Hydrogen vehicles, but also electric hybrids or biofuel hybrids. The innovative vehicles will be at the start of the Dakar Rally in January in the new Mission 1000 competition. Toyota, along with other Japanese manufacturers, will deploy a small hydrogen car called the HySE-X1 in the tough competition.
The vehicle has been developed by the HySE (Hydrogen Small Mobility Engine technology) research consortium, which alongside Toyota includes the Kawasaki Group, Suzuki Motor, Honda Motor and Yamaha Motor.
The HySE-X1 is based on a chassis from Belgian firm Overdrive Racing, which has a modified layout for hydrogen use, in particular the fuel tank and fuel delivery system. It is powered by a hydrogen-powered 16-valve liquid-cooled DOHC supercharged four-cylinder 998cc motorcycle engine, which HySE is currently using in its research activities.
The 3.53-metre-long vehicle weighs approximately 1,500 kg. "Participating in the Dakar Rally is a way for us to showcase the results of our research and how we can identify potential problems and improve our technology," said Kenji Komatsu, HySE chairman and Yamaha's executive director of technical research.
Mission 1000 is a new component of the Dakar, which will be held in Saudi Arabia from January 5 to 19, 2024, and is an activity aimed toward the development of next-generation carbon-neutral propulsion technologies. The cars in this category, including the HySE-X1, will be driven in some of the harshest conditions in motorsport. "We hope spectators will watch and cheer for us during the race," added Kenji Komatsu.
A mock-up of the HySE-X1 will also be on display at the Motorsports Program booth at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo.
source: global.toyota
