"Brave Experiment to Burn Hydrogen in a Real Car" Nov 23, 05:33
UPDATE: LOS ANGELES — The new BMW Hydrogen 7, the world's first hydrogen-drive luxury performance car, will make its worldwide debut at the upcoming (1-10 Dec) Los Angeles Auto Show.Interesting story, and nice ink, from the Inside Line website....
First Drive: 2007 BMW Hydrogen 7
By Kevin Smith, Editorial Director
Date posted: 11-21-2006
We sample a brave experiment to burn hydrogen in a real car
The name tells you immediately what it is: The 2007 BMW Hydrogen 7 is a 7 Series sedan the automaker converted to run on liquid hydrogen. There is no intention to put this or any other hydrogen-fueled car into production yet. The point of the exercise is to gather experience with a hydrogen car in the real world. So let's go straight to the experience.If no one told you there was a fortune in advanced technology and ground-breaking engineering packed into this car, you might think you were motoring about in a perfectly normal 760Li. Indeed, while looking hard for distinguishing characteristics during our test-drive around greater Berlin, we came up with just three suspects: a slight metallic rattle from the engine when accelerating (sort of like a diesel but less pronounced), an occasional hesitation or engine-transmission miscue on tip-in and less energetic acceleration, thanks to a power cut from 438 horsepower to 260 and a weight gain of 440 pounds.
That's it. Otherwise, the Hydrogen 7 is a perfectly normal luxury sedan. It is definitely not some weird science project that forces us to scale back our expectations about the personal automobile. "A vehicle that is not a BMW anymore is not acceptable to us," says the company in contemplating the future of mobility. And noting that the internal-combustion engine represents available and well-understood technology, BMW is placing a bet on adaptation of existing engines (the 6.0-liter V12 in this case) to burn liquid hydrogen as one way to move beyond fossil fuels.
Proving the concept in a regular car
From the driver seat, this is definitely still a BMW. The H-7 is smooth, polished, poised on the road, and still pretty spritely. Passing maneuvers and uphill on-ramps need a little more careful consideration than in a 760 because you don't have as much sheer thrust. But the difference is not fatal. (BMW quotes 0-62 mph in 9.5 seconds: leisurely but livable.) Furthermore, suspension calibration effectively hides the car's extra mass, so this is another BMW 7 Series sedan that impresses you with how lithe and responsive a heavyweight luxocruiser can be. Overall, there is precious little to indicate that this 7 is running on that wondrously abundant fuel, the one that promises to rewrite all the rules of transportation, economics, energy and environmental stewardship.
Dr. Klaus Draeger of BMW's board of management, calls the Hydrogen 7 "an important milestone on our way to an era of sustainable mobility," partly because the driving experience is "spectacularly unspectacular." We agree entirely.
Full story
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The Hydrogen 7 looks like a normal 7 Series sedan and works much like one, too, even though power is down and weight is up. (Photo courtesy of BMW North America, Inc.)
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