Remember that Toyota “Ideas for Good” ad where that guy with the almost 4 year old in the back seat talks about how the hybrid synergy drive would be awesome for the “world’s first self-sustaining amusement park”… Well, in a warehouse in Pittsburgh, they’re DOING it - Toyota teamed up with our favorite engineering crew Deeplocal to build a roller coaster from a 2011 Prius. The team of 5 gutted a Prius, using the engine, wiring harness, batteries, and Hybrid Synergy Drive system in a custom designed and fabricated coaster car… and a 70 foot coaster track out of steel. Drop it from the 10 foot high platform, and it reaches speeds of 15mph. When braking, the cart gave readings of 30 amps of 200 volts from the braking system, with a single drop generating as much as 6,000 watts! This was sufficient to light real amusement park signs and lights, as well as strings of LEDs along the track. This is only the start of their collaboration for the Toyota’s Ideas for Good… Check out the awesome video of the Prius coaster in action and more photos on the next page - it’s pretty amazing!

Tags: science - toyota