The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 sedan has entered the record books as the world’s fastest hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle with a record speed of 207.297mph. A small team composed of enthusiasts from Ford, the Ohio State University Center for Automotive Research, Ballard Power Systems and Roush Racing set out to the salt flats of Bonneville in Utah to achieve the record, which they did with Bonneville racer and retired Ford Powertrain component design engineer Rick Byrnes behind the wheel of the unusual speed machine.
The car had been in development for more than a year and its hydrogen powertrain is the culmination of almost ten years of research done by Ford in the field of clean and renewable fuels. It was powered by a 770hp electric motor with the electric energy provided by hydrogen fuel cells.
Part of Ford’s goal was to show that electric doesn’t have to mean low performance, but we’re still at odds as to why they chose the Fusion.
