For years now firms have been promising to deliver on hydrogen engines, claiming that hydrogen is the clean fuel of the future. However, we have seen little in terms of development.

This could all soon change.

Carmakers Toyota and Yamaha have joined forces to develop a hydrogen-fueled 5.0-liter V8 engine, according to a statement released by Yamaha.

A hydrogen-fueled engine

The hydrogen engine is not entirely new. It’s based on a model currently in use by the Lexus RC F sports coupé.

It has, however, seen many modifications made to become a hydrogen version with changes included to the injectors, heads, intake manifold, and other parts.

The engine is said to deliver 449bhp at 6800rpm and 398lb-ft at 3600rpm, some pretty impressive features. The figures are a bit smaller than those of the original V8 it is based on but for a newly developed experimental engine, they are more than good enough.

A friendly feel

And according to Takeshi Yamada, an engineer who works in Yamaha’s hydrogen engine development team, the engine is bound to make anyone who drives it happy.

“Hydrogen engines have an innately friendly feel that makes them easy to use even without resorting to electronic driving aids. Everyone who came to test drive the prototype car would start off somewhat skeptical but emerged from the car with a big smile on their face at the end,” Yamada said in the statement.

Those who doubt the firms’ ability to deliver the new engine should note that the two companies have had fruitful collaborations before. They joined forces on the Lexus LFA hypercar’s 552bhp 4.8-liter V10, a venture that proved very successful.

Now, the carmakers are focusing on more eco-friendly alternatives.

Yamaha president Yoshihiro Hidaka said that: “Hydrogen engines house the potential to be carbon neutral while keeping our passion for the internal combustion engine alive at the same time.”