Toyota still has the desire to make a hydrogen-powered Toyota Land Cruiser. This was stated by Mitsumasa Yamagata, Hydrogen Factory President Toyota, quoted by Drive, Tuesday (14/11/2023).
Mitsumasa Yamagata said alternative fuels such as hydrogen are very suitable for large-body vehicles. Especially if the car is often used to carry and tow heavy loads such as the Toyota Land Cruiser.
“There is the possibility of adapting hydrogen-powered engines into such large vehicles. “Including the Toyota Land Cruiser,” said Mitsumasa Yamagata.
It is currently known that the newest Toyota Land Cruiser is equipped with a V6 turbo engine with a cylinder capacity of 3,300 cc. The car’s weight also reaches 3.23 tons.
It’s not surprising that the Toyota Land Cruiser is finally close to the stigma of a wasteful car. It is likely that Toyota now wants the stigma to disappear if it uses a hydrogen-powered engine.
Currently, Toyota has succeeded in applying this hydrogen-powered engine to another giant car made by Toyota, namely the Toyota HiAce. The car launched in Australia recently is equipped with the same engine as the Toyota Land Cruiser. The difference is that the machine is combined with hydrogen technology.
Meanwhile, Mattheo Callachor, President and CEO of Toyota Australia, also admitted that plans to create a hydrogen-powered Toyota Land Cruiser cannot be ruled out. However, significant engineering will still be required.
According to him, the hydrogen version of the legendary SUV is believed to still be able to maintain toughness on off-road terrain and the ability to tow much better loads.
At the same time, drastic emissions and fuel reductions will allow the company to remain compatible with stricter regulations in some countries.
“This is a big gamble from Toyota but also one that is possible to make,” he explained.
Meanwhile Carscoops said one of the challenges facing Toyota engineers was packaging. They had to consider how to add a hydrogen tank without reducing the Land Cruiser’s practicality. Another important factor is the network of hydrogen refueling stations and how quickly they will expand in the next few years.
