Toyota's Volta On The Charge

We owe a great deal to Alessandro Volta, the man who created the electric battery in 1800. Now his contribution to motoring has been recognised - and this is an official picture of it.

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Matt Davis

25th February 2004

The Italdesign-Giugiaro Toyota Alessandro Volta is a supercar, but with a difference. It's a hybrid-electric vehicle using the same powertrain as the Lexus RX400h, which arrives at the end of the year. As well as a battery mounted on each axle, it has a 3.3-litre V6 petrol engine. Together, they develop 402bhp.

When Fabrizio Giugiaro approached Toyota at October's Tokyo Motor Show, it agreed he could do something with the transmission technology. "I saw the challenge immediately," Giugiaro said. "I wanted to make a hybrid that looked really good." He's not done too badly! The Volta chassis and body are all carbon fibre, while the engine is behind the seats to give better weight distribution and masses of cabin space. The car - which debuts at the Geneva Motor Show next week - does 0-60mph in four seconds, goes on to 155mph and can be driven from the left, right or centre. That's because the pedals, dials and steering slide across.

Throttle and braking are by-wire, the transmission is an electronic CVT and all controls are steering wheel-mounted. We could see the Volta - or something like it - by 2007, priced about ΂£45,000.