Toyota has figured out how to keep internal combustion engine sports cars in service

Unlike many other market players, Toyota is not going to completely convert its lineup to electricity and abandon internal combustion engines. The company believes in the future of internal combustion engines, but admits that it will have to comply with new rules and prohibitions in different regions. Therefore, Toyota plans to convert the engines to hydrogen fuel, Toyota Gazoo Racing manager Masahito Watanabe said in an interview with Autocar.

At the last Tokyo Motor Show, Toyota showed a concept with the FT-Se index, which anticipates the brand’s future electric sports cars. However, Gazoo Racing does not set out to become a completely “battery” division: as before, Toyota believes that it is worth investing in various powertrains, including hydrogen.

Watanabe emphasized that the company has extensive experience in developing hydrogen power plants, both electric and those based on piston engines. For example, in 2021, Gazoo Racing switched the GR Yaris and GR Corolla turbocharged engines to hydrogen. And in 2022, Toyota, in collaboration with Yamaha, built a hydrogen version of the naturally aspirated V8 5.0 from the Lexus RC F coupe.

At the same time, the top manager admitted that the existing infrastructure is not developed enough for the commercial success of hydrogen vehicles. This, according to Toyota, is the reason for the market failure of the Mirai sedan: there are too few gas stations for it on the roads. However, hydrogen cars will eventually find their niche, Watanabe believes.

Toyota engineers continue to actively experiment with hydrogen. In September, a prototype fuel cell Hilux pickup truck was shown in the UK, which will be sent for road testing by the end of the year. Even the Land Cruiser could be powered by hydrogen, but it is not yet known whether it will be an electric unit or an internal combustion engine fueled with hydrogen.

New hydrogen cars