07/23/2008, 2:18 PM
Electric
Nissan sets another Nurburgring record, this time for a fuel-cell vehicle
The latest record to be set at the famed 13-mile Nurburgring Nordschleife race track by Nissan wasn’t made by the much-anticipated Skyline GT-R Spec-V, but by the automaker’s hydrogen-powered FCV X-Trail concept SUV instead. As you’d expect, its timed lap of 11 minutes, 58 seconds is nothing to write home about when compared to times set by traditional gasoline-powered cars, but it is significant as the X-Trail emitted no harmful emissions in the process.
The record simply represents the first timed lap of a fuel-cell vehicle around the German track, so Nissan did not have any other times to beat. The car was driven by Frank Eickholt, who drives Nissan’s race cars at 24-hour endurance events, say Autocar reports. The X-Trail was a far cry from the race cars, as it produces 118 horsepower along with 207lb-ft of torque. Top speed is 150km/h, or about 93mph. The car uses a lithium-ion battery pack with thin laminated cells that starts the vehicle and boosts power under acceleration. Energy during braking is captured and stored in the battery.
“Although some of the uphill sections were challenging, the speed was still very impressive,” Eickholt said. “If the course hadn’t been so wet, I could have gotten more momentum out of the curves. Thirty to 40 seconds could have been shaved off for sure.”
The prototype car, which represents some $1.6 million of Nissan’s investment, produces electricity by way of a hydrogen and oxygen chemical reaction. The hydrogen is stored in a high-pressure fuel stack and the vehicle’s only emission is water. The five-seater has been undergoing testing in California and Japan since 2006, although there is no word on when or if the car will make it into production, although Nissan has previously said it would like to bring fuel-cell cars to market by 2015.
In the meantime, Honda is already leasing its FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered car to select customers in California.
07/23, 2:21 PM
posted by:
HemiRoadRunner
Why do they even bother wearing helmets in this thing?
07/23, 2:24 PM
posted by:
crackerhemi
In the meantime, Toyota is already leasing its FCX Clarity hydrogen-powered car to select customers in California.
It’s honda, LLN.
07/23, 2:34 PM
posted by:
roger426
A 2.5 liter ford transit has set a full minute better lap…And what other record does nissan have.
07/23, 2:41 PM
posted by:
cocksterS
Damn, Nissan is really ahead of the curve! I’ve never even heard of Hyndrogen! : p
07/23, 2:48 PM
posted by:
xyunya
I was just defending Elias this morning and here he goes again. Mark, 150 km/h is NOT 75 mph. It is about 94 mph. 75 mph is a very easy to remember 120 km/h. I am trying to lead you to Pulitzer prize, but you just stubborn like democrats in congress!
07/23, 2:49 PM
posted by:
beatusmongous
I love this line:
“The record simply represents the first timed lap of a fuel-cell vehicle around the German track, so Nissan did not have any other times to beat.”
Whooptie ƒµ©king doo!
So, it’s not a record breaking lap time, but a record precedent as the first fuel cell vehicle tested in the ‘ring. Good step for Nissan, actually. At least someone is doing it.
07/23, 2:50 PM
posted by:
Ford_Sucks
Nissan made a fuel cell vehicle for 1.6 million investment WTF?
07/23, 2:53 PM
posted by:
xyunya
Ford_Sucks, that’s right. Those toys are expensive, they are hand made just like Ferrari’s. By the way is WTF stands What The Ford?
07/23, 2:55 PM
posted by:
A4
wow nissan you really outdid… nobody
07/23, 2:57 PM
posted by:
A4
HEHEHEHOHOHOHO WHAT THE FORD HAHAHHEHEHEHEHE
dumb
07/23, 3:03 PM
posted by:
Need4SSpeed
Wow, that’s funny… as with this last article, I’ve officially lost all respect for cars now running on the “gring”
07/23, 3:14 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
I think he would have gone faster if the Camaro hadn’t slowed him down.
07/23, 3:17 PM
posted by:
xyunya
… or he caught some tailwind and did a better time then otherwise
07/23, 3:38 PM
posted by:
macabre
Had Sabine been driving it would had been a faster lap time than the Camaro.
