December 10, 2002

Royal test drive with GM's fuel cell vehicle

Prince Albert of Monaco takes HydroGen3 around his principality

Monaco. - Even for worldly-wise and race-proven Prince Albert of Monaco, this was a whole new experience: Without producing any noise at all, he drove around the Formula 1 Grand Prix course in his principality. Without ever changing a gear, he sped up to the "Hotel de Paris", and none of the visitors down at the old harbor were even bothered by the smell of racing oil. The Prince's encounter with the driving experience of the future was part of a test program he shared with 250 journalists from around the world. To demonstrate the roadworthiness and versatility of General Motors' fuel cell technology, these experts were given the opportunity to drive the hydrogen-propelled prototype HydroGen3 in normal traffic around the 3.4 kilometers long racetrack through the city of Monte Carlo. After his drive, five time Olympic bobsleigh pilot Albert was most impressed by the silent and emission free technology of the Opel Zafira based fuel cell automobile: "It was a wonderful experience. Even driving up the hill to the "Hotel de Paris" happened smoothly and I could easily see these kind of vehicles driving in the near future on the streets of Monaco".

Propulsion for HydroGen3 is provided by a 60 kW/82 hp electrical motor that gets its electrical energy from a fuel cell stack combined of 200 individual cells connected in series. Thus equipped, the five-seater compact van accelerates in about 16 seconds from zero to 100 kph while reaching a top speed of 160 kph. The hydrogen that feeds the fuel cells is stored on board either in liquid form at a temperature of minus 253 degrees Centigrade or compressed under a pressure of 700 bars max, giving the car a range of 400 or 270 kilometers respectively. After the test drive of Prince Albert, Michael Burns, President of General Motors Europe, said: "These data underline our goal to be in production with fuel cell vehicles that are fully ready for everyday use and affordable for our customers by the end of this decade."