Toyota unveiled a new concept this week at the Tokyo Motor Show, the Toyota 1/X. This vehicle is seen as the next step up from their highly-popular Prius, and is doubling its fuel efficiency to a respectable 92mpg. With a mpg this high, it makes you wonder why Toyota keeps fighting the proposed fuel-efficiency legislation.

 

The concept, weighing in at 926lbs, is one-third lighter than a Prius and owes this to its carbon fibre reinforced plastic and aluminum body and components. Like the Prius, it runs on their hybrid-gas system, but also includes a plug-in feature, a major selling point for city drivers, though no word yet on the range and speed of the electric-only mode.

 

There is a catch, unfortunately, and that is that carbon fibre production costs 100 times more than steel, though that is expected to drop dramatically once mass production of the materials becomes more common, and Toyota's supplier of carbon fibre is investing to do just that. Still, the car is only in the concept stage, so who knows when it will, if ever, hit the roads. Of course in the meantime, we'll all be crossing our fingers.