Hybrid Mazda Minivan in Limited Leasing Program

When automakers have a new technology, they like to test it in the real world with real drivers — who pay for the guinea pig privelege. A few dozen cars are built and leased to forward-thinking drivers, usually in L.A. Those people will try anything. The EV1 was a disastrous example of this; the Honda Clarity hydrogen vehicle a more successful one (so far).

Mazda is giving the guinea pigs a shot at its new hybrid minivan, the RX-8 Hydrogen RE, to corporate fleet customers in Japan. The RX-8 is Mazda’s rotary engine, which has in this instance been modified to use gasoline or hydrogen fuel at the flick of a switch. It’s the first leased vehicle in the world to be able to use either type of fuel, according to the company.