Toyota Prius: FTHS still on the cards?

Akihiko Otsuka seems an unlikely choice to be the Chief Engineer for the third generation of Toyota's Prius. Part-time drummer in a rock band, 'parent' to an Irish Setter named Ray and owner of two Alfa Romeos, Otsuka is not the sort of person you would expect to buy a Prius, let alone oversee its development.

The Toyota engineer developed a fondness for Italian cuisine and cars during a four-year stint in Europe. His two cars are a turbocharged GTV from 1996 and a 156 Sportwagon with the 2.0-litre Twin Spark engine. Here in Australia for the launch of the new Prius, he claimed that driving these cars helped him clear his head.

"During the Prius development," he said, "I would drive one of my Alfas on quiet country roads where I could think without being interrupted."

It's highly likely too that the Italian cars have inspired the more communicative steering in the new Prius.

During his tenure supervising the development of the latest Prius (more here), Otsuka was placed in charge of 2000 staff. His directions were relayed to those staff through 100 lieutenants, who also provided him with feedback from the legion of designers and engineers. Not long into the project, he began to suspect that TMC stood for 'Toyota Meeting Company', since meetings appeared to be the principal output from all the activity.

The Carsales Network asked Otsuka how he felt about future technology that could take the driver out of the driver's seat. Since the Prius offers Intelligent Parking Assist, Dynamic Radar Control, Pre-Crash and satellite navigation -- and there's also Lane Keep Assist available in other markets, but not here -- it would make sense for Toyota to develop an intelligent Prius that could safely reach a destination without a driver behind the wheel. Such a car could, in theory, allow engineers to remove weight associated with crash safety -- assuming it wouldn't crash -- and further improve the car's fuel efficiency.

But it's plain from his views on the whole concept of cars that drive themselves that Otsuka is a great believer in the importance of the human element in driving. Does he believe this because he drives Alfas or does he drive Alfas because he's a driver at heart?

"The car should be fun to drive," he told the Carsales Network.

"Public transport -- like trains -- is in a sense much greener than the car itself," he says, but he's not personally in favour of making private transport an adjunct of public transport. He does accept, as a compromise, that such autonomous systems should be available "on demand" for those consumers who are perfectly happy to leave the task of driving to computer control.

One of the rather bold questions asked of the Japanese engineer during the earlier Q&A session was when Toyota would offer buyers a 'sexy' hybrid.

Such a car exists already. It's the Toyota FTHS, a concept car with 3.5-litre V6 and hybrid-drive system. Toyota brought it to Australia roughly two years ago (more here), but to date, it's still not confirmed for production, we're told by Otsuka.

"It's under consideration," Otsuka said, but denied that the startling two-seater would be one of the two unidentified hybrids in Toyota's 'gang of eight' (more here).

The matter remains clouded in mystery -- for those of us who aren't employed by Toyota. We wouldn't wager money on the FTHS reaching production at this stage, but if it should, we'd lay money on Akihiko Otsuka heading up the development team.

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