07/23, 3:50 PM
posted by:
jumpoffit
can’t wait until the Volt runs the ‘ring- that blistering speed and the sound of that exhaust will be what wet dreams are made of /sarcasm
07/23, 3:56 PM
posted by:
MugenSentraKen
===>>SUPER LOL johnnycanuck i am COMPLETELY ROLLIN’ over here!! lol!
07/23, 4:21 PM
posted by:
nowei
Why lose respect for cars running around the Nurburgring? It’s just another benchmark. Do you lose respect for cars because they go 0-60 or have top speeds or fuel efficiency? This way we all have some idea as to how much quicker a Camaro is as compared with an FCV X-Trail and how much quicker a Corvette is as compared with that same Camaro.
Hopefully this will just become standard practice and manufacturer’s will start running everything around this track.
07/23, 4:37 PM
posted by:
MugenSentraKen
===>>nowei i feelyu….
07/23, 4:38 PM
posted by:
shaver
Im taking a skateboard, a golf cart, a cruzin cooler and a pogo stick to the ring. Should be able to set 3-4 records in 1 weekend.
07/23, 4:51 PM
posted by:
xyunya
nowei, the problem with concept of measuring vehicles based on lap time is that the track time is very imprecise. The time depends on driver’s skill, weather, humidity. Fuel efficiency, top speed, 0-60 all numbers can be repeated with some degree of accuracy. 13 mile long track - not so fast.
07/23, 5:35 PM
posted by:
F451
I believe that the photograph taken for this article was taken just before it high-sided and set the ring record for the longest sliding distance and speed.
07/23, 8:01 PM
posted by:
deutschetouring1337
I’m waiting to see this in the headlines for LLN ****NEW GM prototype Hybrid (estimated 300bhp) beats the Nissans Hybrid time by 4 seconds on the GreenHell!****
07/23, 9:06 PM
posted by:
MugenSentraKen
====>>shaver: 1weekend? 13miles would take you 1WEEK on a pogo stick….lol
07/24, 1:56 PM
posted by:
nowei
xyunya, i see your point, but those margins for errors still exist in pretty much all other objective tests. i would argue the only difference is that, due to the nature of the tests, the margins appear slimmer and are therefore perceived as being more consistent. For example, if you take the GT-R’s initial reported lap time of 7:38 and then compare it with the newer lap time of 7:29, the margin between the two translates to roughly the same (actually slightly less) than a 0.1 second difference in a 0-60 run for high performance car.
True, it might take specific people and specific conditions to replicate similar results, but the same can be said for almost any experiment ever done. For example, your average car will not run a quarter mile over ice as fast as it will on asphalt. It just so happens that there is an over abundance of motoring journalists who can keep a car in a straight line, have access to drag strips, can shift decently well (or know how to operate a launch control system), and can therefore replicate results with an apparently greater degree of consistency.
Just because maximizing the speed of a lap time takes a specific set of conditions and a specific set of driving skills, that doesn’t make the result untrue, inaccurate, or even misrepresentative of a car’s abilities. If I bought a GT-R could I get it to go 0-60 in 3.5 seconds? Yeah, I could, most likely with minimal effort. Could I get it to go 7:29 around the Nurburgring? Probably not without a few years of serious practice. However, if I were to hand the keys over to the Nissan test driver who posted both the 7:38 and the 7:29, chances are that under pretty good conditions, he could post a time somewhere within that range. The fact is that when one purchases a car, they don’t purchase driving ability or ideal weather conditions along with it, but they do purchase its maximum potential, even if it happens to be beyond what they can realize.
Furthermore, a lap time, in my view, is far more representative of how a car can perform in real world conditions. Personally, I don’t spend a whole lot of time going 0-60 in a straight line, or achieving top speed or trying to maximize fuel efficiency. All that being said, I’m not one who considers these times to be absolute truth. They’re just examples. Cars that are grouped similarly together may very well swap leader board positions from lap to lap. However, it does shed a good deal of light on the differences between cars like the GT-R and the Camaro. And I’m not trying to pick on the Camaro here, but almost a full minute of difference is not something that’s going to be made up by drivers and track conditions.
07/24, 4:59 PM
posted by:
t-ak-box
This looks like a Saturn Vue.