Toyota GR Yaris H2: hydrogen like you've never seen it

Toyota fait partie de ces constructeurs automobiles qui croient en l’hydrogène. La marque japonaise s’impose même comme une référence en la matière, puisqu’elle commercialise des véhicules fonctionnant au dihydrogène, via une pile à combustible, depuis 2015. Sa Mirai, une berline familiale à zéro émissions fonctionnant sur cette technologie, vient même de passer à une toute nouvelle génération.

But Toyota surprises everyone by unveiling another hydrogen car, with a radically different technical sheet. Like the experimental BMW Hydrogen 7 from 2006, the GR Yaris H2 uses a thermal engine that burns dihydrogen instead of the usual fossil fuel. In its “normal” version, the GR Yaris develops 261 hp via a small 3-liter turbocharged inline 1,6-cylinder. The GR Yaris H2 retains precisely this engine, simply adapted to run on a different fuel, powered by two dihydrogen tanks.

Toyota, which presents this very special Yaris after having raced a Corolla equipped with the same engine in competition in Japan, explains that packaging it in the gaseous state of dihydrogen makes it possible to obtain performances similar to those of a classic unleaded fuel . But the manufacturer does not give any power or performance figures, specifying that the car is at an experimental stage. What if this technology made it possible to keep our piston engines longer than expected? With all the industry and jobs currently hanging in the balance... Bonus: the sound of the engine, so dear to enthusiasts, is preserved!