Toyota will reveal a vision for the future of cars later this month

Toyota will debut a new futuristic concept car powered by hydrogen fuel cell later this month at the Tokyo Motor Show.

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The concept car, dubbed the FCV Plus, is Toyota’s vision of the ideal eco-friendly city vehicle, a vision of the future through the scope of a car that almost certainly won't be produced for consumers.

That said, Toyota's been developing fuel cell technology for more than 20 years, and will begin rolling out its hydrogen fuel cell-powered car, the Mirai, to some customers in California this month. By 2017, the company aims to have as many as 3,000 Mirais on the road in the US.

Toyota FCV PLus
Toyota

The FCV Plus is unlikely to go into production anytime soon, as it’s designed for when hydrogen energy is in widespread use. However, until then, it’s still a pretty impressive concept of what is possible in a world where clean hydrogen is easy to come by.

We’ll learn more about how it all works when Toyota reveals the car later this month, but here’s a look at some of the cool features the company has revealed so far. 

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The concept car can refuel just about anywhere

Toyota FCV PLus
Toyota

The vehicle can generate electricity from hydrogen that's stored in its tank, as well as from hydrogen stored outside the vehicle.

In its announcement Thursday, the Japanese automaker didn't say exactly how the vehicle would do this, but the company did claim that the vehicle “can generate electricity from externally sourced, locally created hydrogen for a stable power supply at home or at work.”

It can also has built-in wirelessly charging

Toyota FCV Plus
Toyota

Wireless battery charging panels are placed under the floor at the front of the vehicle and over the rear wheels to enable external charging.

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It produces energy for other cars

Toyota FCV Plus
Toyota

When the vehicle isn't being used for transportation, it can use its wireless charging capability to share power with other vehicles. It could also be plugged into local infrastructure to share its power generation with the local grid, the company said. 

The exterior windows are also displays

toyota fcv plus
Toyota

The windshield and rear window double as another display where words and symbols can be displayed so that others can show what kind of condition it is in. For example, if the car is wirelessly charging another vehicle, it would show the message "Power Sharing."

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The design allows for a compact car with lots of space

Toyota FCV PLus
Toyota

The vehicle’s fuel stack (read: fuel tank, but for hydrogen fuel cells) fits between the front wheels and the hydrogen tank is in the back behind the rear seats, allowing for a well-balanced design and plenty of room inside the cabin. In total, the vehicle is about 12.5-feet long and six feet wide. 

 

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