Toyota Gazoo Racing has announced it will debut the GR Yaris Rally2 H2 Concept, a rally car equipped with a hydrogen engine, at Rally Finland, taking place from July 31 to August 3 this summer.
Toyota has been competing with a hydrogen engine Corolla since 2021 in Japan’s Super Taikyu endurance circuit racing series. Jari-Matti Latvala, Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally team principal, is among the drivers who have raced with the powertrain and provided feedback for its development.
The technology was demonstrated for the first time on European rally stages in 2022 when the experimental GR Yaris H2 debuted at the FIA World Rally Championship round in Belgium, driven by Akio Toyoda and Juha Kankkunen. Since then, development has continued to create the Rally2 H2 Concept.
The car is based on the successful GR Yaris Rally2 chassis, fitted with an internal combustion engine fueled by compressed hydrogen. It delivers near-zero emissions while retaining the sounds and sensations similar to internal combustion engines.
The rally car has been developed at TGR-WRT headquarters in Jyväskylä, Finland, and tested on local roads, including runs on gravel forest roads. For its public debut, the car will be demonstrated on the mixed-surface Harju stage in the center of Jyväskylä, which will be the opening stage of the rally, and again as special stage 10 of the event the following day. Four-time world champion Kankkunen will be at the wheel.
In related news, Alpine has unveiled the rally version of the A290, the first electric Alpine designed for customer racing. The A290 Rallye was developed by the Viry-Châtillon teams and will be assembled in the competition workshop at the Manufacture Alpine Dieppe Jean Rédélé
