Guilty Pleasure with the Hydrogen Toyota GR Yaris!

The hydrogen conversion of the GR Yaris gives a glimpse of a carbon-neutral future for high-performance engines.

If you are not yet familiar with the Toyota GR Yaris, let’s just say it’s a car “born from the WRC,” a road car designed for rallying. A very simple recipe with all-wheel drive at each corner of an ultra-compact chassis and 280 horsepower in its 2024 version. As a joy weapon, it’s hard to do better. Proof of this is that over 20,000 Toyota GR Yaris have been sold in Europe since its launch in 2020. Toyota proudly claims a customer satisfaction rate of 99%, and having taken the wheel of the car, we can assure you that this is credible and deserved!

However enjoyable it may be, this Yaris remains a car of the present, or even from the past for the more grumpy. Rather than attaching a mild hybrid system to please the complainers and cheaply buying a good ecological conscience, Toyota decided to modify the engine of a prototype to run on hydrogen.

So simple that it seems obvious

As part of its multi-technology approach, Toyota has been working for a long time on developing internal combustion engines that can run on carbon-neutral fuel. Some racing cars equipped this way have already participated in endurance events in Japan, proving the relevance of the Japanese manufacturer’s approach.

While the process of converting the 3-cylinder turbo gasoline engine is ultimately relatively simple, the major changes include replacing the fuel tank and lines with components suited for hydrogen. The Mirai, Toyota’s hydrogen fuel cell sedan, has lent its high-pressure fuel tanks which have been installed in the trunk of the GR Yaris. The engine has received a new fueling system and specific injectors, hoses, and spark plugs.

In the end, the GR Yaris retains its performance and, above all, the unmistakable sound of an internal combustion engine, emitting nothing but water.

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