New Prius C

[jakobnev]

I really hope they put the speedo in front of the driver and not in the center.

[PaleMelanesian]

Agreed. Scion, that goes for you, too.

[NeilBlanchard]

Well, it does give you a great place to put the video mirror screens?

[bwilson4web]

It is always risky to try and analyze a car from the images but one technique is to scale and combine images to see if we can gain insights otherwise missing. In this approach, I use the tire size and sideboard height as the 'known' units to scale the images between the Prius c and existing 2010 Prius, ZVW30:


This image suggests the "Prius c" is moving towards the Honda Civic or even CRX sized vehicle. It might make more sense to go two-door with a weight savings and improved access. The rear seats being more for small children, dogs, or mostly folded down to make more cargo space.

This shows the "Prius v" and ZVW30:


Now to compare the "Prius v" and "Prius c":


I see the "Prius c" as competition for the compact cars: Jetta, Minicooper and Civic. If the scales are right, it may come in at ~2,500 pounds and I would expect and advanced technology, 1.3-1.4 L engine . . . if Toyota has one in the works. I would also expect to see the inverter and A/C compressor being located outside of the engine compartment . . . say under the driver and passenger seats.

Of course this is all harmless fun and speculation. Folks with more time might make a tracing of each body style and achieve a better view. The size of the "Prius c" driver door does seem too small to support North American bodies.

Bob Wilson

[Vekke]

Originally Posted by k.civic.f4i

what are you referring to here?

Google-kuvahaun tulos kohteessa http://www.autotrader.co.uk/i/CA/news/editorial/autosportshow/ford_focus_wrc_2006_800x600.jpg

So the whole cooling air is channeled out of the engine bay in controlled manner through ducting. I think most air will come though the bonner corners. There can be found even better images inside the bonnet.

Google-kuvahaun tulos kohteessa http://www.mikkohirvonen.com/galleria_focus2007f.jpg

So those fans blow straight out of engine room...

[botsapper]

Prius C could be an eco-fave because of its smaller & lighter two-box design. But there is an opportunity. Using an eco-modder's eye, it needs to be modified. The large curved rear wheel flares seem to be the incorrect terminus for a clean rear Kamm-flow. The same design team (Toyota ED2) for the Prius C, also designed the Toyota iQ, has added 'afterthought' aero fillers in front and behind the iQ's wheel wells.
Instead of their modest fix, I propose a dramatic retro rear wheelcover/tailfin combo to clean up those rear corners.

Yes, tailfins come back!! (w/ de riguer partial Kamm-wing & fun color-coordinated translucent front wheel covers)

[CigaR007]

Originally Posted by botsapper

Instead of their modest fix, I propose a dramatic retro rear wheelcover/tailfin combo to clean up those rear corners.

Yes, tailfins come back!! (w/ de riguer partial Kamm-wing & fun color-coordinated translucent front wheel covers)

I would SO buy your version of Prius C !

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

This image suggests the "Prius c" is moving towards the Honda Civic or even CRX sized vehicle. It might make more sense to go two-door

... and basically build the real successor to Honda's Insight I

If the scales are right, it may come in at ~2,500 pounds and I would expect and advanced technology, 1.3-1.4 L engine . . . if Toyota has one in the works.

Toyota has a 1.33 L engine, light and with low internal friction - 101 HP the 1NR-FE .

But they also have an even lighter 3 in line, the 1L 1KR-FE
The 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010[1] International Engine of the Year in the sub-1.0 liter category.
It gets 99 gr/km CO2 in manual mode in the iQ or 4.30 L/100 km / 54.70 mpg(US) without Toyota's hybrid drive system.

Dial in some more hybrid assist when it needs it, and the smaller displacement will return better FE while cruising than the bigger engine.

[euromodder]

Originally Posted by botsapper

Instead of their modest fix, I propose a dramatic retro rear wheelcover/tailfin combo to clean up those rear corners.

Continuing the rear wheelcovers right into the Kammback and putting the taillights on the edges of the Kammback would get it even closer to the aero template.

With the center piece done in glass, rearward visibility would still be OK.

As all this makes for a rather wide C-pillar, the rear windows could be extended a bit further aft.

[RobertSmalls]

It looks like the Prius C's drag coefficient will suffer a little bit for the sake of rear headroom. We know how to fix that, but it will require adding some length to the car. Put another way, Toyota is building a car with the basic body shape of the CR-Z, not that of the first-gen Insight. The difference is whether the rake angle of the rear glass is optimized for aero at all costs, or allows for practical considerations.

We know the Prius C concept needs to have front and rear bumpers added on before production. The final car will be larger than the one pictured. Also, when you say "normalized for ground clearance", does this account for the fact that most concept cars have 1-3", and will ride 3-5" higher in production?

Anyway, thanks for the analysis.