By adding the new engine from BMW, the Verso will be available with two diesels: 1.6 D-4D (112hp), 2.0 D-4D (124hp) and two petrols: 1.6 Valvematic (132hp), 1.8 Valvematic (147hp).
The rubber-stamped deal of two years ago was further strengthened in March of this year. This cemented the technical sharing between Toyota and BMW with four key aims: the joint development of a fuel cell system; the partner development of a sports car platform; work on lightweight technologies; and joint research into lithium-air batteries.
Work on the integration was led by Toyota's R&D team in Belgium. Nevertheless, mating the BMW engine and Toyota running gear wasn't exactly plug-and-play. It necessitated new components to be manufactured to make the integration as seamless as possible. Ultimately both partners will now benefit from reduced development time and faster products being brought to market.
Anything else?
The Verso is to be built at Toyota's Adapazari plant in Turkey. This is now the centre of all Toyota Verso manufacturing. Production starts in January, 2014.
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