TOYOTA DEBUTS HYDROGEN-FUELED COROLLA RACE CAR AS AUTO RACING BEGINS SHIFT AWAY FROM GAS GUZZLERS

In a sprawling circuit near Mount Fuji, a humble Corolla running on liquid hydrogen has made its racing debut, part of a move to bring the futuristic technology into the racing world and to demonstrate Toyota's resolve to develop green vehicles

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Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, resplendent in a fire-resistant racing uniform, was all smiles as he prepared to buzz around the circuit in the hydrogen-fueled Corolla.

"This is a world first for a liquid hydrogen car to race. We hope it will offer another option in the fight against global warming. To bring everyone smiles, I want to go one lap, even one second, more," said Toyoda, a former CEO of Toyota, grandson of the automaker's founder and a licensed race driver himself.

The hydrogen Corolla race car won't be turning up at your dealer anytime soon. The Super Taikyu 24-hour race at Fuji Speedway was just a test for the technology, Toyota officials said.

Unlike electric vehicles, it has a combustion engine, but it burns liquid hydrogen instead of gasoline.

Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp., which sells about 10 million vehicles a year, has fallen behind in the global shift to battery-powered EVs, but it's been banking on hydrogen as a potentially carbon-neutral solution for years.

Experts say hydrogen holds great potential. But so far, much of hydrogen, including what's used to fuel the Corolla racing car, is made using fossil fuels such as natural gas.

Soaring fuel prices and concerns over global warming have added urgency to the search for alternative energy sources especially in Japan, which imports practically all its oil.