Toyota will race a hydrogen-engined prototype at the 2026 Le Mans 24 Hours – and it has pledged to continue development of hydrogen-combustion powertrains for road cars as it doubles down on its belief that it is a potential route to zero-emissions mobility.
To highlight its decision, the company has unveiled the Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept at Le Mans this morning ahead of the 100th anniversary of the race.
Race organisers have created a hydrogen class for 2026 – open to hydrogen-combustion and hydrogen-fuel-cell racers – and have also pledged to use the category’s ‘balance of performance’ rules to put the cars on a par with the fastest racing cars, opening up the potential for a hydrogen-powered car to win outright.
From 2030, organisers have said they anticipate all cars racing at Le Mans will be hydrogen powered. While the regulations allow hydrogen fuel cells and combustion engines to be used, the latter is favoured by many – including Toyota – as it retains the noise and visceral emotion of today’s racing machines.
Very few technical details of the Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept have been revealed, beyond the fact that it is powered by a hydrogen engine linked to a hybrid system and is 5100mm long and 2050mm wide. The LMP1-H Le Mans Prototype racer that starts this weekend’s race as favourite is 4650mm long and 1900mm wide.
Toyota has long pioneered hydrogen as a zero-CO2 fuel source, commercialising the Toyota Mirai fuel-cell road car as well as developing several heavy-duty uses for the powertrain. However, in recent years, it has stepped up its development of hydrogen-powered engine technology, especially for use in motorsport.
Since 2021, it has been competing in the Super Taikyu Series in Japan using a hydrogen-engined Toyota Corolla. It has also used the car in super endurance racing in Thailand, and earlier this year finished the Fuji 24 Hours with the car.
In a statement about its race programme, Toyota said it had been “honing its technologies in the harsh environment of motorsports and, with like-minded partners in and outside the automotive industry, accelerating its efforts for producing, transporting, and using hydrogen toward the realisation of a carbon-neutral society. Toyota intends to further advance such efforts for making ever-better motorsports-bred cars using a hydrogen-engine Corolla.”