fitted in the fender motive on an upper plane to the ‘aquiline’ route followed by the bonnet’s center point. In the body side, a sturdy belt band yet again stretches upward to the rear wheel shaft enabling two ‘claw-marks’ to be grazed as air intakes, whilst fitted in the Grecian motive traced on the horizontal-base traverse allowing glimpses of the carbon fiber chassis, are two thermal engine exhaust pipes.

The body side and the upper tail merge and flow upward towards where the roof and rear window meet: from there is triggered a rather singular truncated tail profile, surmounted by the spoiler’s embossed motive protecting the optic unit. The tail’s lower band allocates the engine’s cooling air outlets.

Like I said this car is hot it has combined economy and ecology with performance and style while retaining its sporty looks. I don’t know if the world is ready for this technology but I cannot wait to get my hands on one of these beauties.

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