The Toyota LandCruiser could be in line to receive a new engine variant – one powered by hydrogen.
According to a report in Japan’s Best Car magazine, Toyota is planning to use the freshly launched LandCruiser 300 Series as the debut production model for its hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine (ICE).
While there are no other clear details on the hydrogen-powered LandCruiser, it could mean that the V8 engine that was discontinued when the new 300 Series launched last year is resurrected as a hydrogen engine.
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For now, the new-generation off-road wagon is exclusively powered by a 3.3-litre turbocharged diesel V6 pumping out 227kW/700Nm – more than the 200kW/600Nm of the old V8 diesel.
While it is exciting news for LC300 fans, questions remain around refuelling and cost. Currently there are only a handful of hydrogen refuelling stations in Australia, with just one in Victoria behind the secure gates of Toyota’s Altona hydrogen centre.
The priciest LandCruiser in Australia is the Sahara ZX at $138,790, and given the expense in developing the tech, it could creep up to the $200,000 mark.
That might sound crazy, but remember that Australian hydrogen fuel-cell startup H2X launched a Ford Ranger-based model called the Warrego that’s priced from $189,000 to $250,000.
Toyota has been developing a hydrogen powertrain for the past couple of years, and previewed an engine under the bonnet of a Corolla hatch that participated in a race series in Japan last July, before following that up with a hydrogen-powered GR Yaris in December.
Toyota already has some skin in the game when it comes to hydrogen, but up until last year, it was with hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles (FCEV) like the Mirai sedan.
This new powertrain is not an electric car, rather it relies on tried and tested internal combustion technologies. However, unlike an FCEV which only emits water vapour into the air, the ICE version burns hydrogen and produces tailpipe emissions.
Toyota executives have recently suggested that hydrogen could play a bigger role in its line-up.
Speaking to Australian journalists in June last year, Toyota Australia general manager of product planning Rod Ferguson says there was the potential for hydrogen technology to roll out in different applications like light and heavy-commercial vehicles.
“We are launching this type of car now, but the potential exists across a range of heavier vehicles, or light trucks or trains or buses, definitely. It’s technology well suited to back-to-base or quick refuelling,” he said.
Toyota isn’t the first manufacturer to experiment with hydrogen ICE powertrains. BMW built 100 examples of its Hydrogen 7 model between 2005 and 2007. BMW used the 6.0-litre V12 engine from the 760i variant as the basis of the hydrogen engine and it produced 191kW/390Nm, and completed the 0-100km/h dash in 9.5 seconds.
Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda has also been pushing hard for alternatives to battery electric vehicles when it comes to greening the world’s fleet. In September last year he warned that the automotive industry in Japan could be decimated if Toyota moved to EVs only.
“This means that production of more than eight million units would be lost, and the automotive industry could risk losing the majority of 5.5 million jobs. If they say internal combustion engines are the enemy, we would not be able to produce almost any vehicles.”
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