Toyota Unveils Hydrogen-Powered GR H2 Racing Concept at 2023 Le Mans

The legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance racing is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Launched alongside the Prius GR concept ahead of the action-packed centennial grand prix at the Circuit de la Sarthe is yet another hydrogen-powered race car under the GR’s name, the all-new Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept.

Unfortunately, the automaker doesn't release much of the GR H2’s technical details, especially pertaining to its hydrogen powertrain, as they only said the racing concept combines both the hydrogen powertrain with a hybrid system.

Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept (left) & Toyota GR010 Hybrid Le Mans Hypercar (right)

With a length of 5,100 MM and width of 2,050 MM, this puts the GR H2 slightly bigger than the marque’s current Le Mans hypercar contender – Toyota GR010 – that measures 4,900 MM long and 2,000 MM wide.

Visually, the GR H2 stands out as a more aggressive-looking car compared to the GR010, featuring sharp C-shaped LED headlights that look like what you can find in several modern Toyota models like the new Prius. Apart from that, the GR H2 sports your typical Le Mans prototype look, featuring very aggressive aero parts including the massive swan neck-style rear GT wing that connects to the equally-sizable shark fin.

The Toyota GR H2 hydrogen racing car will make its debut at the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the racing organiser – Automobile Club de l’Ouest (ACO) – will open entries for both hydrogen-combustion and hydrogen-fuel-cell race cars for the 2026 edition. Unlike other motorsporting organisers out there, the ACO truly believed in the capabilities of hydrogen-powered cars, so much as they also predicted that all Le Mans entrants will feature some sort of hydrogen powertrain by the end of this decade.

Toyota's chairman & former CEO Akio Toyoda

This belief is also shared by Toyota, as its chairman and Toyota GR founder Akio Toyoda said, "Le Mans is a place where we can push boundaries and realise the future. My goal is to reach carbon neutrality without compromising the speed or excitement of racing. I wouldn’t invest in this technology if I didn’t think we could win with it.”

Toyota GR Corolla H2 concept racecar

As we mentioned earlier, this is not Toyota GR’s first tango in developing hydrogen-powered racecars. Before the GR H2, Toyota’s performance arm has previously raced the Corolla H2 Concept at Japan’s Super Taikyu Series, as well as the Idemitsu 1500 Super Endurance – a 25-hour endurance race held in Thailand.

Toyota AE86 H2 Concept

Toyota has always been a frontrunner in developing hydrogen powertrains and hydrogen-powered cars, compared to other marques in the world. Prior to this, the automaker has retrofitted its hydrogen powertrain onto the Toyota AE86 model, while the Toyota Mirai has been the marque’s flagship hydrogen model for years.

The Toyota GR H2 Racing Concept will be developed into a full-blown Le Mans racecar prior to its 2026 Le Mans entry. Both the marque’s research facility team in Higashi Fuji and German-based Toyota Gazoo Racing Europe will partake in this development program.