A hydrogen-powered Toyota at the start of the Ypres Rally

Le Rally of Ypres (Belgium, August 19-21) will see the participation of a hydrogen car for the first time in the history of the World Rally Championship (WRC). It will be a Toyota GR Yaris H2, a prototype developed by the Japanese brand and which has never been presented to the public until now.

The Toyota GR Yaris H2 has the same technical characteristics as the GR Yaris. The 1.6 liter turbo engine with 261 horsepower will be powered by pure hydrogen, a technology already used by the Toyota Corolla GR during a race in Japan, the 24 Hours of Fuji (photo above) with Jari-Matti Latvala

To mark the occasion, the former quadruple Finnish world champion Juha Kankkunen will take the wheel as the opening car on a special stage of each stage of the Belgian event.

“It was exciting for me to participate in the 24 Hours of Fuji with Akio Toyoda and now we have the chance to demonstrate the same technology on a rally stage, rejoices Jari-Matti Latvala, Team Principal of Toyota Gazoo Racing. I would have loved to drive the car myself, but with my rally work I can't wait to hear what Juha Kankkunen thinks about driving a hydrogen car. »

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