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Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 Breaks 200 mph [w/ PICS]

technews.cc — On Wednesday at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, retired Ford employee Rick Byrnes guided the Hydrogen Fusion 999 to a speed of 207.297 mph. That speed establishes a benchmark for fuel cell powered vehicles based (however loosely) on a production body shell.

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  • duggtodeath, on 10/10/2007, -27/+4But...but...but...only terrorists drive fuel-efficient vehicles! /sarcasm
    • RoroCo, on 10/10/2007, -2/+10Your mastery of sarcasm is only surpassed by your mastery of the ellipsis.
  • twrife, on 10/10/2007, -29/+8I can't think of a witty comment to put here, but Ford sucks.
    • projectstartrek, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10As punishment for your lack of wittiness, you have been dugg down.
    • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I hope you aren't stupid enough to really let the manufacturer overshadow this achievement.

      Also, I have to ask... if they suck, but they have accomplished this, what does that say for the rest of the manufacturers?
    • Ssullivan, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Fords awesome
  • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -4/+2Really this is an experiment in aerodynamics and weight much like the EV1. Of course a production car will have to have a front grill for cooling.
  • SuperWinner, on 10/10/2007, -12/+4These dudes look like they just did this as an excuse to get REALLY drunk.
    • seanc6610, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2No they look like they did this to see how fast they could make a hydrogen fuel-cell car go.
  • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -25/+36Who gives a crap about 200 mph? Last time i checked I don't live near a desert where I can do that!

    For God's sake, focus on MPG (not MPH) and clean fuel or electric cars.

    I am happy doing 55-70 MPH on the highway and 30-45 MPH on regular roads.
    • winmywii, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8At least they are doing something with the technology. A lot of the things that we end up seeing are developed on the race vehicles.


      I am happy doing 80-85 on the highway.
    • DiggMasterJ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12It's a hydrogen car, not a hybrid. RTFA. Or at least the title.
    • UtahApocalyse, on 10/10/2007, -6/+1I agree so much. Who cares about the speed, you can go fast anywhere anyways. I bet they only could make one pass on the fuel cell.
    • jblfireball, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7But if you have the power to go 200...
      • jamesallen74, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2...you must have a small penis. Over-compensating for something missing.
    • askjeffro, on 10/10/2007, -0/+27It matters because 200mph is a milestone that indicates more then just speed; it represents hydrogen technology improvement, the ability to more effectively tap the hydrogen resource, etc. To simply dismiss it as "Speed doesn't matter, only MPG matters" it incredibly short sighted.

      Just like normal gasoline engines, the better you are able to realize the potential of the fuel source, the more efficient you can become at it.
      • knowitman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You just hit the nail on the head.
    • OffPiste, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16What wins on sunday sells on monday. You obviously don't understand racing.
    • wrenchone, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13It's hard enough to make a regular gasoline powered car go 200, let alone a car powered by an experimental power source. This alone shows that Ford is getting a damn good handle on the technology.

      The knowledge gained from doing this will be used in the development of commercial engines, making them stronger and more durable.
    • SuperSloth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13So you're the ***** going 55mph on the Interstate?

      ** shakes fist **
    • SPThom, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Car companies think these speed milestones matter (and they might be right) because consumers don't consider alternative-fuel vehicles "real" cars. The American public is obsessed with being big and/or fast... If Ford can't prove themselves capable of delivering a car that consumers WANT then they might as well pack up their bags and go home.
    • Vicujozobenaxod, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4The speed is not a demonstration of practicality. It is a demonstration of power. It takes a tremendous amount of power to propel a vehicle to 207MPH. Look at the internal combustion engine vehicles of today. The vehicles capable of those speeds are Porsches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis that push the limits of engineering.

      Hydrogen is a clean fuel source that is being looked at as an alternative. This is a demonstration that the technology is looking more promising as a replacement. You need to look past what was literally accomplished and what the results really mean.
    • dannyapplesauce, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Top Speed is useless. When they can make fairly cheap fuel efficient cars that can do 0-60 in 4 seconds then i'll be interested. Acceleration is what most people rely on, on the road.
  • projectstartrek, on 10/10/2007, -14/+2Unfortunately, the car's hydrogen cell went nuclear during the test...
  • 1337d0Od, on 10/10/2007, -11/+1ima be laughin when the cell splits (lol get it)
  • adoggz, on 10/10/2007, -12/+2Why did they make the car look like a ricer?
    • mindless2, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Like the article said, it was just a production model. This shows that these cars can go fast. Many people think of electric cars as slow, so they are probably getting people to realize that cars that run on alternate fuel sources are not really "slow" as many people think.
    • boredmerlin, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3they wanted to appeal to the Asian crowd
    • topjimme, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0they needed it to be aerodynamic to go that fast. interesting that one would equate aero with ricer. previous article discussed the low cd that they designed for this car. Ford still has some intelectual muscle!
    • brokencrystal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Because the Asian cars run longer and better.
  • netvir, on 10/10/2007, -11/+2Fix Or Repair Daily..
    • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Much better than my Chevy which drives, litterally, like a rock.
    • brokencrystal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I can't argue with that, because I hate Chevy too... but to add to the acronym... FORD Found On Road Dead
  • Sigurdhsson, on 10/10/2007, -16/+8For those of us not using crappy units, 200mph =~ 320 km/h
    • OffPiste, on 10/10/2007, -3/+9It doesn't take an ounce of intelligence to do the conversion.
  • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3" Zuehlk added that Ford’s historic run at Bonneville is to further expand its technological horizons with fuel cell-powered vehicles, because it is a fuel that could someday play a key role in meeting the energy needs of the transportation sector. The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 is Ford’s latest environmental innovation and is another step on the road toward commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles."

