Toyota's Landspeed Prius Will Be On Display at 2005 Detroit Auto Show

On display at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Toyota's Landspeed Prius gas-electric hybrid vehicle made its debut at Bonneville National Speed Week in Bonneville, Utah as the first production hybrid to race across the Bonneville Salt Flats.

The advanced technology of the Toyota Prius Hybrid mid-size sedan was taken to another level as the editor of Car and Driver Magazine, Aaron Robinson, drove the modified hybrid Prius on the three-mile short course, and set a hybrid record speed of 130.794 miles per hour. Other Landspeed Prius drivers included Prius executive chief engineer Shigeyuki Hori, and Fumiaki Kobayashi, group vice president technical and regulatory affairs, Toyota Motor North America, Inc.

The historical run of the Landspeed Prius has also created a hybrid class to run at Bonneville in the future. An engineering group from Toyota and Toyota Motorsports worked on the Prius for over two months to ready the car for record-setting speed and extreme conditions.

The Landspeed Toyota Prius was outfitted with a stock "Hybrid Synergy Drive" powertrain, which integrates a large electric motor with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine. The transmission final drive gear ratio for the gas engine was modified from the stock 4.23:1 to 3.2, and the inverter voltage was upped to 550 volts from the normal 500 volts. The engine redline was also changed to achieve optimum performance. A transmission cooling system was added to the front passenger area to decrease the temperature of the inverter and electric motors and maximize efficiency. Regular ice was constantly added to the system to prevent overheating. Ambient temperature on the salt flats was nearly 100 degrees with nearly 100 degrees humidity.

Other modifications to the hybrid vehicle included the removal of the interior, the addition of a roll cage and lowering the suspension five inches for improved aerodynamics. The Landspeed Prius also has custom Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks. The inner fender wells were also altered to accommodate the lowered ride height. The Landspeed Prius is equipped with unique 26–inch front and 25-inch rear Goodyear Eagle Landspeed Record tires.