Yamaha is working on a big hydrogen V8 for Toyota.
Toyota and Yamaha have long collaborated on special projects. One of the first Japanese classic sportscars, the Toyota 2000GT, was made with Yamaha. The VVTL-i 2ZZ engine that went into the last Toyota sportscars from the early 2000s was Yamaha developed. Yamaha even helped Lexus tune their legendary LFA. This hydrogen engine is the next big motor project that the two companies are collaborating on and yes, it’s quite literally a big motor.
Toyota Motor Corporation has commissioned Yamaha Motor to build a 5-litre V8 internal combustion engine that burns not petrol, not diesel, but hydrogen. And why not? Toyota has already proven that this works in the realm of motorsports with a hydrogen-burning Corolla completing the 5-hour long Super Taikyu race.
This new Yamaha-developed V8 is based on the 5.0-liter petrol engine in the Lexus RC F. Yamaha plan to make modifications to the injectors, cylinder heads, intake manifold, and more. When they are done, it will burn hydrogen gas and deliver up to 450 hp at 6,800 rpm and a maximum 540 Nm of torque of at 3,600 rpm. In the RC F, the original petrol motor produces 467 hp at 7,100 rpm and 527 Nm of torque between 4,800 and 5,600 rpm.
Here are some excerpts from the press release for more information.
PRESS RELEASE
“We are working toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050,” explained Yamaha Motor president Yoshihiro Hidaka. “At the same time, ‘Motor’ is in our company name and we accordingly have a strong passion for and level of commitment to the internal combustion engine.”
“Hydrogen engines house the potential to be carbon-neutral while keeping our passion for the internal combustion engine alive at the same time,” proclaimed President Hidaka at the venue. “Teaming up with companies with different corporate cultures and areas of expertise as well as growing the number of partners we have is how we want to lead the way into the future.”
The Merits of Hydrogen: Not a Stand-In for Gasoline
Yamaha began developing a hydrogen engine for automobiles about five years ago. Takeshi Yamada from the Technical Research & Development Center’s Automotive Development Section is a member of the hydrogen engine development team and he began to sense the depth of potential in the powerplant as the project progressed.
“I started to see that engines using only hydrogen for fuel actually had very fun, easy-to-use performance characteristics,” he explains. “Hydrogen engines have an innately friendly feel that makes them easy to use even without resorting to electronic driving aids. Everyone who came to test-drive the prototype car would start off somewhat skeptical, but emerged from the car with a big smile on their face at the end. As I watched this, I started to believe that there is actually enormous potential in the characteristics unique to hydrogen engines instead of simply treating it as a substitute for gasoline.”
Another thing that Yamada and the team value in the development process is Kanno Seino, meaning sensual or exhilarating performance. One example is the harmonic high-frequency exhaust note produced by the engine’s 8-into-1 exhaust manifold. “This is a challenge we can sink our teeth into as engineers and I personally want to pursue not just performance but also a new allure for the internal combustion engine that the world has yet to see,” declares Yamada.
What he and his fellow engineers believe in is the potential of a fully hydrogen-powered engine. Working together with his gradually expanding network of partners, Yamada undoubtedly feels they have one hand on the door to unlocking that potential.
