Hydrogen supercar to be revealed next month

Sunday, 19 July 2020

American start-up Hyperion has confirmed its first supercar, the XP-1 will debut next month.

The XP-1 will use a “high-performance zero-emissions hydrogen-electric powertrain” that uses technology originally developed for NASA. Big claims, then.

Without giving away crucial figures, Hyperion claims its powertrain is both greener than petrol or diesel options while more practical than battery-electric supercars because buyers wont have to worry as much about range or recharging times.

This is about a fifth of the Hyperion XP-1, due to be revealed in full in August.

“The XP-1 will utilise an advanced hydrogen-fueled propulsion system and aims to help usher in a new frontier of automotive technology,” is all Hyperion has to say at the moment.

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That swoopy back plus the hint of the rear wheel arch looks almost pre-war... Doesn’t it?

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Power and performance figures are also yet to be confirmed but the NASA creds and comparisons to the Lotus Evija, Tesla Roadster and Nio EP-9 mean we should be in for something pretty spectacular.

We don’t even know what it looks like but earlier teasers and the video above show a car with a wide, low, Bugatti Veyron-like front end and a sloping coupe-style roofline with a curved rear end. It could blend the looks of the early-20th century luxury cars with modern design cues to create a super aerodynamic body shape.

It will be interesting to see how Hyperion gets around the fuelling issue, however. Globally, hydrogen refuelling stations are few and far between compared to electric chargers or petrol stations.

There are plans to introduce the fuel to New Zealand thanks largely to efforts from Hyundai, Ports of Auckland, Taranaki-based Hiringa Energy - the first company in New Zealand dedicated to the supply of 'green' hydrogen - and King Country-based Waitomo Group - New Zealand's fastest-growing independent fuel retailer.

Those last two have said they will work together on 'the detailed engineering requirements and consenting for a network of hydrogen refuelling sites', some of which will be on existing Waitomo Fuel Stops.

Toyota has also pledged its support for hydrogen, confirming a few years ago that it was bringing in a few hydrogen-powered Mirais for market conditioning research.

TNZ CEO, Neeraj Lala, said at the time: 'At this stage we are studying this technology and the infrastructure network that is needed in order to have these vehicles in New Zealand.'.