Toyota, Yamaha are working on 450 HP hydrogen-powered V8

The last time Toyota and Yamaha worked together, they gave us the 4.8-liter V10 found in the Lexus LFA. It’s an engine that many consider one of the best in modern times. However, it seems that won’t be the last time the two companies will come together.

Toyota and Yamaha are once again teaming up to build a V8 engine. It won’t just be any V8 motor; instead of gasoline, this engine will run on pure hydrogen. However, the new hydrogen-powered V8 won’t be built from the ground up like the LFA’s V10. Instead, it will be based on the 5.0-liter 2UR-GSE engine currently found on the RC F, GS F, and the LC Coupe.

To run hydrogen, Yamaha has made several modifications to the engine. Although specific details were not mentioned, these include changing the injectors, cylinder heads, intake manifold, exhaust, and more. The biggest change would be the exhaust, as it now exits inside the V8 bank, while the intake ports sit on the outer side of the block. This modification allowed Yamaha to develop a unique 8-into-1 exhaust manifold, which sings a unique tune. After all, Yamaha does make musical instruments.

With all the modifications Yamaha made, the V8 motor now produces 450 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and a maximum 540 Nm of torque of at 3,600 rpm. It’s a bit lower compared to the regular 5.0-liter V8, which produces 473 horsepower. However, it’s still impressive considering the engine runs on pure hydrogen and produces zero emissions.

“Hydrogen engines have an innately friendly feel that makes them easy to use even without resorting to electronic driving aids. Everyone who came to test-drive the prototype car would start off somewhat skeptical, but emerged from the car with a big smile on their face at the end. As I watched this, I started to believe that there is actually enormous potential in the characteristics unique to hydrogen engines instead of simply treating it as a substitute for gasoline,” said Takeshi Yamada, a member of Yamaha’s Technical Research & Development Center.

There’s no word yet where Toyota plans to put this new hydrogen-powered V8 engine developed by Yamaha. However, this won't be the first time the automaker focuses on hydrogen power. The automaker is currently testing the limits of hydrogen in a Corolla race car with Toyota president Akio Toyoda as one of the drivers.

Hopefully, we will see this clean V8 in the future powering one of the automaker’s performance models.