Toyota is Reportedly Working on a Hydrogen-Powered Limousine

With the launch of the ‘Mirai‘, the world’s first production hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicle (FCEV) in Japan, Toyota now plans to deploy the same fuel system into its flagship: the new Lexus LS limousine. The car will apparently make use of the same fuel cell technology, once Toyota has made a few tweaks to make the system work on the current Lexus LS.

Expected to be unveiled by 2017, sources reveal that the front end would most likely feature larger air intakes to dissipate the extra heat. The fuel cell is likely to be positioned under the front seat, while the hydrogen tanks would be placed under the rear seat. They also claim that the FCEV version would be 440 pounds lighter than the current LS600hL hybrid. The new Lexus is also expected to offer a range of about 239 miles, just a bit short of Mirai’s 300 miles.

Meanwhile, there is no word yet on its pricing, but we can expect it to be significantly higher than LS600hL’s $120,440 base price. The hydrogen-fueled Lexus LS is rumored to launch two years from now, by 2017.