Disneyland will electrify the Autopia track when the gas-powered engines are retired on the 1955 opening day attraction, according to a new report.
Disney Legend Bob Gurr, who designed the classic motorway attraction, saw a model of the new Autopia during a tour of Walt Disney Imagineering, according to the New York Times.
“It will be electric, but not the conventional idea of a battery in a car,” Disney Legend Bob Gurr told the Times. “It’s very different.”
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Disneyland plans to update Autopia with fully electric vehicles and retire the gas engines that have powered the Tomorrowland race track attraction since the 1955 debut of the Anaheim theme park.
Disneyland is working on the design, engineering and testing of a fully electric Autopia ride vehicle prototype, according to Disneyland officials.
Autopia in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, August 10, 2022. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Disneyland faces a state-mandated deadline to retire the gas-powered cars on Autopia by Feb. 1 or shut down the attraction under a settlement agreement with the California Air Resources Board that regulates air pollution in California.
Disneyland paid a $56,000 settlement to the California Air Resources Board in 2024 after disclosing the 8.5 horsepower Honda gas-powered engines on Autopia ride vehicles were operating without certified emission controls.
The California Air Resources Board fine was the result of an administrative oversight that was promptly corrected with no impact to the environment, according to Disneyland officials.
Gurr, 94, has been lobbying Imagineering to convert Autopia from gas to electric since 2000.
“For 26 years, I’ve been arguing, ‘When are you going to do anything to get rid of that gasoline?’” Gurr told the Times. “The dirtiest place on Earth is the Autopia attraction at Disneyland in the city of Anaheim.”
Internal combustion car at Autopia in Tomorrowland at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Honda will continue as the Autopia sponsor after Disneyland remodels the car-driving attraction, Gurr told the Times.
“Our current sponsorship agreement with Disneyland Resort runs through early 2027,” a Honda spokesperson told the Times. “Discussions regarding the future of the partnership and sponsorship of the Autopia attraction are currently ongoing.”
The Honda Prologue, the carmaker’s only all-electric model, will be discontinued in December.
Drivers on Autopia during the 70th anniversary Disneyland on July 17, 2025,  in Anaheim, CA.  (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Disneyland will share more details soon on the updates planned for the Autopia attraction in Tomorrowland. Closing and reopening dates have not yet been set for the Autopia update.
Disneyland originally announced plans in 2024 to convert Autopia from gas to electric power by fall 2026.
The last major Autopia refurbishment took place in 2016 when Honda became the ride’s sponsor. Previous ride sponsors were Chevron (2000-2012) and Richfield Oil (1955-1970), according to D23.
The 1955 opening day attraction was redesigned in 1959, 1964 and 1968, according to D23. An extensive remodeling related to the Chevron sponsorship closed Autopia from September 1999 through June 2000, according to D23.
More than 210 million people have taken a spin on the Autopia track during the 71-year history of the attraction, according to NYT.
Disney employees operate Autopia at Tomorrowland inside Disneyland at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, CA, in 2024. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Florida’s Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris also have versions of the Autopia attraction. Tokyo Disneyland closed its Grand Circuit Raceway ride in 2017. The Hong Kong Disneyland Autopia — which closed in 2016 — featured electric cars with lighting effects and onboard audio, according to WDW News Today.
Electrifying Autopia is part of Disney’s goal of incorporating a net zero emissions future into every aspect of the Disneyland resort and reducing its overall carbon footprint, according to Disneyland officials.
The Disneyland resort has made a sustainability commitment of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 by increasingly relying on cleaner renewable energy sources.