Hyundai’s in-house developed iX35 Fuel Cell vehicle has set a new world record covering 2 383 km in 24 hours. Arnt-Gøran Hartvig, a sports scientist, and Marius Bornstein, a Master of Physics, traveled around the clock on public roads in Germany, emitting nothing but water vapour from the ground-breaking fuel cell electric vehicle.
The two Norwegians (who look as though they could be the lead actors in a buddy cop series) covered the route of more than 300 km between two hydrogen stations, one in Hamburg and the other in Berlin, as many times as possible in 24 hours. And the pair were not hanging about either, they averaged 100 km/h during the record-breaking run.
“This endurance drive highlights both the practicality of our fuel cell electric vehicle’s long driving range and the environmental credentials of our technology. Our fuel cell programme has already delivered many world firsts, so it is fitting that the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has once again delivered a new benchmark,” said Thomas A. Schmid, chief operating officer at Hyundai Motor Europe.
The ix35 Fuel Cell is the most affordable fuel cell vehicle in Europe and is already on sale and on the roads in 11 European countries. The ix35 Fuel Cell is fitted with a 100 kW electric motor, allowing it to reach a maximum speed of 160 km/h. It produces no harmful emissions – only water vapour comes from the tailpipe – and has an official driving range of almost 600 km on one tank of hydrogen.