Who designed the Prius?

Hi Tramp,

There is allot of detail in a document titled "The Prius that Shook the World". Here is a link http://www.vfaq.net/docs/Prius_that_shook_world.pdf .

The short answer, to what I think your asking, is the second generation body design was done by the Toyota California design studio.

 

I read your question as "which person designed the Prius?" Maybe that's not what you meant, but you'll find that no one person designs anything these days.

 

Great link...thanks!

 

But, I mean, "design" means different things to different people. Surely they don't design the exterior, interior, transmission, engine all by themselves?

 

Thanks donee. Interesting book. But I was wondering what the source of your info was on Gen II body design (the book, as you know, covers Gen I)?

 

Here is an old article I copied from the net in 04.

From this I suggest that the designer of the current Prius was Shigeyuki Hori and team.


The Eco-Car Engineers
A car mother nature loves
By ILYA GARGER I TOKYO

Posted Monday, March 15, 2004
Shigeyuki Hori looks like your average Japanese salaryman, but at heart he's a speed demon. Once a week, the Toyota engineer heads to the company test track at the base of Mount Fuji to try out new models. There he dons a crash helmet and in a one-on-one communion between car and creator, he barrels his work-in-progress around a track at upwards of 120 mph. The 51-year-old admits he's addicted to the speed rush. "When I'm out there on the track, I'm fearless," he says.

Fearlessness has been a useful asset for Hori. As executive chief engineer responsible for the gas-electric hybrid Prius, he spent years battling the idea that environmentally friendly cars would never appeal to consumers or make a profit. Today, he stands proudly on the wreckage of that conventional wisdom, having helped to create the first eco-car to decisively leave the drawing board and storm the streets of suburbia. Over 110,000 units have been sold worldwide since the first-generation Prius was introduced in Japan in 1997. "Our challenge," he says, "was to achieve our environmental goals without compromising performance and design."

The redesigned 2004 Prius, which draws power from a gasoline engine and an electric motor to deliver 60 mpg on city roads, represents the realization of that objective. Since its debut last year, the car has been the toast of the automotive world. Despite its pedestrian list price of about $20,000, the snub-nosed hatchback has become a badge of celebrity chic: Cameron Diaz and Harrison Ford took their Priuses to the Oscars last year.

But in the vast, utilitarian office where Hori and his team of engineers are forging the next-generation eco-car, there's little in the way of glamour. Here, innovation comes through team effort, and individual stars are hard to pinpoint.

Still, the intensity and scale of their efforts can be gauged from the 530 patents Hori and his engineers have racked up during the development of the new Prius But Hori is no mere taskmaster. "He gives us the freedom to pursue our own ideas," says Yohichi Sugiura, an engine expert.

Right now, Hori and his team are focused on the future. "The original Prius proved that hybrid cars were technically feasible. The new model has shown that it can be attractive to consumers. The third generation has to be even more powerful and more fuel efficient," says Hori. His vision for Toyota's eco-friendly autos goes beyond the Prius line. "The next step is to apply hybrid technology to other models, and to reduce its price," he says. After that, he has his sights on dispensing with CO2-belching gasoline engines entirely: "Ultimately, the future is in electric power." It might sound like an eco-platitude. But if someone is going to bring an electric car to your driveway, there's a good chance Hori will be the one to do it.

 

wow! I just learned something:


The word prius is a Latin word meaning "to go before."A Toyota spokesman stated that "Toyota chose this name because the Prius vehicle is the predecessor of cars to come."

:high5:

 

I knew that "Celica"; meant Dragon in Japanese, and Torii is bird, so figured Prius was japanese also. It never occured to me it could be latin..

 

You are quoting an orphan article.

Check Wired 13.03: The 2005 Wired Rave Awards

The 2005 Wired Rave Awards

Shigeyuki Hori for putting the Prius on the fast track

The new Prius, a redesigned hatchback built around Toyota's second-generation hybrid power train. For the 2004 model, Hori brought together a team of computer, electrical, and mechanical engineers to improve acceleration, vehicle handling, and fuel �efficiency. "It was the first time all three groups ever worked side by side," he says.

 

Hori-san ... he's the man. You know your IN there, when Time Magazine does a spread on you:

TIME Magazine: Innovators: Shigeyuki Hori

Too bad there aren't any more Romans around ... they could tell us how are car's NAME is pronounced.

Pree us?
Prii us?
Prii ahs?
Pry ahs?
Pry ous?

Ah, heck, I don't know

 

Hi Boo,

There is a section towards the end of the book about the selection of the second gen body, and there was allot of discussion about the more revolutionary design done in California, versus the local more evolutionary design.

I will try to look it up later, and find a page reference.

 

Hi Boo,

I remembered the location wrong. Its about page 128 and after. It details the second generation Prius design done by Lui at CALTY, which was not used for the original Prius. I believe this was the design used for the second generation US Prius (third generation Japanese Prius), but I do not remember for sure where I read that. Its probably somewhere in this same book.

There is discussion of the selection of the CALTY design on Page 142 through 145. But the CALTY design is a 5 door hatchback, and the first and second generation Prius are not. So, this is how I conclude this design desision was for the 2004 and after Prius.

 

Thanks Donee! I'm going to go through the book more thoroughly myself after I finish my taxes (and find the money to pay them lol). It's an interesting question because of the uniqueness (and for a lot of us, the beauty) of the Gen II body design.

 

I find it interesting that the three names (Pininfarina, Giugiaro, De Silva) are all heads of groups.

Are you suggesting that these they actually have done all of the drawing of the designs that they have taken credit for?

Not! They have merely approved them just as Shigeyuki Hori did.