Toyota FT-EV II Concept Continues Traditional Penchant For The Peculiar:

Apparently there’s an unwritten rule in the automotive industry that in order for your EV to even be considered for widespread commercial success, it must be extremely weird and your presentation of it even weirder. Adhering perfectly to that design rule is the Toyota FT-EV II Concept, Toyota’s companion piece to the original Future Toyota Electric Vehicle unveiled at the NAIAS in January. As you may have already correctly assumed, the FT-EV II is powered by a lithium ion battery pack capable of traveling up to 90km (55 miles) on a single charge and features a top speed of over 62 mph (providing the course is downhill).

The really noteworthy features are not found beneath its hood, however, but inside the cabin. According to the ominously Kool Aid-stained press release, “The vehicle has no steering wheel or foot pedals-symbols of vehicle performance. In addition, it has not been designed simply as a means of transport, but instead based on the premise of collaboration with communications functions, a concept that differs from earlier vehicles.” If you weren’t vaguely creeped out enough to stop reading there, a few paragraphs down Toyota goes on to say, “The FT-EV II is not simply an electric vehicle designed for a post-fossil fuel era, but is a sustainable concept car that focuses on the relationship between cars, people and society of the future.”