Recommended to cease use, Hydrogen power in the Paris Olympics: Exploring Toyota Mirai!

On July 26, the Paris Olympics officially kicked off, with the opening ceremony's performance astonishing countries around the world. The performances showcased France's humanities, history, arts, and expression of freedom. Toyota is the official partner car for the Paris Olympics, which will use its hydrogen-powered vehicle, the Mirai, to escort the Olympics.

While recent scientists and engineers have expressed hopes that the Olympics will stop using Toyota's hydrogen-powered vehicle, the Paris Olympic official attitude towards Toyota remains friendly. Tony Estanguet, chairman of the 2024 Winter Olympic Committee, once stated, "Collaborating with Toyota as a global mobility partner for the 2024 Paris Olympics allows us to move towards more convenient and inclusive methods of mobility. It’s also a more responsible form of transportation as we’re focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% compared to previous Olympics."

But what is this car exactly? Let us get to know it. We will discuss the second generation Mira model in this article, which is a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, built on the GA-L rear-wheel drive platform (Lexus LS platform), with a cruising range of up to 850 km.

The second-generation MIRAI made a stunning debut at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Winter Paralympics, and served as race service vehicles for the first time on a grand scale in China. This fleet of vehicles will also be put into social operation through GAC Toyota, with the first batch of 111 hydrogen-powered online taxis to provide residents in Beijing and Guangzhou with a novel "hydrogen travel" experience. With the arrival of the second-generation MIRAI, GAC Toyota is bringing Toyota's world-leading hydrogen fuel cell technology to the Chinese market, becoming the first joint venture automaker in China to enter the hydrogen sector, leading the forefront of electrification, and working to provide customers with the ultimate environmental friendly "hydrogen travel" experience.

The second generation of Toyota MIRAI completely abandons the design language of the first generation, and it has transformed from a compact car to a mid-size car. The separate front headlights on both sides of the car are sharp and slender. The overall front face merges the family style while showing its unique personality. A total of 8 colors are available for your choice.

The slender front end, the shorter front overhang combined with the fastback roof design, gives the second-generation MIRAI a strong saloon flavor. The taillights are equipped with a horizontal LED light strip, with a concave design on the upper part of the taillight for a more pronounced sense of levels, which is quite innovative. In terms of body size, its length, width and height have reached 4975/1890/1470mm respectively, with a wheelbase of 2920mm.

The shape of the new car's center console is fantastic, and the lines could be described as diversifying. The slanted passenger's air outlet combined with the center control screen leaning towards the driver, the physical button area, along with color strips and ambient lights, give the entire center console a strong sense of lines and levels.

In terms of configuration, the second generation MIRAI is equipped with a 12.3-inch center console screen, an 8-inch LCD screen, HUD head-up display, front seat heating/ventilation and a JBL sound system, etc. In terms of space, thanks to the GA-L platform, the fuel cell originally under the driver's cabin has been moved to the engine bay, thereby bringing more spacious space inside the car.

The new car's electric motor can provide a maximum power of 184PS and a peak torque of 300N·m, with a high speed of 175km/h. The all-new fuel cell, which is paired with it, uses a solid polymer and is significantly larger than the old model, while having a higher power density. At the same time, the fuel cell's DC-DC converter is 21% smaller than the old model and 2.9kg lighter.

What's more, the most important hydrogen tank has been upgraded to three tanks and they are arranged in a T-shape set under the rear seats and trunk. At the same time, the three hydrogen storage tanks can hold 5.6kg of hydrogen gas (the old model holds 4.6kg).

The officials say that thanks to the relocation of the high-voltage battery and electric motor above the rear axle, the weight distribution ratio of the Mirai has reached 50:50. Furthermore, a more efficient system means the new car has a range of 850km, which is a significant increase from the old model's 502km.