Toyota gets Altair Enlighten Award for weight savings in Prius Prime and LC500

Toyota has been presented with an Altair Enlighten Award for its use of innovative weight-reducing vehicle closure systems at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in the U.S.A. The award programme honours Toyota's use of Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) inner panels on the Prius Prime's liftgate, and the Lexus LC500's side doors and luggage hatch.

Toyota's winning entry involved the company's expansion of CFRP outside the domain of exotic vehicles. With this new lightweighting technology, the Prius Prime experienced a 40 percent weight savings, compared to an equivalently-sized aluminium liftgate. The Lexus LC registered a 47 percent weight savings on its side door and 40 percent reduction on its luggage hatch, compared to conventional steel structures.

For Toyota, lightweighting of these systems were prioritised to boost battery range and improve liftgate usability for the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid technology, whereas the weight reduction in the Lexus LC was geared toward enhancing the coupe's dynamic performance. The Altair Enlighten Awards is the industry's only award programme created specifically to acknowledge innovation in vehicle weight reduction. 2017 marks the fifth year for the programme.