Toyota reveals GR H2 hydrogen prototype at Le Mans | GRR
Toyota has revealed the GR H2 Racing Concept, a preview of a car it intends to race at Le Mans in years to come. ‘But Toyota has the GR010,’ we hear you cry. Well, the GR H2 isn’t designed to race hypercars, it’s going to compete in the hydrogen category, given that’s what its engine burns.
Spurred by the ACO’s announcement of the new category, which will in future allow both hydrogen combustion and hydrogen fuel cell cars, the GR H2 is an expression of intent to compete when the category debuts in the 2026 season.
The GR H2 is the latest in a number of hydrogen combustion competition vehicles Toyota has worked on. In recent years Toyota has developed and raced hydrogen-powered GR86s and GR Corollas, and experimented with a hydrogen-combustion version of its high-performance 2UR-GSE V8 engine. A hydrogen-powered GR Corolla, raced by Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, recently managed to complete a 24-hour race at Fuji.
“My goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in motorsports without sacrificing anything in terms of performance or excitement,” Toyota said in a statement on the release of the GR H2.
“We look forward to our new GR H2 race car in view of the new Le Mans H2 class in the future. The sound, the torque, the dynamics, it's all there. Not only are we re-imagining the race car, we're doing it with zero emissions. Here's to the next 100 years of chequered flags!”
There aren’t specific details on the composition of the GR H2 – what engine powers it, for instance – but we know it’s a hybrid and we know it’s 5,100mm long and 2,050mm wide. That makes it just a little longer and wider than the current GR010 hypercar.