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Toyota GTV

The Toyota GTV was a concept vehicle by Toyota with a gas turbine engine. It was first shown at the 1985 Tokyo Motor Show. A very sophisticated concept vehicle, it was based on the Toyota Carina, and was in fact a proof of concept vehicle slated initially for small-scale production.

Unlike the earlier Chrysler Turbine Car, the GTV had a de-coupled gas turbine with a two-stage heat exchanger designed to reduce the exhaust gas temperature.

A measure of Toyota's intent with the vehicle was its allowing journalists from Car Magazine to review the vehicle in 1986. Their view was favourable with regard to the overall performance of the vehicle, although the not unnatural turbine lag of the engine did hurt the overall impression of the review. The excellent CVT automatic gearbox did however endear the vehicle to testers - this gearbox has now become the cornerstone of Toyota automatic gearboxes, and the basis of the Toyota Prius gearbox.

The GTV used the Gas Turbine II engine. A regenerator took waste heat and transferred it to the incoming air, increasing efficiency. A one stage turbine was used to drive the compressor while a second turbine was connected to the drive shaft. The second stage also took the place of the fluid flywheel (torque convertor).

The main advantages of a gas turbine engine are:

• fewer moving parts,
• efficient rotational movements instead of inefficient reciprocating movements,
• more tolerant of different fuel types and grades,
• no need for water cooling, water pumps and radiators.

The main disadvantages are:

• high internal temperatures,
• high precision required during manufacturing (costly).
• turbo lag (delay between pressing the accelerator pedal and actual acceleration)

Earlier versions of the Gas Turbine engine were shown at the 1975 (in the Toyota Century) and 1977 (freestanding) Tokyo Motor Shows.