The Hopium Machina is a new luxury hydrogen car | FOS Future Lab
French racing driver Olivier Lombard – who became the youngest LMP2 class winner of the Le Mans 24 hours in 2011, then aged just 21 – has recently established the HMC (Hydrogen Motive Company) group with ambitious plans to enter and compete in the first hydrogen race car at Le Mans in 2024 under his new Hopium automotive division brand name.
Ahead of his 2024 Le Mans hydrogen-powered competition car entry, Lombard has revealed initial plans to unveil his first premium-sector fuel cell four-door luxury sports saloon prototype, the Hopium Māchina, set for a June 2021 prototype debut. Lombard’s goal? For the HMC group to become a world benchmark in hydrogen mobility by 2030, achieving a turnover of around €1 billion (£908.2m) by that time.
The revolutionary high-end Hopium hydrogen saloon is claimed to offer up to 1,000km (620 miles) of autonomy from a single tank of hydrogen, with a full refuel taking less than three minutes using a hydrogen pump, where the technology and fueling infrastructure exist.
According to initial information just released by HMC, the Māchina will produce in excess of 507PS (373kW) with power from an electric block, powered by a fuel cell. The price for the final fully-equipped production model will be targeted around €120,000 euros (£109,000) when released in most world markets for 2025.
Already involved as a test driver for the Swiss-based GreenGT racing project to develop a racing car powered by a fuel cell, the 29-year-old Lombard firmly believes that hydrogen is a more sustainable transport solution than electric vehicles with a carbon-neutral footprint. The new Hopium project holds much promise, providing hydrogen technology isn’t usurped by the aggressive charge of electric vehicles. Here’s hoping.
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