Beat EV record on Nurburgring

As if being the world’s greenest brand weren’t enough, Toyota is now pushing the zero-emissions envelope even further, trying to best the current EV lap record at Germany’s 12.9-mile Nürburgring race course.

The 100 percent electric vehicle expected to break the record was built by Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), a German-based division of Toyota that has been involved in rally and Formula 1 racing over the years. The two-seater’s high-performance powertrain employs two electric motors, generating as much as 280kW of power.

TMG is hopeful that its EV, with a maximum speed of 162 miles per hour and weighing in at 2,138 lbs., will break the lap record for an electric vehicle. The current record stands at 9 minutes 1.338 seconds, set earlier this year by the Peugeot EX1. The race is set for August 29.

“We are extremely confident we can break the record by some distance, which is an indication of how EV performance is continuously improving,” Rob Leupen, TMG’s Director of Business Operations, said in a statement.

To the prospective EV consumer, tales of EVs’ increased racing performance may not mean much. But TMG said it plans to begin selling its electric powertrain commercially by next year. So with what could be the next generation of EV motors on display, for EV enthusiasts of all stripes, next Monday’s race may be one to watch.

Microsoft allies Ford and Toyota to collaborate on technology standards

A new partnership announced between Ford and Toyota this morning is attracting lots of attention, primarily focused on the companies’ plans to collaborate on a new hybrid-electric system for light trucks and SUVs. But also notable is the news that they plan to “collaborate on development of next-generation standards for in-car telematics and Internet-based services.”

That’s a reference to the information, communication and entertainment services that are becoming common in new cars — better known as infotainment systems.

Both companies are partners of Microsoft. The Redmond company provides the underlying technology for Ford’s Sync system and announced plans in April to collaborate with Toyota on new technology for its cars, based on Microsoft’s Windows Azure cloud computing platform.

In their news release, Ford and Toyota say they will “collaborate on standards and technologies needed to enable a safer, more secure and more convenient in-car experience for next-generation telematics systems.” They note that the collaboration “relates only to standards and technologies, and each company will continue to separately develop their own in-vehicle products and features.”

Still, the effort to develop common standards could be a boost to Microsoft, possibly making it easier to translate some of the fundamental work it’s doing on its automotive platform to the projects it’s pursuing with both companies.