According to the GT86 chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, it could happen. Toyota GT86 may use a hybrid powertrain, but it’s not what you think. It is not going to be a cool looking Prius. The kind of hybrid Tada has in mind is a KERS-based system to improve the car’s performance. You see, there is method in his madness!

Tada, who is no question an automotive genius, thinks that using a turbocharger to boost the power of GT86’s dismal 2.0 liter boxer engine is not only a terrible old cliche, it will take away the unique feel and responsiveness of the car. They are going to let Subaru do the turbo thing.

What he is proposing is a hybrid motor like the system they use in the TS030 Le Mans Prototype, in which the electric motor is there to complement the gasoline engine with its torque. Being a KERS system, it is self-replenishing, recovering the energy during braking and storing it in a thing, so it can be used to run the motor when more power is needed.

Now, normally they should use super capacitors to store that energy, but they are expensive. So they may go for a battery pack. The problem with that is the extra weight it brings along, which kinda neutralizes the extra go-juice the system is there to provide to the driver. We’re sure Tada will find a way around it.

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