We now have more information about the different engine options for the new Toyota Corolla, based on the concept car shown at the Tokyo auto show. It is expected that Toyota’s next-generation hybrid system, featuring a new e-motor and a 1.5-liter gas engine, will save 10–20% on gas. For GR cars, a new performance-focused four-cylinder engine is also under development. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine could make up to 395 horsepower. When the Toyota Corolla concept was shown off earlier this week at the Tokyo car show, everyone was talking about how striking it looked. Toyota said that the concept shows a future platform that will work with different powertrains, but they didn’t say anything else at the launch. Since then, we’ve spoken with engineers and company officials who have shared information about the Corolla and other cars’ upcoming powertrains. In the US, Toyota sells the newly updated bZ, which was co-developed with Subaru. However, the company has not made a major push to develop new electric cars, unlike many other companies. It is also planned to improve the C-HR and bZ Woodland, and to give them longer wheelbases. The Corolla concept looks like an electric car, and this type of motor is also expected to be part of the next wave of cars. While Toyota couldn’t give us any information, they did show us a prototype of a new hybrid engine. Powertrain boss Takashi Uehara met with invoice pricing at the Tokyo show to discuss Toyota’s new 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine and hybrid system. He said that the new transmission will be lighter than the old one it will replace and will make 134 horsepower, with 40 coming from the new 30-kW electric motor and 94 from the gas engine. He also said that the next hybrid system would make cars 10 to 20 percent more fuel-efficient. We have been told that this new engine will fit behind the Corolla concept’s low-slung nose, even though it doesn’t look likely. A turbocharger can be added to the 1.5-liter engine, and if the current Corolla Hybrid is any indicator, all-wheel-drive cars of the future will have an extra electric motor on the back axle. Even though Toyota definitely wants a multipowertrain strategy, its leaders clearly prefer internal combustion engines. According to an interpreter, Hiroki Nakajima, Toyota’s chief technology officer, said, “Toyota should be a company that makes ICE to the very end,” during a roundtable with the media.”I’m passionate about motorsports and enjoy the scent of gasoline.” A new 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engine is being developed for Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division as part of an effort to build a racing powertrain. The company is also investing in electric, hybrid, and fuel-cell technologies. This next turbo four will fit in the GR Corolla, which already has a 1.6-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine with 300 horsepower. Uehara says the new GR engine will feature an extra cylinder and can produce up to 395 horsepower. He said the engine would run more smoothly with four cylinders instead of three.
