Nissan already holds the record for the fastest Nurburgring lap by a fuel-cell vehicle, so it should come as no surprise that the Japanese automaker’s first hydrogen vehicle offering will likely be a sports car.
According to Autocar, if Nissan’s current hydrogen fuel-cell plans get the green light, the first product would likely be a sports or luxury model. The decision to produce such a vehicle is directly linked to the costs associated with a fuel-cell powertrain.
Nissan ’s first fuel-cell vehicle will likely retail for about $100,000, meaning the automaker will need “a point of additional appeal besides a fuel cell,” Izuho Hirano, Nissan’s fuel cell laboratory manager, told Autocar. By hiding the additional cost of the fuel-cell behind the price tag of a high-end vehicle – which will probably wear an Infiniti badge – Nissan will be able to put hydrogen technology into production while simultaneously working to get the price down.
The decision of whether or not to produce a fuel-cell vehicle will be made early next year, with a proposed launch date of 2014.
