Toyota Gazoo Racing took the wraps off its GR LH2 Racing Concept at the Le Mans 24 Hours Hydrogen Village at the Circuit de la Sarthe this morning.
The LH2 is a liquid hydrogen (LH2) fueled test car, which is an evolution of the clay GR H2 concept it showed off at La Sarthe two years ago.
The Japanese manufacturer was light on details regarding the wider plans for the car at today’s launch.
What we do know at this point is that the chassis, which is based on the GR010 HYBRID Hypercar, was designed and manufactured by Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe in Cologne, and the engine comes from the Japanese arm of Gazoo Racing.
In terms of technical specs, the car is powered by a hydrogen engine and hybrid system, and is 51000 mm long and 2050 mm wide.
“We need to be careful about our intent.” Kazuki Nakajima, the vice president of Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe told reporters at the reveal.
“Our intent at this moment is to test this car, test hydrogen, not only combustion engine technology, and learn about the infrastructure and refuelling system, as it’s different to what we are used to.
We are targeting to expand the possibilities of hydrogen combustion engine technology. There is more to come and to get to the right level we believe we need to improve the technology further. This is the first step.
“From running, it’s not far, but we can’t tell you exactly when. Basically, it is designed to run on track.”
Currently the FIA WEC is expected to adopt hydrgen powered prototypes in 2028, and we expect to hear more about the future regulation set later this week.
Image courtesy of Toyota
