Toyota Mirai taken on the Autobahn to test its limits

This guy took a Toyota Mirai out onto the German Autobahn and pushed it to the limit.

With the Mirai being hydrogen-powered, this experiment would test the capabilities of the technology.

What better place to do it than on the German highway system renowned for speed?

How would the car fare once it was set loose?

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What happened when the Toyota Mirai was taken out onto the Autobahn?

It’s a common misconception that the Autobahn doesn’t have speed limits.

This isn’t quite the case.

Some parts of the system don’t place a limit on certain classes of vehicles, but restrictions are put in place in parts that are urbanized or otherwise prone to accidents.

On stretches of road without the limit, an advisory speed of 130km per hour (81mph) is recommended.

Driving faster than this isn’t illegal, but it is ill advised – German courts have ruled that an ‘ideal driver’ would not exceed the advised limit in case of a collision.

At any rate, it’s a ton faster than most other highways, so makes for an ideal setting for a speed test.

The experiment was carried out by Supercharged Magazine.

They did a series of tests to challenge the Mirai’s capabilities.

First up was a time measured push to 100km/h, which was achieved in an impressive 8.91 seconds.

Getting from there to 150km/h only took 11.97 seconds.

It topped out at 180km/h.

Even just by watching the video, you can feel the car’s power, as it surged forward.

On a second attempt, the driver peaked at 140km/h.

A third go pushed the Mirai up to a commendable 162km/h.

For a point of reference, rural interstates in the US have a maximum speed limit of 112km/h.

This is a huge difference – no wonder the Germans are stereotyped as being efficient.

They’re just getting places faster than the rest of us.

Are hydrogen cars cut out for high speed driving?

With hydrogen cars becoming increasingly popular in recent years, many drivers have been weighing up the pros and cons of them.

As the video on the Autobahn demonstrated, their speed certainly isn’t lacking.

However, there are other factors that come into play.

The availability of hydrogen refueling stations is a big one.

One Mirai owner over in California outlined this as being an issue, noting that no stations existed outside of his state and Hawaii.

Even a physicist has weighed in, as she drew direct comparisons between hydrogen cars and EVs.

She compared them on charging times, in which the hydrogen came out on top with only five minutes needed.

Hydrogen even had EVs beat when it came to driving range – averaging at 300 miles compared to a EV’s 100-200.

To see the Toyota Mirai on the Autobahn for yourself, head over to Supercharged Magazine‘s YouTube channel.