Toyota Presents a GR Yaris Powered by Hydrogen

The Toyota GR Yaris falls into the “forbidden fruit” category in North America, yet this news from the Japanese giant’s European wing is enough to make combustion engine fans smile.

This experimental Toyota GR Yaris no longer runs on gasoline, but on hydrogen, but unlike the Toyota Mirai, which uses the fuel to power an electric motor, this little subcompact bomb keeps its 1.6-liter turbo 3-cylinder engine.

The G16E-GTS block is still in place, but its fuel supply and injection system have been modified to use hydrogen as fuel. However, the fuel tanks and refueling process are the same as in the Mirai sedan.

Let’s remember that Toyota is one of the manufacturers that still believe in the potential of hydrogen as a fuel of the future, the giant that even participates in Super Taikyu category races, using a Corolla Sport (our Corolla Hatchback) equipped with an engine identical to that of this experimental GR Yaris. This special Toyota Corolla serves as a rolling laboratory for this modified engine.

“We have taken a first step by developing and racing our hydrogen engine, with the mindset of taking on a challenge. I imagine things will be a little different 10 years from now, and I hope people will look back and see how positively we met this challenge and enjoyed every moment of it,” said Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation.

The benefits of hydrogen as a power source are real, if only to preserve the driving pleasure of a car with an internal combustion engine. However, as Toyota points out, hydrogen burns faster than gasoline, a detail that makes the engine livelier. As for the carbon neutrality of this mechanical alternative, hydrogen needs no further introduction.

It will be interesting to see if this experimental GR Yaris will convince Toyota’s top management to invest more in this fuel, which is lagging behind electric power, which is gaining ground every day.