Don't want an electric Corolla, HiLux or LandCruiser? Toyota has a radical new plan that could save the internal combustion engine

Toyota has emerged as an unlikely contender to save the internal combustion engine. The brand famous for hybrids has been working on a new hydrogen fuel that could replace petrol and has revealed an audacious plan to demonstrate its potential - racing at the famous Le Mans 24-hours.

Hydrogen fuel is a different technology than a hydrogen fuel cell, with the latter using hydrogen to generate electricity which then powers the car, whereas hydrogen fuel is a carbon-neutral liquid fuel created from sea water that is a like-for-like replacement for petrol or diesel.

Toyota has been working with Yamaha on this technology for some time, unveiling a 5.0-litre V8 engine earlier this year that runs on hydrogen rather than petrol, which makes it carbon neutral and only loses a small amount of performance in the process (approximately 10kW/20Nm).

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Toyota has also been testing the fuel in the real-world, using it to power a GR Corolla in a Japanese production car series. But while that is a relatively low-key test bed for this new fuel, there are new plans to go much bigger.

Toyota unveiled the GR H2 Racing Concept at the Le Mans 24-hours last weekend, a prototype racing car that could attempt to compete in the famous endurance race as soon as 2026 to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen fuel.

Le Mans racing has long been a place that encourages new technology, with recent innovations including dual-clutch transmissions, performance diesel engines and hybrid powertrains - all proven in the heat of competition.

Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda, who is a vocal advocate for trying to save the internal combustion engine, said entering a hydrogen fuel prototype in Le Mans would be a major step towards proving the fuel is a viable future solution.

Toyota unveiled the GR H2 Racing Concept at the Le Mans 24-hours last weekend.

"My goal is to achieve carbon neutrality in motorsports without sacrificing anything in terms of performance or excitement," Toyoda said at the reveal of the GR H2 Racing Concept.

"We look forward to our new GR H2 race car in view of the new Le Mans H2 class in the future.

"The sound, the torque, the dynamics, it's all there. Not only are we re-imagining the race car, we're doing it with zero emissions."

Toyota has been working with Yamaha on this technology for some time, unveiling a 5.0-litre V8 engine earlier this year that runs on hydrogen rather than petrol.

Earlier this year Naoyuki Sakamoto, the Chief Engineer for the GR Corolla, told CarsGuide that hydrogen fuel could be the best way to keep the still-new Gazoo Racing range of performance cars from avoiding switching to electric motors.

"At this moment we're trying to improve the combustion engine using petrol, but it can be converted to hydrogen or carbon neutral fuel," Sakamoto said. "As long as it's a compact, durable engine it is a good test piece for new fuel. That's why we're improving the internal combustion engine using petrol at this moment."

The GR H2 Racing Concept is a prototype racing car that could attempt to compete in the famous endurance race as soon as 2026 to demonstrate the potential of hydrogen fuel.

Toyota isn't alone in trying to find ways to keep the internal combustion engine going despite the increasing popularity of electric vehicles. Porsche, Lamborghini, Subaru and Mazda are all known to be working on synthetic fuels that are carbon neutral.