The lab coats at Yamaha have been hard at work, this time doing some engineering for their longtime partner, Toyota Motor Corporation.
While not meant for two-wheelers, today’s Yamaha creation is still a pretty cool addition to our sites, as the works revolve around the all-hydrogen fuel-fueled 5.0L V8. The motor produces 450hp of torque and 400 lbs • ft.
Yamaha Motor President, Yoshihiro Hidaka, explains: “We are working towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. “At the same time, ‘Motor’ is in our company name and we are accordingly. has a strong passion and commitment to the internal combustion engine.”
As you might have guessed from that statement, Yamaha’s project with Toyota reflects two realities facing the automotive world, especially outside of the United States.
First, the adoption of hydrogen and hydrogen fuel cells is seen as one of the most viable avenues for cleaner power generation and engines, with Yamaha and other brands such as Honda and Kawasaki exploring solutions. Alternative to gasoline does not necessarily run on electricity.
In November last year, the five companies Kawasaki, Subaru, Toyota, Mazda and Yamaha announced that they would start discussions to conduct collaborative research to find possible avenues to expand the selection range. fuel for internal combustion engines. Hydro was aiming for that charge.
Today’s engine launch is the first fruit of that partnership, although we can expect more announcements in terms of power plants, distribution systems and complete consumer retail. use, all in the months and years to come.
The second factor driving this agenda is a larger one in the automotive enthusiast space, which sees a public and corporate environment that is resistant to loss of combustion engines. in and the romance surrounding this form of transportation.
We’ve seen European brands jump on the bandwagon of poorly named “electronic fuel” which is essentially a synthetic fuel that doesn’t come from fossil fuel sources.
Synthetic fuels still have undesirable emissions, but because they’re formed by combining carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide with hydrogen, these “electronic fuels” are advertised as having no real effect on with the environment.
Will the future of internal combustion switch to hydrogen or synthetic fuel? Or will electricity mark the complete end of the internal combustion engine?
Futures may not be a binary option and is clear between the two. As I like to say, time will tell. However, the huge blue flames shooting out the back of an eight-one title is a rather interesting alternative future.
Source: Yamaha Motor Europe
