World record: Toyota Mirai travels 1360km on one hydrogen tank

The Japanese sedan travelled the equivalent distance of Melbourne to Brisbane on just

5.65kg of fuel.

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The 2021 Toyota Mirai sedan has set a new hydrogen efficiency benchmark, completing a 1360.378km round trip in Southern California on a single 5.65kg tank of hydrogen.

For reference, the USA’s EPA testing cycle gives the vehicle an estimated range of 646km – a figure the new distance exceeds by more than 110 per cent, though no indication on the average speed the vehicle travelled at to reduce consumption and break the record.

The run was conducted over two days in August 2021, however it was not officially verified by the Guinness Book of World Records until this week. It surpasses the previous (albeit verified by a different authority, not Guinness) record set in France in May by another Toyota Mirai, with a distance of 1003km.

Professional ‘hypermiler’ Wayne Gerdes – who previously set a record for the lowest fuel consumption driving coast to coast in the USA – was behind the wheel for the majority of the trip, with co-pilot Bob Winger also driving several stints.

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“We are proud to be leaders of this exciting technology, which is just one of a growing lineup of zero emission vehicles in our portfolio,” executive vice president of Toyota North America, Bob Carter, said.

The Mirai – which is one of just a handful of commercially-available hydrogen cars – was launched in first-generation guise in 2015, with the second-generation version arriving in 2020.

Currently, 20 examples are registered for Australian roads, and are leased out to local businesses on three-year/$1750 per month contracts.

While fuel-cell technology has several distinct advantages over battery electric vehicles – such increased range, and shorter ‘recharging’ times – it has failed to develop comparable mass-market appeal, largely due to high manufacturing costs and a lack of infrastructure.

In brief: Recent hydrogen production car distance records

• 23-24 August 2021: Toyota Mirai, 1360.378km, USA (Wayne Gerdes and Bob Winger)
• 26 May 2021: Toyota Mirai, 1003km, France (four drivers)
• 26 April 2021: Hyundai Nexo, 887.5km, Australia (Brendan Reeves)
• 2019: Hyundai Nexo, 779km, France (Bertrand Piccard)

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