As a rolling test bed for their hydrogen fuel cell technology, the Bavarians have surprised us all with a BMW i8 hydrogen fuel cell research vehicle.
Unveiled yesterday at the BMW Group Innovation Days 2015, this sleek machine is the latest in a long line of fuel cell research vehicles. BMW say the car was completed back in 2012 so they’ve done a pretty good job keeping it under wraps.
BMW and Toyota have a joint venture in developing fuel cell vehicles and this latest prototype features the same fuel cell stack used by the Toyota Mirai – the world’s first production fuel cell vehicle.
Gone is the i8’s three-cylinder 1.5-litre turbopetrol, replaced by the hydrogen fuel stack that provides electricity to run a rear-mounted electric motor. As a result, the car produces 180 kW and… water… the only emission. BMW claims a fast-ish 0-100 km/h time of under 6,0 secs and a not-so-fast-ish top speed of 200 km/h.
The car’s underpinnings are very obviously based on the i8 and that means a carbonfibre construction, though the exterior isn’t quite as sculpted at the production i8. Large air ducts sited up front are used to feed air to a series of front-mounted radiators, while the rear has a simpler and flatter execution.
