Toyota’s Gazoo Racing division has no intention to electrify its lineup of sports cars completely, but it may have to switch some of them to burning hydrogen gas instead of petrol, division boss Masahito Watanabe revealed in an interview.
At the Japan Mobility Show that took place in Tokyo this fall, the company introduced a coupe-shaped concept named FT-Se, which it called the prototype of its future driver-oriented EVs. However, even as it did so, Toyota admitted it still saw potential in ICE cars and was dedicated to taking a more balanced approach in new car design to give its customers as much choice as possible.
Watanabe reminded that Toyota had spent many years experimenting around with hydrogen powertrains. Cars powered by them exist in the GR portfolio, too: the track-only GR Corolla and GR Yaris both utilize three-cylinder turbo engines modified to combust hydrogen gas.
At the same time, the executive admitted that infrastructural hurdles remain the biggest factor preventing the mass commercial adoption of hydrogen transports. He said he was hopeful that this issue would soon be resolved in the EU, the United States and Japan. All these countries are running both public and private incentives for hydrogen vehicles.