BMW Hydrogen 7

 

 What‘s it? Ostensibly, a BMW 7-series – a 760iL AND BMW Hydrogen 7, specifically – engineered to operate on either ordinary unleaded petrol or liquefied hydrogen. When burning the latter, it emits only water vapour and trace levels of nitrogen dioxide and harmful particulates. That, says BMW, causes it to be the world’s first super-low-emissions luxury vehicle, and also a totally sustainable means of personal transport. So exactly what have Munich’s engineers done for this symbol of conspicuous consumption to transform it into a possible climate-saver? Well, surprisingly little. Externally, the Hydrogen 7 is identical to some long-wheelbase 7-series except for its 'Hydrogen' badging and slightly tweaked rear valance styling. Beneath the bonnet is how you’d expect a lot of the labor to happen to be done, but actually BMW Hydrogen 7 hasn’t had to carry out much to its 6. 0-litre V12 to really make it accept hydrogen as readily because it does unleaded. It runs a slightly lower compression ratio compared to the standard V12, includes a hydrogen injection system and an aluminium-lined induction system specifically designed to do business with the fuel. Otherwise it’s unchanged, and knocks out a steady, if slightly underwhelming 256bhp whether it’s running on petrol or hydrogen. To won’t fail to recognize this Seven from your ordinary 760iL, however, happens when lifting the bootlid. This really is where BMW has accommodated the 165-litre aluminium tank essential to store the liquid hydrogen to the engine, which gives the car a 120-mile hydrogen range, on surface of its 300-mile petrol range.

The Hydrogen 7 does possess a boot, but it’s greatly reduced in size – and there’s four inches less legroom inside the back compared to other long-wheelbase Seven – another compromise made to the hydrogen tank. What is it like? Once it’s started up, so well-insulated is that this car’s engine which you really wouldn’t know it was eventually turning over in the least, including have the ability to know the fuel it’s burning. On an open road, it’s not the foremost convincing exponent of BMW’s  philosophy, and that’s since it weighs 250kg greater than standard car along with being less powerful. Performance is acceptable, though ; 0-62mph taking just over nine seconds. Top speed is limited to 143mph. BMW’s real achievement here is just one of refinement instead of outright performance. When running on hydrogen, the Hydrogen 7 delivers its power just as freely and responsively because it does on petrol – and that’s a considerable success whenever you consider that hydrogen burns 10 times as quickly as petrol, and it is therefore a lot more difficult to control during combustion. You are able to switch in one fuel to a different as the engine is running in the touch of the button upon the steering wheel ; there’s a momentary interruption in drive, but nothing more intrusive when compared to a gearchange might otherwise be.

And although the engine takes on a far more hard-edged induction note when it’s consuming hydrogen, it remains as refined as most diesel engines, even at high revs. Should I buy one? Well, you can’t. BMW is merely making 100 Hydrogen 7s, and can retain ownership of every body. If you’re a forward-thinking captain of industry or an environmentally-aware celebrity, you may be offered the opportunity to lease one for a couple of months – however the rest of people will need to always drive fossil-fuelled cars for time being. That is not such a nasty thing, in fact, because only a couple of filling stations in continental Europe sell the liquefied hydrogen had the need to run the car. Even if they should did stock the ideal stuff, it'd cost you three times just the maximum amount of to operate your BMW onto it at this time because it would ordinary unleaded. Worse still, since that hydrogen would probably be extracted from natural gas instead of from renewable sources, you'd actually do more harm towards the environment by performing so than you‘d by burning the equivalent petrol with your tank. Nevertheless, BMW should still be congratulated. The Hydrogen 7 is really a fully homologated and type-approved production car ; therefore it is been put through every relevant crash and stress test, and proves that hydrogen-powered cars could be made safe for our particular roads, produced in a similar factories as other car, and can also provide levels of performance and refinement which are within touching distance of the petrol-powered siblings. The remainder of the world might not be able to accept it, but BMW certainly seems ready and able to create a near zero-emissions car.