Ford's hydrogen-fuelled Fusion sets speed record

We told you it was imminent (more here), and now it's official -- Ford last week achieved its target of setting a land-speed record for a production-based fuel cell powered car.

The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 fuel cell car raced to 207.279 mph (333.5km/h) at the hallowed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, to set the record.

Although you may scoff and argue that this milestone has little real-world relevance, Ford claims otherwise, saying the Fusion Hydrogen 999 is "another step on the road toward commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles."

"What we've accomplished is nothing short of an industry first," said Gerhard Schmidt, Ford's boss for research and advanced engineering.

"No other automaker in the world has come close. We are excited to have accomplished something never before done. We established this project to advance fuel-cell-powered vehicles and to do what has never been done before; and we did it."

Schmidt said Ford's historic run at Bonneville will further expand the company's technological horizons with fuel cell-powered vehicles, "because the use of hydrogen as a fuel could someday play a key role in meeting the energy needs of the transportation sector."

The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 land speed record vehicle was designed by Ford engineers and built by renowned blue-oval tuning firm Roush in Michigan. Ford retiree Rick Byrnes, a veteran Bonneville racer, piloted the Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 on its record breaking run

Ford claims the Fusion Hydrogen 999 shows one of the ways Ford is advancing environmental innovation with the goal of offering vehicles with zero impact on the environment. 

With this aim in mind, Ford's US arm is trialling multiple technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, hybrids, E85 ethanol, clean diesels, bio-diesels and advanced engine and transmission technologies.

Ford currently has a fleet of 30 hydrogen-powered Focus fuel cell vehicles on US roads as part of a worldwide, seven-city program to conduct real world testing of fuel cell technology.  The 30-car fleet has accumulated nearly 930,000km since its inception in 2005.

Ford also is conducting tests with the world's first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Ford Edge with HySeries Drive. The Ford Edge with HySeries Drive uses a series electric drivetrain with an onboard hydrogen fuel cell generator to give the vehicle a range of 360km with zero emissions.

In the US, Ford currently offers petrol-electric hybrids including the Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.  The company also plans to offer a hybrid version of the Ford Fusion.

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