Toyota and Yamaha Are Working on a Hydrogen-Powered V8 Engine
While many automakers have embraced the move to electric mobility, some are showing at least some reluctance. And for many of those, the belief is that the key to replacing the current generation of traditional gasoline engine will require more than one type of alternative.
Case in point, Toyota. Yes, the automaker has embarked on development of electric vehicles, albeit a little tardily, but it continues to devote time and resources to hydrogen-powered engines and vehicles. The company confirmed this week that it is partnering with Yamaha to develop a V8 engine that runs on hydrogen as it tires to make the case that combustion engines have their place even in a domain dominated by electric-powered vehicles.
Toyota, as mentioned, is not new to the hydrogen concept. But there’s an interesting particularity to this new joint project. Instead of hydrogen being used to generate electricity to power the car, as is the case with Toyota’s Mirai model, it is simply used instead of gasoline, leaving water vapors as the only emissions.
The engine used as the starting point for the new project is Toyota’s 5.0L V8 found under the hood of the Lexus RC F, among others. The hydrogen version develops 449 hp and 398 lb-ft of torque, according to Yamaha. That's not far off the 472 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque of the gasoline variant.
Interestingly, this hydrogen engine project follows a joint agreement between Toyota, Yamaha, Subaru, Mazda and Kawasaki, by which the companies agree to work at expanding the use of alternative fuel technologies. The partners plan to experiment with biodiesel and synthetic fuels in addition to hydrogen.
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