SPYSHOTS: All-New Toyota Prius Revealed In The Metal

What you see before you here is the fourth generation Toyota Prius, which has been photographed without any camouflage stuck onto it, well before its Las Vegas debut in early September 2015.

As you can see in these photos sourced from the Toyota Prius Club of Malaysia Facebook page, two units of the hybrid hatchback are strapped in place inside a cargo plane for a flight to its destination.

Compared to the previous generations of the Prius, the all-new one seen here marks a significant departure, at least in terms of styling, for one of the world’s most iconic hybrid vehicles. Last month, we showed you leaked images that purportedly revealed the look the all-new Prius and it appears much of it appears to be true.

With strong influences from the Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, the Prius sees new aggressively-styled headlamps and a sharper nose at the front. The C-pillar has also been blackened out for a floating roof effect, while the taillights are long elements that extend down the corners of vehicle.

The all-new Prius will be one of the first vehicles that uses the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) that was revealed as early as March this year. This sees the Prius tip the scales at around 100kg less than its predecessor.

Under the hood will be an updated version of the well-known Toyota Synergy Hybrid Drive system, promising improved efficiency. Rumours point to a 1.8-litre Atkinson cycle engine with a series of electric motors assisting it. A new CVT transmission is said to help with efficiency as well while new lithium-ion battery packs on higher range variants are an upgrade over the less energy dense nickel-metal hydride batteries.

A plug-in hybrid version is also expected to join the Prius line-up although that could make an appearance after conventional hybrid model breaks cover.