We got our first taste of the next member to join Toyota's growing family of Prius models with the Prius C concept study that made its debut alongside the Prius V minivan at the Detroit Motor Show earlier this year.But today, thanks to a tip from a Carscoop reader in Japan who goes by the nickname "i-Ryuji", we can show you the actual production version of the Prius C through a plethora of scanned images from a leaked brochure.
With a big stretch of imagination, you might see the resemblance between the concept study and the production variant of the Prius C that evolves the design language of the regular Prius liftback.
The interior styling is a bit funkier with a center-mounted dashboard and at least in Japan, the ability to customize the look of the cabin with different upholstery and colored trim accents.
You won’t be surprised to learn that the Japanese language is not our forte, but in one of the spec sheets, it appears that Toyota compares the Prius C with several rivals in Japan including the Mazda2 13-Skyactive.
On the same page, the first column (with the G, S and L trim designations) includes the basic specifications of the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Prius C.
The smallest member of the Prius family measures 3,995mm (157.3-in.) long, 1,695mm (66.7-in.) wide, and 1,445mm (56.9-in.) tall, and has a wheelbase length of 2,550mm (100.4-in.). This means it's barely bigger than the latest Yaris (153.5" long, 66.7" wide, 59.4" tall, with a 98.8" wheelbase).
The brochure also tells us that power will come from a hybrid unit that combines a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine delivering 74HP at 4,800 rpm and 111Nm (81.9 lb-ft) of torque at 4,800 rpm, and an electric motor producing up to 61-horses and 169Nm (125 lb-ft) with a CVT. The hybrid system's combined output (in JDM tune) is rated at 100HP.
Toyota estimates that the front-wheel drive hybrid will return a fuel consumption of 35.4 km/lt (equal to 83.3 mpg US or 2.8lt/100km) on the Japanese JC08 driving cycle and up to 40 km /lt (94 mpg US or 2.5lt/100 km) on the 10.15 mode driving cycle.
We would like to stress that the above fuel efficiency numbers should not be used for direct comparison as the Japanese driving cycles differ from the U.S. and European combined measurements. For example, in Japan, Toyota says that the regular Prius returns up to 38 km/lt, which is equal to 89.4mpg and 2.6lt/100km, while the U.S. model is rated at 50mpg combined.
So, when and where will we see the new Prius C making its debut? The JDM model will receive its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show in December while Toyota recently revealed that the North American debut would take place in Detroit in January of 2012.
During the U.S. media presentation of the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid in California in mid-September, Toyota Division Group Vice President and General Manager, Bob Carter, mentioned the new Prius C in his speech:
"The Prius v will be followed by the Prius Plug-in next March, and the Prius c will follow in the Spring," said Carter. "The Prius c will offer expressive styling in a city-friendly vehicle that we believe will be the most fuel efficient hybrid without a plug in the U.S. While we showed you a “c Concept” at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, we will be debuting the production Prius c for the first time in Detroit this coming January."
Hat tip to i-Ryuji!
Story References: Ryuji
Source (with the full brochure pic's!);;
http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2011/10/new-toyota-prius-c-leaked-brochure.html