Hydrogen power gets up to speed

Albert Gore III was clocked at more than 100 mph in a Toyota Prius. Perhaps police should be glad he didn’t get his hands on a Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999.

Ford Motor Co. said this week that it set a land-speed record for a production-based hydrogen-fuel-cell-powered car when its prototype racer ran 207.3 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, Utah.


The 999, named after a record-setting 1902 race car owned by company founder Henry Ford, was the first of its kind to attempt a speed record, but the result was impressive nonetheless.

Green car technology is cheered by environmentalists, but it has largely failed to rouse performance enthusiasts. Ford said the work it did to set the speed record would help it develop commercially viable hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The zero-emission engine, which uses hydrogen to power an electric motor, is one of several alternative-fuel technologies being explored by carmakers, along with ethanol, hybrid technology and plug-in electric power.

LA Times