Nissan crashes Toyota Hybrid-R party

It was only a matter of time before mainstream car-makers began offering sexier hybrids for the mass market, and now Toyota and Nissan appear to be on a collision course with the naming of their new performance hybrid sub-brands.

Earlier this month Toyota began the drip-feed reveal of its first ‘Hybrid-R’ model, a 300kW Yaris concept, and now Nissan is reported to have trademarked the ‘R-Hybrid’ name, which could soon appear on new electrified performance models from the fellow Japanese brand.

In Nissan’s case, the R-Hybrid logo combines its familiar 'R' graphic with the word 'hybrid' and is incorporated into the company’s established ‘Pure Drive’ badge.

The news has sparked speculation that Nissan is a developing a hybridised version of its giant-killing GT-R super-coupe – a move not unlike that of Honda’s next-generation NSX all-wheel drive supercar, which will employ a mid-mounted V6 backed by a trio of electric motors.

Nissan could apply its R-Hybrid moniker to a range of higher-performance petrol-electric models, but if it chooses to electrify the GT-R it would follow a similar trend towards hybrid supercars led by Ferrari (LaFerrari), Porsche (918 Spyder), BMW (i8) and even Mitsubishi, which is reportedly developing hybrid technology for its next-generation Lancer Evolution.

Nissan’s next-generation GT-R is not due until around 2017, but US magazine Car & Driver speculates the current model could receive a hybrid makeover or be joined by an electrified variant within the next year. In the meantime, Nissan will produce the tyre-frying GT-R Nismo, developed with Williams.

Meantime, Toyota has this week released more information on the Yaris Hybrid-R’s 310kW petrol-electric drive system ahead of the car’s world debut at the Frankfurt motor show on September 10.

The hot Yaris three-door concept is powered by a combination of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder direct-injection petrol engine and a 45kW electric motor (from the Yaris Hybrid not sold here) for each rear wheel, effectively providing four-wheel drive capability.

The same super-capacitor technology developed for use in Toyota's TS030 Hybrid Le Mans car is used to store energy. Toyota says the super-capacitor can store power at a higher density and faster than the nickel metal hydride battery seen in most Toyota hybrid production models, including the Yaris Hybrid.

It can also release energy recovered under braking in shorts bursts, with total power from both motors limited to 30kW for ten seconds per charge in road mode, and the full 90kW available for up to five seconds at a time in track mode, “reflecting the higher frequency of braking and acceleration events during circuit driving”.

Like the rear-wheel motors, a third 45kW electric motor (sandwiched between the engine and six-speed sequential transmission) acts as a generator to supply power to the super-capacitor during braking, but also sends power directly to the rear motors under acceleration – “when engine torque exceeds the grip potential of the front wheels”.

In what’s effectively an electric traction control system, torque distribution (or ‘vectoring’) between the rear wheels is also distributed by the third electric motor.

According to Toyota: “Depending on the radius of the curve, the system can send more torque to the outside rear wheel, allowing higher cornering speeds into the corner (middle-speed curves), apply more braking force to the inside wheel (fast curves), or even brake and accelerate each wheel independently (slow curves) to adjust the yaw effect for a better line, to limit steering angle and understeer.”

Toyota says the Yaris Hybrid-R’s technology is suitable for a motorsport, but its future in a road-going production model is unknown.

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