(TORONTO) - Subaru Canada, Inc. (SCI) today unveiled its advanced-technology B9SC concept vehicle at the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto. It was the Canadian premiere of the hybrid-drive sports roadster, developed under the direction of Subaru Chief Designer Andreas Zapatinas.

The two-seat B9SC blends high-performance driving and environmental concerns in an exciting package that highlights the brand's evolving design direction. Zapatinas and his staff drew on the company's aircraft heritage to create a new theme that reflects Subaru's wide-ranging appeal, from outdoors enthusiasts to rally fans. The aircraft influence is perhaps most apparent in the new B9SC's wing-shaped front end.

In addition, Subaru believes that hybrid gas/electric power vehicles are an important link in the evolution from internal combustion engines to fuel-cell powered electric vehicles.

"The B9SC is much more than a great-looking design exercise," said Norio Osakabe, chairman, president and CEO of SCI. "It marries advanced hybrid technology to Subaru's existing Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, creating an extremely efficient system that also offers the balanced, road-hugging performance for which Subaru is famous."

In fact, the hybrid system in the Subaru B9SC is specifically designed to work with the brand's existing Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive systems and could be adapted to current vehicle platforms. Subaru's hybrid drive technology differs significantly from that used by most competitors in their current and proposed hybrid vehicles, which typically use an electric motor to assist an internal combustion engine. Subaru's Sequential Series Hybrid Electric Vehicle (SSHEV) works the other way around.

A New Kind of Hybrid Technology
Subaru's SSHEV systems teams a powerful electric motor with a 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder DOHC Subaru Boxer gas engine. At low and midrange speeds, the gasoline engine is used primarily to charge the advanced laminated lithium-ion batteries. At speeds of over 80 kph, the B9SC runs only on its gasoline engine, ensuring that the internal combustion engine always runs in its most efficient speed range. To provide extra performance on hills and for quick acceleration, the SSHEV system seamlessly combines output from both the electric motor and the gas engine through a special two-way clutch.

The compact SSHEV propulsion system integrates the two-way clutch, the high-performance electric motor, and the AWD transfer gearing neatly into the transmission case, with the generator located between the engine and the transmission. The result is that the compact system could easily be housed within the existing footprint of the Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive system used in current Subaru models.