Record lap for fuel
cell vehicle at the Nürburgring
(23/07/2008)
Frank Eickholt, member of the
Nissan 24 Hours Nürburgring race
team and Nordschleife
aficionado, skilfully steered
the 1.3 million euro prototype
through ‘The Green Hell’ – as
the course is often referred to
– on standard street tyres. And
although the 20.8 kilometre-long
course was consistently wet –
making it difficult to drive
aggressively – Eickholt was
thoroughly impressed with the
X-Trail FCV which clocked in at
11:58 minutes.
“I
was very surprised at just how
comfortable it is to drive a
fuel cell car. You get in, turn
the key and off you go, just
like with a normal car,” said
Eickholt.
The five-seater X-Trail
FCV is a zero-emission
electric vehicle that
runs in near silence. It
is powered by
electricity produced on
board the vehicle, in a
hydrogen fuel cell
stack. Electricity is
generated following an
electro-chemical
reaction between
hydrogen – which is
stored at 700 bar in a
purpose-designed
high-pressure tank – and
oxygen. The only
by-product is water
vapour.
This electric current is
channelled through an inverter
to drive a powerful motor in the
front of the car. The X-Trail
FCV, which has been undergoing
real-world trials in Japan and
California since 2006, has an
official top speed of 150 km/h
and a range of 500 km. Maximum
power is 90kW (120PS) while
maximum torque is 280Nm.
It
also features the latest in
battery technology: a
Nissan-designed compact
lithium-ion battery with thin
laminated cells. The Li-Ion
battery is used to start the
vehicle and to boost power under
acceleration. Kinetic energy
created under deceleration is
captured and stored in the
battery for future use.
