Yamaha Converts Lexus RC F V8 Engine to Run on Hydrogen

Posted by Kevin on February 18th, 2022

Yamaha is converting the Lexus RC F’s 5.0L V8 engine to run on hydrogen as part of a collaboration with Toyota. A working prototype has been able to produce 449 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, slightly off the RC F’s output of 472/395.

There are no plans to use the engine in a production model, though a similar hydrogen conversion of the Toyota Corolla is currently racing in Japan’s Super Taikyu race series.

(And we all remember the last major collaboration between Lexus & Yamaha produced the V10 engine used in the LFA, right?)

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Will1991

Will1991

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I’m curious why they changed the exhaust to the inside part of the engine and made a 8-1 exhaust system. That’s not something we see everyday.
 
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NXracer

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iu


Can we say Shaker Scoop?
 
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ssun30

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Will1991 said:
I’m curious why they changed the exhaust to the inside part of the engine and made a 8-1 exhaust system. That’s not something we see everyday.
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From Yamaha interview:
1) 8-1 equal length exhaust creates a unique exhaust sound unlike any other V8 engine. Yamaha wants to make the H2 engine easily recognizable.
2) It greatly boosts low-end torque at the cost of high-end torque. Peak power is slightly lower but peak torque is available at 3600rpm. (BTW the torque curve of petrol 2UR-GSE is terrible).

BTW this photo shows the engine was developed in 2018. So H2 ICE has been in development for quite a while at Yamaha.
ymh.jpg
 
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NXracer

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So they have the motor figured out, how about the distribution of hydrogen? Will this come from a Toyota partnership?
 
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Levi

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NXracer said:
So they have the motor figured out, how about the distribution of hydrogen? Will this come from a Toyota partnership?
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Distribution of hydrogen does not come from carmakers from energy companies. They are keeping a low profile.
 
F1 Silver Arrows

F1 Silver Arrows

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If we could have cheap hydrogen with hydrogen stations that's dispersed everywhere around a given country, I could see ICE's making a comeback.

Hopefully Porsche gains some serious traction on eFuels too. It's obvious that a lot of manufacturers don't want to give up on the ICE.
 
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Levi

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F1 Silver Arrows said:
If we could have cheap hydrogen with hydrogen stations that's dispersed everywhere around a given country, I could see ICE's making a comeback.

Hopefully Porsche gains some serious traction on eFuels too. It's obvious that a lot of manufacturers don't want to give up on the ICE.
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If we can have hydrogen stations, I'd already prefer the Mirai (with GS 450h performance if possible).
 
Smychavo

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Really sick piece of engineering on the part of Yamaha. I wish we could see this on some sort of prototype race car as a proof-of-concept.
 
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NomadDan

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The hot-V setup is interesting. I wonder if Yamaha is attempting to use this in a marine application. I've read that hot-V is more common in the marine industry.

What benefit is there in using an ICE vs. a fuel cell for hydrogen vehicles? A fuel cell would be way less complex, but perhaps ICE has some benefits that I'm not aware of.
 
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NXracer

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NomadDan said:
The hot-V setup is interesting. I wonder if Yamaha is attempting to use this in a marine application. I've read that hot-V is more common in the marine industry.

What benefit is there in using an ICE vs. a fuel cell for hydrogen vehicles? A fuel cell would be way less complex, but perhaps ICE has some benefits that I'm not aware of.
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There exists a hydrogen system as a hot v in marine systems?
All i hear is the not-so secret fast track of hydrogen propulsion systems for next gen Boeing and Airbus Aircraft.
 
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NomadDan

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NXracer said:
T

There exists a hydrogen system as a hot v in marine systems?
All i hear is the not-so secret fast track of hydrogen propulsion systems for next gen Boeing and Airbus Aircraft.
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I haven’t heard anything about hydrogen use in marine applications, but supposedly some people have been using hot-v setups for gas motors. A while back, I was reading an article about some people turning their SBC motors into hot-v configuration for boats.

There’s been a lot of talk about hydrogen use in the aviation industry, but that talk is mostly about turbofan engines.
 
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