The future looks obviously quite conservative - at least for Toyota's designers. Their design for the second generation of the hydrogen car Mirai, whose name in Japanese means "future", is above all one thing: futuristic. While on the predecessor with its rugged body and especially in the dark spectacular taillights, the ghosts were divorced, the second generation of Toyota's future is much more withdrawn.
"The first Mirai should attract attention and show that he is different, as before the Prius," says Toyota spokesman Thomas Heidbrink. The purpose of the Prius perfected Purpose design, which should stand out as much as possible from the familiar, has now been used for Toyota's fuel cell car.
A long hood for European viewing habits
The bumpy roof and gill-like air intakes in the front did not make it to the next generation. This is partly due to European viewing habits: "The one-box design with a very short bonnet and a drop-shaped vehicle polarises because the European eye strongly prioritizes the bonnet," explains the Toyota spokesman. Although the front hood is less needed for electric drives, it is still present in the classic understanding of cars - and thus manages to get into the future without six, eight or twelve cylinders under the lid.
Toyota wants to arrive with the second generation of the Mirai in the mainstream and wants to build instead of only about 3,000 fuel cell cars per year in the future about 30,000 copies. This makes the fuel cell the step to a mass technology, says Toyota spokesman Heidbrink. "That should reflect the Mirai."
An SUV was apparently not an option
For a different paradigm change would probably have been more skillful - the SUV. No vehicle category is currently selling as well as the would-be SUVs - which include the most important hybrid hydrogen model Hyundai Nexo. However, that was not an option for Toyota: "We see hydrogen as technology for the long haul, where it is superior to the battery, so the Mirai was designed as a touring sedan," said the company spokesman.
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Photo gallery: clearly withdrawnAfter a touring sedan, the car now looks for the European eye: Not only the hood of the concept vehicle is longer than that of its predecessor, the Mirai is now wider, a bit flatter - and has rear instead of front-wheel drive. "Otherwise, the design language of the second Mirai is similar to the first one - some design elements have been adopted," says Toyota spokesman Heidbrink, citing the large radiator opening in the front and the narrow, elongated headlights. "The design of the rear wheel arches and the rear also contains many elements of the predecessor," says Heidbrink. Only the bonnet is longer now. A little bit of the future is in the new, conservative Mirai.
