The FX-1 is a concept car by
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
.
It was first shown at the
1983 Tokyo Motor Show and also shown at the
Geneva Motor Show in March 1984.
It was a showcase for new technologies in driver controls, engine, suspension, materials and aerodynamics.
Driver controls
Colour CRTs were used in the dash to display speed, rpm, fuel, temperature, etc.
Engine and driveline
It used an enhanced prototype form of the
1G-GEU engine called the LASREα-X, a 1,988 cc EFI twin cam 24-valve
inline six engine
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bal ...
equipped with dual turbo-chargers and intercooler, computer-controlled valve timing,
variable displacement Variable displacement is an automobile engine technology that allows the engine displacement to change, usually by deactivating cylinders, for improved fuel economy. The technology is primarily used in large, multi-cylinder engines. Many automobil ...
and induction.
At low speeds, the variable displacement system shut down half the engine to conserve fuel. The system never went into production
but a simplified version later appeared as the
1G-GTE, slightly modified for production and without the variable cam timing and variable displacement. In search of reducing maintenance, the FX-1's engine also featured computer-controlled distributorless ignition.
Transmission was via a four-speed automatic ECT (Electronically Controlled Transmission) with overdrive.
Suspension
It used a
pneumatic suspension combined with
TEMS
Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer. She rose to prominence after she was featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence," which reached the top ten of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 after the releas ...
electronic damping control. The pneumatic suspension automatically raised and lowered the front and rear of the car separately for maximum stability. TEMS was also used on the Supra and the Soarer (2 stage) and on the highest spec Crown (3 stage).
Materials
Many exotic materials were used, including Fibre Reinforced Metal (body panels) and Shape Memory Effect Alloy (body panels) and Ceramics (brake rotors).
Aerodynamics
The body had a very low .
Stability could be increased via aerodynamics by individually lowering the front and rear suspension according to road speed. At high speed the front was lowered two steps and the rear was lowered one step.
References
Information copied from an English language brochure given out by Toyota at the 1984 Geneva Motor Show.
A Japanese-language version of the same brochure was given out at the 1983 Tokyo Motor Show.
External links
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{{Toyota cars
FX-1