Honda's New Supercar Goes Fuel Cell
For a relatively conservative car company, Honda surprised nearly everyone with its latest fuel cell-powered sports car concept.
Unveiled at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Honda FC Sport is a design study model showcasing Honda’s hydrogen fuel cell technology in a high-performance package.
Although the technology has already been detailed in Honda’s rather plain-looking FCX Clarity sedan, the FC Sport concept retools the hydrogen power plant into “a lightweight sports car design with an ultra-low center of gravity, powerful electric motor performance and zero-emissions.” In other words, the FC Sport concept is to be Honda’s zero-emissions vehicle that won’t be a snooze to drive.
“The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum,” said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. “People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love in a hydrogen-powered future.”
The FC Sport configures the majority of the weight between the axles, hopefully creating an even, mid-engine-like feel. Further helping handling are the battery packs’ placement as low in the car as possible, lowering the car’s center of gravity.
Besides plain physics, the FC Sport also features a desirable driving position in the middle of the windshield with two passengers set back and at the driver’s either side – a layout commonly associated with the McLaren F1.
Honda has traditionally shown off concept vehicles that are very close to the final production models, and we can only hope that the FC Sport, whenever it becomes a reality, will retain all the characteristics in the concept.
See the full press release and gallery at AutoBlogGreen.
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Sweet.
Honda isn't known for sports cars, and their fuel cell tech is relatively new. With Tesla all but going under and the economy slowing, I imagine this will never see the light of day beyond a concept showroom floor.
Oh HELL thats ugly.
has a lambo feel to it; wonder if its faster than their Spoon car (S2000)
I'm getting turned off by fuel-cells. I know there needs to be an alternative fuel, but from everything I read, hydrogen is far from being practicle - storing, transporting, etc. This may happen in some year, but for now it seems battery & super capacitor cars are the only way since eletric companies can make power from any source and it's easily transportable. However, I am sure the big oil companies (our goverment) is looking hard for something to "sell" and "transport" - not something people can create in their back-yards.
2 cents...
i'll be more interested if they get their high rpm performing diesel engine out.
Look, for the $700 billion we are blowing on the finacial bailout we could build an hydrogen infrastructure. Electric cars are nice and all but our electric grid can't (and won't for several decades) support any significant number of all electric cars. And that won't change since Obama only supports fantasy-land alternative energy sources like wind and solar. Now if he'd get off his dumb a$$ and support building many, many nukes that could change. Ethanol cars are stupid as the price per mile is higher than gas and causes fluctuations in food prices. Well, atleast with corn-based but we are years from using any other sources. Hydrogen fuel cells are very plausible and with some government loving (ie $$$) could become practical very quickly.
Hydrogen would be practical IF there were economies of scale. Though, the major drawback is that governments TAX fuel products to build and maintain roads. They are going to get that lost revenue from somewhere...
For anything to work, governments and industry need to coordinate on a single fuel product.. part of the economy of scale that makes gasoline work is beause it is essentially one product (refined oils / ethanol blend) and readily available in mass quantities. For hydrogen to get that scale would need trillions in infrastructure upgrades to even come close to the concept of a supply on every other street corner. The good thing is, we have water just about everywhere... now you need the machines that remove the Oxygen molecules and do it cheaper than it costs to refine and transport gasoline, diesel and ethanol. We can also make hybrid electric-hydrogen vehicles so that when you stop for a red light or stuck in rush hour traffic, you waste virtually NO fuel.
Imagine how much money is spent on importing Oil from foreign countries for use in gas extraction. Now imagine that amount of money being poured into the US economy by producing hydrogen fuel within the nation. That's money that would be kept in the country, flowing through the economy... I think that might solve some issues, and push energy companies to upgrade their grids, which needs to be done anyways.
@tmc
Well then here's an idea. Get rid of roads.
Computerized monorail infrastructure FTW. Faster, more efficient, safer.
@tmcWell then here's an idea. Get rid of roads.Computerized monorail infrastructure FTW. Faster, more efficient, safer.
Well, sir, there's nothing on Earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car monorail!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9O40ZjUZGo
We are building a waste to energy plant in Southern California that will convert 1,200 tons of trash per/day into GREEN Hydrogen, enough to fill 180,000 cars per/month.
Well, sir, there's nothing on Earth like a genuine, bona fide, electrified, six-car monorail! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9O40ZjUZGo
Exactly. There is simply no better current form of transportation. The only thing that will ever trump it is likely to be something involving quantum physics.
Exactly. There is simply no better current form of transportation. The only thing that will ever trump it is likely to be something involving quantum physics.
I lived in California/ Maryland before. MAJOR infrastructure and construction needs to be done to create a useful monorail/light rail. There also needs to be a useful city to city train service. Power can come from nuclear/wind/solar/etc. Americans are kind of weird, like good public transportation will turn the country socialist or something. Anyway, major/MAJOR work needs to be done in many areas. Something like what's used in France (but better since the USA needs new everything anyway). I agree this can be a long term/permanent solution.
2 cents..
Hydrogen is the biggest scam going. It's the big oil companies that are pushing hydrogen. Most hydrogen will be made from natural gas. The infrastructure for hydrogen will take at least 20 years to roll out (if ever). Big oil knows that every dollar spent on hydrogen is one less dollar for plug-in hybrids. Classic red herring. That's why they call them FOOL SELLS, they are meant to deceive us.
Honda isn't known for sports cars, and their fuel cell tech is relatively new. With Tesla all but going under and the economy slowing, I imagine this will never see the light of day beyond a concept showroom floor.
Erhm ? relatively new? I saw a video like 4 years ago showcasing a civic type car with a fuelcell. Honda had bought an entire island somewhere on which they tinker with this type of vehicle. At the time of the video, appearently the only thing Honda had problems with, was inventing a refueling station for home use, that was safe enough to actually keep at home. So while their schedule is to sell fuelcell cars in 2018, I imagine they could do so a lot sooner if they wanted.
ps. "Honda isn't known for sports cars" I know they discontinued the nsx, but that IS a sportscar. And they've been making it for 14 years or so. Also they're selling type-r family cars, which essentially are sports cars on par with a lotus exige (except they understeer more obviously) - just more comfortable. They don't have rally good rally cars or a skyline, but they do have formula 1 and damn good sports cars for the road. As reliable as a toyota, just not so boring.
"have rally good rally cars" should've been really good rally cars ; sorry