Toyota is one of the main driving forces behind the continuing development of hydrogen fuel cell technology. Recently it turned the Mirai – the company’s first hydrogen fuel cell production car – into a 1:10 scale hydrogen-fuelled radio-controlled car. Recently, the Mini Mirai went for spin in a model village setting in Gloucestershire in the U.K., with the actual Mirai in the background.

The Mini Mirai is result of a collaboration of model kit maker Tamiya and hydrogen fuel cell technology specialist Bramble Energy. Taking one of Tamiya TT-02 radio-controlled cars widely available in model shops as the basis for the conversion, Bramble Energy fitted a miniaturised version of its printed circuit board fuel cell system into the standard four-wheel radio controlled chassis. Tamiya then created the body shell, which is a faithful miniature of the new generation Toyota Mirai in Scarlet Flare. With two swappable hydrogen fuel canisters fitted on board, the power system of the Mini Mirai generates around 20 Watts and doubles the range compared when compared to a conventional battery-powered radio-controlled car.

Toyota debuted the Mirai in 2014 and the second generation was launched earlier this year. The new Mirai has a range of up to 400 miles on a tank of hydrogen, and Toyota is expanding its fuel cell production ten-fold to 30,000 units a year, coinciding with the new launch. Sadly, the hydrogen-powered radio-controlled Mini Mirai will not be available to the public in the near future.