Toyota luxury car division Lexus has claimed another hybrid vehicle ‘first’ – it said the new GS450h is both the world’s first hybrid luxury sedan and the first hybrid with a front engine and rear wheel drive.
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The powertrain combines a 3.5-litre V6 engine with a high-output, permanent magnet electric motor- both driving the rear wheels. Combined power output will be over 300 horsepower, with the 0-to-60mph acceleration time claimed to be under six seconds.
The electric motor is capable of delivering maximum torque, immediately upon demand and Lexus said this “unique” power delivery characteristic is most noticeable, and most useful, during 30-to-50 passing and merging maneouvres.
The automaker describes the result as “a level of acceleration performance similar to a V8 engine, with combined fuel economy in the high twenties, a level more typical of a two-litre four-cylinder compact sedan, along with one of the best EPA emissions ratings in the industry”.
Visual differences distinguishing the hybrid from the rest of the fully redesigned, recently launched, Lexus GS line include special 18-inch light-alloy wheels and a power meter instead of a tachometer.
The new hybrid sedan reaches US showrooms in Spring 2006. Expect availability in other major Lexus markets such as Japan (where Toyota sells a hybrid version of its luxury Crown sedan) and Europe, too.
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