LOS ANGELES, CA – Friday, October 8, 2021: The 2021 Toyota Mirai officially set the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the longest distance by a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle without refueling. The Mirai achieved an unprecedented 845 miles driven on a five-minute complete fill of hydrogen as it completed a roundtrip tour of Southern California to achieve the record. Recently selected by Ward’s Automotive as a 10 Best Engine & Propulsion Systems winner, the Toyota Mirai’s record sets a new distance milestone for zero emission vehicles.
“In 2016 the Toyota Mirai was the first production fuel cell electric vehicle available for retail sale in North America, and now the next generation Mirai is setting distance records,” said Bob Carter, executive vice president, Toyota Motor North America. “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.”
The official record attempt was closely monitored by Guinness World Records, adhering to their strict rules and documentation procedures. On its efficiency-focused August 23 and 24, 2021 journey, the Mirai XLE logged an impressive 152 MPGe with water as its only emission. GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS adjudicator, Michael Empric validated the Mirai’s tank with a seal at both the beginning and end of the journey.
Driven by professional hyper miler, Wayne Gerdes and co-piloted by Bob Winger, the two-day trip began on Monday, August 23, 2021 at the Toyota Technical Center (TTC) in Gardena, CA, home of Toyota’s fuel cell development group. The duo traveled south to San Ysidro and then north to Santa Barbara cruising through Santa Monica and Malibu beach along the Pacific Coast Highway. They returned to TTC that evening and logged 473 miles with only two driver swaps that day.
The next day, August 24, 2021, consisted of more local driving loops, where they pushed through 372 more miles of morning and afternoon rush hour traffic on the San Diego freeway between Los Angeles and Orange County until the Mirai had no more hydrogen left and coasted into TTC with a grand total of 845 miles driven, as witnessed by Empric.
“As a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS adjudicator for 10 years, I’ve had the opportunity to witness incredible attempts, including several distance-related feats,” said Empric. “The Toyota Mirai’s journey without the need to refuel showcases the power of fuel cell electric technology. This technology and the design ingenuity by the team at Toyota led to a history-making moment.”
By the end of the trip the Mirai consumed a total of 5.65kg of hydrogen and passed a total of 12 hydrogen stations along the drive routes without refueling. The Mirai was driven mainly during rush hour traffic in temperatures between 65 to 83 degrees Fahrenheit. It emitted zero pounds of CO2, where a standard internal combustion engine vehicle would have emitted about 664lbs of CO2 over the same distance.
The landmark results were achieved by drivers skilled in hypermiling techniques that optimized the Mirai’s vehicle performance under specific weather and driving conditions.
Breaking Its Own Record
Back on May 26, in France, the Toyota Mirai driven by four different drivers, established a new Guinness World Record breaking the previous record for the distance traveled by a fuel cell vehicle with a fill up.
The 1,003 kilometers (623.23 miles) were completed south of Paris, in Loir-et-Cher and Indre-et-Loire, in the presence of a Guinness observer.
About Toyota Mirai
The 2021 Toyota Mirai is Toyota’s flagship premium rear-wheel drive sports-luxury FCEV sedan with striking design, cutting-edge technology, more engaging driving performance and a significantly longer EPA-estimated range rating. The RWD layout allowed for increased hydrogen storage to boost EPA-estimated range to 402 miles (Mirai XLE grade), a 30 percent increase over the first-generation Mirai.
The model name, which means future in Japanese, is wholly appropriate, as the 2021 Mirai is powered by the latest evolution of the brand’s advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) powertrain. The new Mirai is one part of an electrification strategy that also includes Toyota’s current and future hybrids and upcoming battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
The Toyota Mirai is currently on sale in California.
This video news feed is free to use without any usage restrictions, fees or obligations for regularly scheduled news, business, lifestyle & automotive TV programs and its directly related websites platforms only (any other intended uses requires written permission) covering the record set by the Toyota Mirai (Any other intended uses of this materials required written permission).
WHAT IS IN THIS NEWS FEED:
– Preparations the week prior for the attempt
– The Drive off from the Toyota Technical Center in Gardena, CA
– Action Footage of the drive in Southern California
– Reporter Package – One Version with name Titles & One Version Without Name Titles
– Soundbites with:
Wayne Gerdes, CleanMPG Founder & Driver
Ed Loh, Head of Editorial, MotorTrend Group
Michael Empric, Guinness World Records Adjudicator
