What Is It?
Toyota Fine-N Concept
What's Special About It?
We warned you, the Tokyo show this year is all about fuel cells and hybrids. So here is Toyota's contribution to the fuel-cell arena. As it happens there is a greatly unintended consequence in fuel-cell vehicles. Without the constraints of a typical powertrain, interior volume can be maximized and exterior design can be more innovative. The Fine-N is roughly the size of a Toyota Corolla but offers the interior space of a Lexus LS 430. This can be achieved thanks to low-profile hydrogen tanks, a thin fuel cell and power controller, and by placing the electric drive motors at each wheel. Also, every system from steering to brakes is all "by wire," meaning there are no mechanical controls to take up valuable space.
Believe it or not, there is a performance advantage to all this; by giving each wheel its own drive motor, handling can be improved as can the overall dynamics of the car simply because power will be easier to manage and distributed more effectively. Safer and more situation-appropriate braking is also a benefit.
As if all the whiz-bang technology weren't enough, the Fine-N also uses face recognition technology. As the driver approaches the car, a biometric system analyzes the face to insure only authorized drivers gain access. Once a driver is authenticated, he or she needs simply to buckle his or her seatbelt and all that driver's preferences will be automatically set. OK, so it is all just pretend, but this is a concept car after all — that's just part of the fun.
Why Should You Care?
At this point, the face recognition technology seems more likely to make it to a production car than the fuel-cell aspect. — Brian Moody
Toyota Fine-N Concept
What's Special About It?
We warned you, the Tokyo show this year is all about fuel cells and hybrids. So here is Toyota's contribution to the fuel-cell arena. As it happens there is a greatly unintended consequence in fuel-cell vehicles. Without the constraints of a typical powertrain, interior volume can be maximized and exterior design can be more innovative. The Fine-N is roughly the size of a Toyota Corolla but offers the interior space of a Lexus LS 430. This can be achieved thanks to low-profile hydrogen tanks, a thin fuel cell and power controller, and by placing the electric drive motors at each wheel. Also, every system from steering to brakes is all "by wire," meaning there are no mechanical controls to take up valuable space.
Believe it or not, there is a performance advantage to all this; by giving each wheel its own drive motor, handling can be improved as can the overall dynamics of the car simply because power will be easier to manage and distributed more effectively. Safer and more situation-appropriate braking is also a benefit.
As if all the whiz-bang technology weren't enough, the Fine-N also uses face recognition technology. As the driver approaches the car, a biometric system analyzes the face to insure only authorized drivers gain access. Once a driver is authenticated, he or she needs simply to buckle his or her seatbelt and all that driver's preferences will be automatically set. OK, so it is all just pretend, but this is a concept car after all — that's just part of the fun.
Why Should You Care?
At this point, the face recognition technology seems more likely to make it to a production car than the fuel-cell aspect. — Brian Moody
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