The Toyota Mirai, will become the first hydrogen car to pace a NASCAR race at the Toyota Owners 400 Sprint Cup at Richmond Raceway. Currently Toyota has more than two million hybrid vehicles on U.S soil and this landmark in technology follows on from the Toyota Camry hybrid that paced a NASCAR race at the Coca Cola 600 back in 2009.
The Mirai is a four-door sedan powered entirely by hydrogen. It can be refuelled in roughly five minutes and has a range of 480 kilometres. Unlike hybrids there are no harmful emissions – clean water leaves the Mirai’s exhaust pipe.
“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. “Bringing the Mirai to Richmond to pace this important race is another way for Toyota to showcase our innovation and environmental leadership.”
The Toyota Mirai will go on sale in California later this year.
