- by Brian Byrne
Lexus hybrid in 2004
27 March 2003: Upcoming is the world's first hybrid SUV, a Lexus with the standard V6 petrol engine and a pair oe electric motors that provide additional power to the front and rear wheels respectively.
The result will be the performance of a V8 engine with the emission levels and efficiency of a compact car.
The system to be used in the RX300 is an improved version of the model used in the Toyota Prius, the world's first mass-produced hybrid car.
And it will be available in 2004. "It will also be a commercially viable option," says Mark Teevan, MD of Lexus Ireland, who introduced the latest petrol version of the RX300 to Irish motoring journalists this week.
He also said that there will be a diesel option 'in the lifetime of the present car', but that, a first for Lexus, is not in the immediate future.
Modular in design, it can be adapted to many other car sizes, and will also feature in the next version of the Toyota Prius, which is promised to be much more interesting in style as well as being even more efficient than the current model.
A recent study suggests that hybrid technology will be the real 'green' option up until 2020, while 'hydrogen economy' fuel cell vehicles are perfected, and the technology to provide large quantities of hydrogen fuel at low environmental cost is developed.
©2003 irishcar.com