There are few people more petrolhead than Keiichi Tsuchiya. This legendary Japanese pilot is one of the world icons of the world of drifting, and we could say that without him, this discipline would not enjoy -far from it- the tremendous popularity of him. He is an eminence in his native Japan, and therefore, Your opinion is highly valued by the big car manufacturers. Toyota has let him drive one of its most special prototypes on the circuit: a Toyota Corolla with a Toyota GR Yaris mechanics powered by hydrogen. His opinion interests you.
Everything has been recorded in an episode of Best Motoring, one of the most traditional motor shows on television – the Japanese Top Gear, speaking in silver. Tsuchiya and other drivers begin by testing a stock Toyota GR Yaris. They praise its engine, its dynamism and its lightness. After the GR Yaris, they start circling Tsukuba with a Toyota Corolla with competition undercarriage, whose engine is the same G16E-GTS as the GR Yaris, but fueled by hydrogen. The engine develops more than 300 hp to compensate for the high weight of the vehicle.
It is the first time that someone other than Toyota has driven this vehicle.
We are talking about 1,800 kilos, and that weight is not one of Tsuchiya’s complaints, but that of another pilot, Nob Taniguchi. Still, both praise that the engine doesn’t feel any different than a gasoline-powered engine. That is the great victory of this mechanic, which does not make us have to forget internal combustion. Tsuchiya is not a fan of electric cars, and he ends the video by stating that should be produced by appliance manufacturers and electrical appliances – and that car manufacturers should bet on hydrogen.
Toyota is one of the brands that is most committed to hydrogen, but the truth is that we are still far from producing affordable and, above all, efficient, large-scale hydrogen mobility.