    '...could some day...'? What is stopping this from going into production now?
    • wrenchone, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Where you you fill it up?
      • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The infrastructure costs more than the car, good luck getting someone to set up a hydrogen fueling station when no one is driving hydrogen cars.
    • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Very large price tag.
      • noahhoward, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Which is usually solved by mass production.
  • f0dder, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9Just make it go more than 400 miles @ avg 75 mph
  • erik9000, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Looking at the photos I think that the day when NASCAR goes Hydrogen is the day it is ready for rest of us. It is time that we stop pushing fossil fuel to the limit for sport.
  • r81984, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3That is nothing special, back in the late 1800s and early 1900s electric cars were the fastest cars in the world.

    Since gas was so much cheaper then no one wanted to pay for research to make electric cars better. Now after 100 years companies finally start trying to make electric cars again.
    • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Please list all the electrics that made this speed back in the 1900s. The reason was not cheaper gas but crappy range of electrics. The same reason people don't buy them now.
    • askjeffro, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3This car is Hydrogen, not electric.

      The benefit is that you aren't relying on a coal plant for your juice. Electric sources like batteries are a form of redistributing the pollution. Only water comes out of a Hydrogen car tail pipe.
      • netviper8, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm pretty sure his point was that fuel cell vehicles generate power in the form of electricity, and then use electric motors to drive the wheels. It's still an "electric car" of sorts, just with a different source of electricity.
  • Deano3041, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6great news i really think hydrogen powered cars are the way of the future and its good to see you can still haul ass with a hydrogen powered car
    • raober, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Nope, sorry. Hydrogen is NOT an energy source...it is an energy carrier. Energy must be expended to create hydrogen...which usually comes from fossil fuels. There is work afoot on so-called "solar hydrogen" that creates hydrogen through electrolysis from sunlight...a MUCH better way to go about it, but it is probably 5 to 10 years away at best.

      I suggest people read up on EROEI (energy returned on energy invested) to understand why hydrogen, at least right now, is a non-starter.
  • hydrokool, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4"Where you you fill it up?"

    Hmmm.... where can you get Hydrogen... ohhhh yeah, H20 has hydrogen.
    • StepJoe, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4H20 is the byproduct of the stuff the cars run on (oxygen and hydrogen). You don't put in water and get out water and somehow drive 200mph off free energy.
    • seanc6610, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4No *****, getting hydrogen isn't the problem, it's making hydrogen easily accessible for people who own the cars.
    • mdeppi01, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It probably takes a larger equivalent of fossil fuels to produce the hydrogen than would be used to power the vehicle directly. Until we have true cold fusion this will never be a viable option.
  • queso74, on 10/10/2007, -11/+810 minutes after the record was broken, the passenger side door fell off and the alternator died. Built Ford tough.
  • pcpimpster, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2The dude with the champagne looks like the leader of the douches.
    • endlessoul, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5That "douche" was the driver of a experimental hydrogen vehicle that just went 207 MPH.

      Let's see you do that, douche.
  • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -2/+12The funny part is all the ignorant diggers that would cream their pants if it had a Toyota badge trying to do a negative spin. What is it about brands that make people stupid and irrational? It's like video game machine turds.

  • N00F, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3That car is as much a Ford Fusion as is a roll of toilet paper. There is nothing in or on that car that is Ford Fusion, except the basic shape or the name plate. I agree with others in this thread, focus on making a better car, not a faster car.

    The proof of the ability of using the hydrogen fuel source to make a car fast is pretty good though.
    • RubberBinder, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You need to decide on your opinion and get off the fence, unless of course, you like spikes in your butt.
    • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3And what process do you think is used to make a better car? Experimentation maybe? Pushing design limits maybe?

  • reynante, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2If that vehicle crashed and turned over, it would seriously be the sign of the devil.
  • mikerand, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3Getting the hydrogen into a form that can be safely stored and used as fuel is incredibly inefficient and very difficult. And, if the hydrogen is burned in an internal combustion engine, you still have to deal with a very complex technology with tons of parts.

    Let's get some better batteries and start using electric cars. Fewer parts, charge at home, cheaper to operate. Technology is here now (but the batteries could be improved).
  • baboonraf, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1my ford focus is a piece of garbage, 2 recalls, defective side mirror, cd player broke and has been in the shop at least 8 times. screw speed!!! Just make a better car please?!?!
  • joltjake, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2how about 200mpg, where is that at?
  • seriousgoat, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0So...why does the article say Thursday, August 17th?
  • ThugEsquire, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm Rick Byrnes, bitch.
  • TexanPsycho, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2WHY, WHY, WHY does every electric car have to look 'futuristic'? Come on, I mean look at those hubcaps. Jeez.
    • exhume, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They use those hubcaps to reduce wind resistance around the wheels. More stability and less friction. It's not just for looks.
  • CJDUFFMAN, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0the reason it is coming out "someday" is money, it costs $1,000,000 to build 1 hydrogen car and the fuel takes a lot of energy to create the fuel, it may be the final solution but not anytime soon... for soon check out this:

    http://digg.com/environment/Chevy_Volt_The_Next_Step_in_cars
  • gtapro92, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0lol i bet if it was toyota that broke this record all the diggers would be talking about how innovative they are and how american car companies dont accomplish anything.
  • carnut, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0If anybody wants to read more on the story, AutoWeek's got a pretty good one up at http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070817/FREE/70817005/1024
  • brokencrystal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Yea, but it's a Ford. The dash will crack and the body will rust.
  • JoshNeault, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
  •  

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