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Honda FCX hydrogen fuel cell car ready for 2008

Honda FCX Concept: no 'concept', it'll be on roads in 2008.

Paul Gover

THE race to develop the car of the future is shifting into top gear in the USA.

Faced by even-tougher new anti-pollution rules towards the end of the decade, which put the focus on cutting the car's impact on global warming, motormakers are responding with a growing number of hydrogen- powered vehicles.

In the past month there have been unveilings and real-world test drives for cars from BMW, General Motors and now Honda.

BMW has demonstrated a 7-Series flagship which uses hydrogen in place of petrol in its internal-combustion engine, GM has revealed a near- production version of its Sequel fuel-cell car and now Honda has also weighed in with a hydrogen-powered fuel cell car called the FCX Concept.

But this car is not a concept.

It is a second-generation fuel cell car and a fleet of the vehicles will be on the roads of America and Japan in 2008, leased to customers to harvest real-world knowledge for the showroom-ready vehicles that will follow.

Honda has already run an ugly-but-effective FCX fuel cell car in selected US cities but the FCX Concept is much more, combining a good looking body which was revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2005 with a 2006-standard power pack.

It is charged with hydrogen but then converts this to electricity through its on-board fuel cell 'stack' to power the front wheels through a relatively-conventional gearbox.

Honda claims a range of 330 kilometres and performance close to a regular family sedan.

It has allowed journalists from around the world to test drive two prototypes at the Laguna Seca racetrack in northern California and the FCX Concept feels surprisingly production-like.

Driving it is a genuine peek into the future, as the powertrain is almost silent, it handles surprisingly well, the cabin is large and comfy, and the whole deal is wrapped in a body about the size of today's Honda Accord Euro with similar equipment including air-con and a sound system.

"Here is what we have achieved," the head of Honda America's fuel cell marketing team, Steve Ellis, says.

"It's definitely not a publicity stunt. We want to show what the production process will be like."

Honda says it has firm production plans for the FCX Concept in 2008, with a car which will be almost identical to the vehicle it previewed at Laguna Seca.

Even so, it will only have a relatively small fleet and they will be leased - not sold - to customers as Honda pushes towards its ultimate goal of a regular production car which would be priced about the same as today's Honda Legend in 2008.