VW Tiguan HyMotion -- costs a lot, but doesn’t cost the Earth
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The Volkswagen Tiguan is hardly just out (quick update: it’s a crossover SUV, bigger than a Rabbit, smaller than a Touareg), but there’s already a zero-emissions version powered by a fuel cell. It’s called the Tiguan HyMotion, no doubt because hydrogen supplies the motion.
The fuel cell produces 107 horsepower at one end and clean water vapor at the other. With the assistance of an electric motor, the Tiguan HyMotion can enjoy 134 hp, although the zero-to-60 mph time of 14 seconds could only be described by kinder souls as leisurely. It also sports a pack of lithium ion batteries to store power created by the fuel cell and from braking energy regeneration. Beneath the floor is a tank of pressurized hydrogen (stored at over 10,000 psi), which holds seven pounds of the gas.
Just like similar vehicles from other car makers, the Tiguan HyMotion is not available to the public, mainly because these things usually cost about $1 million to make. This is one of those “look how far we’ve come along the alternative energy route” exercises. Which is a shame, because hydrogen is slowly -- very slowly -- becoming easier to buy in California. This fall will see a new filling station opening near LAX, a joint operation between General Motors and Clean Energy Fuels Corporation, set up in part to fuel the Chevrolet Equinox/Virgin Airways program.