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Toyota Mirai officially first hydrogen-powered pace car

In addition to the chance to see bumper-to-bumper racing in a unique atmosphere, the roar of V8 engines is one of the things that compel people to attend NASCAR events, rather than watching them from the couch on TV. The front end of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Raceway was a whole lot quieter, though, because the 2016 Toyota Mirai made its debut as a pace car there. Outfitted with a light bar and a special livery, the Mirai became the first hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to ever pace a NASCAR race and led the cars to the green flag for Saturday night's Sprint Cup round. The sedan was tested prior to the event to prove it had the performance required to lead the 43-car field. "Bringing the Mirai to Richmond to pace this important race is another way for Toyota to showcase our innovation and environmental leadership," Ed Laukes, company vice president of marketing, performance, and guest experience, said. There's some precedent for Toyota to show off its green credentials to the NASCAR audience. In 2009, a Camry Hybrid paced the Coca-Cola 600. The automaker's fuel cell tech already had a maiden motorsport outing, too. Late last year, the FCV Concept, which previewed the Mirai, was the zero car to check the roads for the Shinshiro Rally in Japan. TOYOTA MIRAI TAKES TO THE TRACK 23/04/15 Mirai Will Pace Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Mirai Is First Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle to Pace a NASCAR Race RICHMOND, VA. (April 23, 2015) – Toyota today announced the 2016 Toyota Mirai, a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle, will pace the Toyota Owners 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway on Saturday night, April 25. Today's approval allows the Mirai to serve as the first hydrogen-fueled vehicle to pace a NASCAR race. It will lead the Sprint Cup Series field to the green flag at Richmond on Saturday night and emit only water out of its tailpipe along the way. "Having a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle pace the Toyota Owners 400 is a historic moment for both Toyota and NASCAR and we're proud it's the Toyota Mirai," said Ed Laukes, vice president of marketing, performance and guest experience, Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.

Toyota says freezing temps pose zero problems for fuel cell vehicles

Hydrogen-powered fuel cell electric vehicles are not afraid of one thing – freezing cold weather. That's the latest from two companies that have been driving the cars in frostbite temperatures in the Northeast recently. Proton Onsite runs a fleet of 10 Toyota FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicles out of its Connecticut headquarters and discovered that the snow and three-degree temperature didn't restrict range. Mark Schiller, Proton vice president of business development, said in a statement that, "I went out to my Toyota FCHV-adv and brushed off a foot of snow before starting the car right up. No problem." While electric vehicles can have their driving range reduced in extreme temperatures (but not always), Proton Onsite hasn't seen that happen in the Polar Vortex. They're performing flawlessly in freezing temperatures even with the heaters blasting, and are continuing to hit their range of about 300 miles, Schiller said. Air Products, based on Allentown, PA, has had a similar experience. The FCHV-adv has had great performance under harsh conditions, according to Nick Mittica, commercial manager, hydrogen energy systems. Employees drove the fuel cell vehicle during one of Pennsylvania's worst winters in recent memory and, you guessed it, "No problem." Toyota says that has put its fuel cell fleet through the wringer, logging millions of miles over the last decade, to make sure performance can be delivered within extreme weather conditions. Toyota engineers spent weeks testing cold weather start up, performance and durability up in Yellowknife, Canada. Temperature can reach -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) at that location. On other end of the scale, Toyota was able to verify that its FCVs can handle driving through heat in Death Valley national park. We heard the same from Mercedes the other day, too. Extreme weather functionality is apparently something automakers want to make absolutely sure the public doesn't worry about. Jan. 30, 2014 – Record low temperatures have stranded many East Coast drivers, but not those driving a Toyota fuel cell hybrid vehicle. Connecticut-based Proton Onsite, which operates a fleet of ten Toyota FCHV-adv fuel cell vehicles, says that even in single digit temperatures, the FCHV-adv shows no signs of frostbite. "We had another snow storm Tuesday night and this morning the temperature was 3 degrees," says Mark Schiller, Proton vice president of business development.

Toyota announces GT86 CS-R3 rally car

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has developed cars for all manner of racing, up to and including Formula One and Le Mans. But it got its start back in 1979 in rally competition, winning four drivers' and three manufacturers' titles in the World Rally Championship. And now it's announced a new rally car.
Based on the Toyota GT86 (better known to us as the Scion FR-S), the CS-R3 rally car isn't built to contest the top tier of the WRC, but is being developed to conform to the lower R3 class. That means a six-speed sequential gearbox, limited slip differential and upgraded engine, brakes, aero... the works. It'll retain the road-going model's rear-drive setup, joining the front-drive Yaris R1A in TMG's portfolio of customer rally cars.
Further details are set to be revealed "in the coming months", but the GT86 CS-R3 will benefit from the experience TMG accrued in developing the GT86 CS-V3 (pictured above) for the Nürburgring-based VLN endurance racing series.