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.
