2016 Toyota Mirai Preview – New Fuel Cell Car is Named for the Future

By Steve & Tamami Laser

Toyota has named its new fuel cell vehicle “Mirai” which means “future” in Japanese. Up to now it’s been known as “FCV.” The new Mirai will go on sale in Japan in December 2014 with U.S. sales slated to begin in fall 2015.

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Mirai is an all-electric, four-door sedan that makes its own electricity on board. It utilizes the same hybrid technology developed for Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive systems but replaces the gasoline engine with a fuel cell stack.

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It features hydrogen fuel tanks (the hydrogen is a compressed gas, similar to a natural gas vehicle), an electric motor, a fuel cell stack, a small battery and a power control unit. The hydrogen gas is fed into the fuel cell stack where it’s combined with oxygen.

The hydrogen and oxygen move through the fuel cell stack and create a chemical reaction, producing electricity to power the vehicle. Toyota says it takes less than five minutes to refuel, has a range of 300 miles and the only emission from the tailpipe is water vapor.

News source and photos courtesy of Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. Vehicle specifications are subject to change without notice.

Story (commentary) © 2014 CarNichiWa