It’s been a full year since Toyota presented the next generation of the Mirai fuel cell car, stubbornly treading on its chosen path of sustainable mobility. We’re now fast approaching the actual market introduction, as per the company’s U.S. subsidiary’s latest social media reveal. Meanwhile, the 2021 Mirai has already landed in the hands of reviewers at home in Japan, and we have their early impressions as well.
Back in October 2019 Toyota revealed the second-generation zero emissions hydrogen-powered fuel cell sedan in prototype form, so when it arrives late December in the United States, we’ll celebrate the arrival of the series-production version.
The company does not seem shy about showcasing the model in advance, though – as far as we can tell from the small disclaimer at the bottom of the picture with a red and blue ensemble, we’re getting the real deal already.
We’re figuring that on our own because on our own experience if this wasn’t the production series vehicle the note would have read “prototype vehicle shown” instead of the “vehicle shown with options” readout.
Never mind that, because we could have bet our fortunes that Toyota was not going to make substantial design changes between the initial prototype shown last year and the version prepared for market introduction anyway.
Interestingly, we have some additional details for the upcoming Mirai owners, not just a few pictures with no words. As such, the brand says it will offer the new generation with just five exterior shades: Hydro Blue, Oxygen White, Heavy Metal, Supersonic Red and Black.
That’s probably to reduce production strain and save a few dollars with a project that must have eaten billions by now in research and development. It’s honorable they’re not giving up, but please – put the savings to good use researching battery-electric vehicles a little faster, will you?
Anyways, if you’re interested in finding out what the Japanese media has to say about the new vehicle, check out these early JDM-spec reviews embedded below – they're in the native language, but fortunately the YouTube's auto-generated English subtitles work like a charm on both videos.
The company does not seem shy about showcasing the model in advance, though – as far as we can tell from the small disclaimer at the bottom of the picture with a red and blue ensemble, we’re getting the real deal already.
We’re figuring that on our own because on our own experience if this wasn’t the production series vehicle the note would have read “prototype vehicle shown” instead of the “vehicle shown with options” readout.
Never mind that, because we could have bet our fortunes that Toyota was not going to make substantial design changes between the initial prototype shown last year and the version prepared for market introduction anyway.
Interestingly, we have some additional details for the upcoming Mirai owners, not just a few pictures with no words. As such, the brand says it will offer the new generation with just five exterior shades: Hydro Blue, Oxygen White, Heavy Metal, Supersonic Red and Black.
That’s probably to reduce production strain and save a few dollars with a project that must have eaten billions by now in research and development. It’s honorable they’re not giving up, but please – put the savings to good use researching battery-electric vehicles a little faster, will you?
Anyways, if you’re interested in finding out what the Japanese media has to say about the new vehicle, check out these early JDM-spec reviews embedded below – they're in the native language, but fortunately the YouTube's auto-generated English subtitles work like a charm on both videos.