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Toyota on Friday unveiled two refurbished examples of the classic 1980s Corolla GT-S, also known by its internal model code AE86 — one with a battery-electric powertrain, and one with a hydrogen-burning engine.
Debuting at the 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon, both cars are meant to show how older vehicles—especially those beloved by enthusiasts—can stay on the road even with stricter emission standards.
“The reality is that we cannot achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 simply by shifting all new car sales to electric vehicles,” said Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda in his opening speech at the Tokyo Auto Salon. Indeed, given the slow turnover rate of the global vehicle fleet, older internal combustion vehicles will remain on the road in large numbers long after sales of new cars switch to electric. That means targeting the emissions from those vehicles as well.
Toyota AE86 BEV concept
With that in mind, Toyoda aims to provide a way to keep existing cars on the road while still reducing emissions, which is where both Corolla show cars come in.
I hope to dispel the fear that we won’t be able to drive our beloved cars when we go carbon neutral.” said Toyoda. “In contrast, there is a carbon neutral route that car enthusiasts can take.”
Actually, there are two. One car, the AE86 H2 concept uses a combustion engine that burns hydrogen instead of gasoline. Hydrogen is stored in the two high-pressure tanks of the Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle. Toyota has shown that hydrogen-burning technology might be useful in racing, and later suggested that it might even consider bringing the technology to a more production form in the Corolla Cross.
The revival of the hydrogen-powered classic car is fairly recent. Hyundai showed a retro concept for its N performance brand last year, but used a fuel cell rather than a combustion engine. Dubbed the N Vision 74, the concept isn’t based on an existing car either. It’s a basic build that borrows styling from the 1974 Hyundai Pony Coupe concept.
Concept Toyota AE86 H2
Alternatively, the AE86 BEV concept, is powered by an electric motor sourced from the Toyota Tundra hybrid pickup truck and the battery pack from the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. It does retain the stock manual transmission, however, and engineers tried to keep the weight distribution close to stock as well, according to Toyota. For reasons of sustainability, the two concepts have “rejuvenated” the seats and seat belts which are made from a mixture of used and recycled materials.
Automakers tend to show electrified versions of their classic models before true EVs take off on the design. One example is the Chevy E-10 electric hot-rod truck, followed by the production-bound Silverado EV.
Meanwhile, Toyota has not announced any plans for a deeper EV commitment. It reportedly halted some of its EV development in October, as it contemplates a broader EV strategy, and Toyoda’s CEO said he sees the US goal of 50% EVs by 2030 to be “very difficult”.
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