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As the game heats up for electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles are always sitting on the edge of the conversation. Experts can make many arguments against hydrogen, but this Toyota car would like a word. Top Gear has a Toyota Mirai that drove 845 miles on a tank of hydrogen.

The Toyota Mirai broke a world record for hydrogen-powered vehicles

Top Gear reports that a Toyota Mirai drove 845 miles on a single tank of hydrogen
Top Gear reports that a Toyota Mirai drove 845 miles on a single tank of hydrogen | Toyota

According to Top Gear, this Toyota Mirai set a new world record this week. The Mirai is a small sedan Toyota only available on the west coast, but the record is still impressive. Top Gear reported that the vehicle set an official Guinness World Record for the “longest distance by a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle without refueling,” Top Gear said.

Wayne Gerdes calls himself a “professional hypermiler,” which is a person that aims to maximize fuel efficiency in vehicles or planes. Gerdes and his co-pilot, Bob Winger, set out to try and beat the record in August. Between August 23 and 24, the pair set out to take home this world record.

Gerdes and Winger set out from the Toyota Technical Center in Gardena, California, that fateful Monday and drove 473 miles in a single day. The pair went through Santa Barbara, Malibu, and others with just two driver switches.

The Toyota Mirai journey was confirmed by Guinness World Record officials

The following day, Gerdes and Winger set out again. The journey this time went 372 miles through rush hour traffic and some nearby cities before returning to the Toyota Center in Gardena. Michael Empric, the Guinness adjudicator, set to verify this accomplishment, confirmed the journey. Empric noted that the trip was 845-miles in total.

The Toyota Mirai went through 5.65kg of hydrogen over the two-day journey. In one of the only states with available hydrogen stations, the pair drove by 12 stations without stopping. Not a bad feat. If you think you saw this attempt taking place, the vehicle had an OFFICIAL ATTEMPT sticker on the side of the white Toyota Mirai.

What’s the deal with this vehicle?

The Toyota Mirai is an exciting vehicle on its own. The Mirai is only available in California due to the abundance of hydrogen stations in the area. It went on sale in 2014 but didn’t receive much attention due to the limited availability. However, that might soon change. The EPA gave the 2016 version a total range of 312 miles of range, which has gone up over the years. It was considered the most fuel-efficient hydrogen fuel cell vehicle at the time.

It is based on the Toyota FCV-R (Fuel Cell Vehicle) concept from back in the early 2010s. This attempt was double the EPA range for the Toyota Mirai, which sits at 402 miles for the XLE and 357 miles for the Limited trim.

The last time drivers attempted this in Europe, the record was set at 623 miles. This 845-mile journey blew that out of the water. Not bad, hydrogen-powered Toyota Mirai.

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Amanda Cline

Amanda Cline is an avid fan of Formula 1 and joined MotorBiscuit in 2021. A Southwest Floridian, she easily and often finds automotive events to attend in the Tampa, Orlando, and Miami areas.
Amanda is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, where she earned a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Technical Communication. Combining her editorial and digital media expertise, Amanda served as a content creator for FanSided and now provides our readers with a variety of automotive subject matter like pickup trucks and SUVs, including valuable consumer advice.

Amanda closely follows many F1 drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, and the Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team. Her all-time favorite author is Shel Silverstein.