ORIGIN OF SPECIES

Hybrids are now everywhere, but it began with the first-gen Toyota Prius

- SAYANTAN DE

What started out as a way to make more efficient vehicles in the late 90s with the Toyota Prius has now become the most important piece of automotive technology of the last three decades. I am, of course, talking about hybrid propulsion systems. Since 2012, no non-hybrid cars have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Today, in India, you can buy a Maruti Suzuki Grand Vitara or the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance on two ends of the hybrid spectrum. This month we will talk about the basics of the system, before getting into more details in the subsequent episodes.