2005 Daihatsu HVS - AllCarIndex

Original name: ダイハツ エッセ コンセプト

1. Concept

A lightweight sports car that reconciles environmental performance and the joy of driving at an unprecedentedly high level Delivering powerful and exciting driving experience of a 2.0-litre car with better fuel economy than a 1.0-litre car, and high-speed cornering performance using electromagnetic torque-control mechanisms that work on the right and left rear wheels independently Have you ever thought that although sports cars are cool, the fun of driving is not a high priority when you think about the environment?

Reconciling environmental compatibility and sporty driving is not actually a difficult thing. By employing a hybrid technology, Daihatsu has achieved excellent environmental compatibility together with quick acceleration and the excitement of sports car driving.

The HVS (Hybrid Vehicle Sports) pursues the utility and economy of the compact car while at the same time achieving the excitement of a sports car. It reconciles the joy of driving a sports car and the need to protect the environment at a high level. It’s a new lightweight sports car born out of Daihatsu’s passion to create a truly environmentally friendly compact sports car.

2. A hybrid system and a new 1.5-litre DVVT engine

An advanced electrically operated 4WD hybrid system using three motors

A hybrid system optimised for sports driving (achieving both a low fuel consumption of 4.1 litres/100 km and quick standing start acceleration)

The HVS’s power unit is an advanced hybrid system that combines two motors in the front plus an additional motor in the rear. This electrically operated 4WD transmits torque to the wheels with minimum loss to deliver a safe driving performance.

In ordinary petrol cars, there is a slight time lag between pressing down on the throttle pedal and the actual start of acceleration. The HVS accelerates without any time lag immediately after the driver presses down on the throttle pedal, and the acceleration continues smoothly without any pause. The car’s 0 to 400 m acceleration time of less than 17 seconds. The rear motor drives the left and right wheels separately to control driving, regeneration and yawing for increased stability during high-speed cornering.

Thanks to its lightweight compact body and the use of hybrid technology, the HVS boasts a fuel consumption of only 4.1 litres/100 km (EU combined mode) and CO2 emissions of only 101 g/km — both amazingly low for a sports car.

Combined with this hybrid unit is a newly developed 1.5-litre petrol engine with DVVT. Fine tuned for the HVS, this engine runs on premium petrol and is equipped with a special design muffler. The HVS delivers powerful standing start and overtaking acceleration in the low to medium speed range as well as lasting acceleration even at high speed.

Whatever your speed range, this engine lets you enjoy sports driving with stress-free acceleration and power to spare. It’s an ideal power unit for a lightweight sports car.

3. Styling

A unique spindle shape

In order to give shape to its joy of driving and original characteristics as an open-top two-seater, no compromise has been made on the HVS’s exterior design. The result is a low-gravity spindle-shaped silhouette that deftly expresses forward movement. Even before you start to drive the car, you’ll be thrilled with anticipation at the thought of driving this agile compact sports car.

Simple yet powerful body panels combined with bulging wheel arches and edgy character lines that surround the body give the HVS’s advanced styling a sense of strong presence and promise the joy of owning a lightweight sports car.

The interior is also designed to give the driver and passengers the joy of driving. The wrap-around design of the exterior extends from the instrument panel to the trims, creating a comfortably exciting atmosphere for driving a sports car. When you sit in the driver’s seat, there is no way you can escape the anticipation of exciting driving to come. The clean, low dashboard creates a wide open space in front of you, allowing you to feel the landscape flowing past with your entire body as you drive. Thanks also to the Active Top, the HVS is filled with a sense of liberation that only an open-top car can offer.

Dimensions
and weight

Overall length

mm

3715

Overall width

mm

1695

Overall height

mm

1235

Wheelbase

mm

2235

Seating capacity

2

Hybrid system

Motor

Front

2 permanent magnetic
synchronous motors,
36 kW

Rear

1 left-and-right
individually controllable
permanent magnetic
synchronous motor,
20 kW

Battery

Type

Nickel hybride

Engine

Type

Petrol, inline 4-cylinder,
DOHC, 16-valve, DVVT

Displacement

cc

1495

Bore ✕ stroke

mm

72 ✕ 91.8

Max. output

kW/rpm

77/6000

Max. torque 

N·m/rpm

140/4400

Compression ratio

10

Fuel system

EFI

Drive

Front wheel drive

Transmission

Electronically
controlled planetary
gear CVT

Suspension

Front

MacPherson struts with
coil springs

Rear

Torsion beams

Steering

Rack and pinion

Brakes

Front

Discs with fins

Rear

Discs

Tyres

205/40R17

Fuel consumption
(EU combined mode)

litres/100 km

4.1

CO2 emissions 

g/km

101

SOURCE: Daihatsu