Prius G - almost 1G

I wonder if they'll re-arrange the "handbrake" so it can be drifted?

 

Maybe something like "TWIN BATTERY POWERED" could take over from Twin Turbo? For initial kick off the line a boost to the battery might give a short term surge of power/torque, though might then need twin fans to cool the twin batteries - I wonder if the electric motors could be tweaked too?

 

We need a Prius with Acura's SH-AWD with the rear wheel steering.

 

So, here's how I'd make a Prius Sport.

The big thing is, it needs more ICE power. Several ways to do that.

The first way is to create a higher-performance 2ZR motor. The highest performance variant available currently is the 2ZR-FAE, although this doesn't actually need Valvematic, as the hybrid system would take care of everything that Valvematic is designed to solve (partial load). Upshot, you'd get a 148 hp engine, up from 96 hp. ~173 total system horsepower.

Next up is, switching to a non-Valvematic variant of the 3ZR-FAE - a displacement increase to 2.0 liters. This means 155 hp, for 179 total system horsepower - still not really enough for a "hot hatch", but it could be decently sporty. (It's worth noting, by the way, that Lexus has trademarked "UX 250h", and I'm suspecting a 3ZR-FXE will exist for it - we know Lexus badges the 1.8 liter as a 200h, and the 2.5 liter as a 300h.)

Finally, there's going for a bigger class of hybrid powertrain altogether - one from the (next-generation) Camry/RAV4/NX Hybrid. We know the current powertrain is somewhere between 194 and 200 hp depending on who you ask... so, yeah. That. That would be enough power if it's 200, especially given the power delivery.

Once you've done that, it's going to be a pretty simple formula - improve brake feel, stiffen up the suspension (beyond that of the 3T/4T, which is just stiffer dampers, after looking at the parts catalog), better tires, and throw some TRD bits at it.

Edit: Oh, I forgot to put my thoughts about AWD in here. Personally, I don't think it's that necessary, unless it adds significantly to the acceleration. We're talking about a class of hot hatch that doesn't tend to have AWD, and the weight will probably be more of a detriment to handling, than the added power delivery flexibility's help to handling. The Prius e-Four system doesn't make much sense here, but if the battery can be made to handle more power draw, the RAV4/NX's MGR might, if it can fit, for an even hotter Prius.

 

I was just reading the headline:

"254KM/H HYUNDAI IONIQ SETS LAND SPEED RECORD…"

it used NITROUS!!!!

 

Height would be the main reason to worry about fitting the 2AR-FXE into the Prius - I'm not worried at all about width, considering that there's been several New MC vehicles (read: same platform as the Gen 3) with 2AR motors (and the RAV4/NX themselves are New MC).

The Multi-Stage Hybrid system would really only package well for RWD vehicles, I think.