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Toyota to buck engine downsizing trend, may go larger and turbo-free

Turbocharging isn't really Toyota's specialty, and the Japanese automaker isn't being shy about acknowledging it. Koei Saga, a senior managing officer in charge of drivetrain research and development, says that eschewing turbos and increasing displacement of engines using the Atkinson cycle can produce better power gains without sacrificing fuel economy, Automotive News reports.
Toyota is investing heavily in larger-displacement Atkinson-cycle engines in addition to turbocharged engines, but Saga doesn't think the automaker will use turbocharging across many product lines. He apparently remains unconvinced that the technology "makes the world better."
In Toyota's eyes then, Atkinson cycle engines do make the world better, and here's how. Their pistons complete four processes - intake, compression, power and exhaust - in one revolution of the crankshaft, and the power stroke is longer than the compression stroke. Traditional Otto cycle engines require two crankshaft revolutions to accomplish those same four operations and have equal-length compression and power strokes. Atkinson cycle engines are more efficient, but less power dense, though increasing displacement can offset that shortfall.

Autoblog Minute: New Prius, Bentley Bentyaga, Rolls-Royce Dawn

Bentley and Rolls-Royce both introduce new luxury vehicles and Toyota revealed its latest Prius. Autoblog senior editor Greg Migliore reports on the Weekly Recap edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Bentley and Rolls-Royce both introduce new luxury vehicles and Toyota revealed its latest Prius I'm Senior editor Greg Migliore and this is your Autoblog Minute Weekly Recap. With a top speed of 187 mph Bentyaga will be the fastest production SUV on the road when it hits the market. Eventually, Bentley intends to launch a seven-seat version, a higher performance Speed model, and more efficient diesel and hybrid variants of its new luxury SUV. Dawn is the new four seater convertible from Rolls-Royce. While the car looks to the past for its name it boasts lots of modern tech including Rolls-Royce's Zed F eight-speed automatic transmission for imperceptible gear changes and a silently operating, six layer, canvas top. The launch of Toyota's latest Prius marks the fourth generation of the popular hybrid. Prius has gone from a niche product to one of the industry's most important vehicles. Toyota hopes its new Prius will redefine the category it helped to pioneer. We're expecting fuel economy to increase by 10 percent and this is the most tech laden Prius ever. Those are the highlights from the week that was. Be sure to check out my full recap this Saturday. Plus, some insight on the new Cadillac XT5. For Autoblog, I'm Greg Migliore. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. Bentley Rolls-Royce Toyota Convertible SUV Hybrid Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video rolls-royce dawn

Toyota announces GT86 CS-R3 rally car

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has developed cars for all manner of racing, up to and including Formula One and Le Mans. But it got its start back in 1979 in rally competition, winning four drivers' and three manufacturers' titles in the World Rally Championship. And now it's announced a new rally car.
Based on the Toyota GT86 (better known to us as the Scion FR-S), the CS-R3 rally car isn't built to contest the top tier of the WRC, but is being developed to conform to the lower R3 class. That means a six-speed sequential gearbox, limited slip differential and upgraded engine, brakes, aero... the works. It'll retain the road-going model's rear-drive setup, joining the front-drive Yaris R1A in TMG's portfolio of customer rally cars.
Further details are set to be revealed "in the coming months", but the GT86 CS-R3 will benefit from the experience TMG accrued in developing the GT86 CS-V3 (pictured above) for the Nürburgring-based VLN endurance racing series.