At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, legendary Italian design firm Pininfarina unveiled the H2 Speed concept, a hydrogen fuel cell race car intended to predict the future of motor sports.
Flashy concept cars like the H2 Speed usually get their 15 minutes of fame on an auto-show stand, then disappear. That may not be the case with this one, though, as Pininfarina is considering a limited production run of 10 copies, according to Automotive News (subscription required). Speaking to the trade journal at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, CEO Silvio Pietro Angori said the H2 Speed would be a “racing car for gentleman drivers.”
Read more: Can Japan’s newest supercar make Ferrari green with envy?
The track-only production cars will be based on a Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP 2) chassis, giving Pininfarina a foundation that is already approved for competition to work off of. The fuel cell stack will power a pair of electric motors, which will send at least 503 horsepower to the rear wheels. The powertrain will be developed by GreenGT, a French company that has worked to introduce fuel cells to racing over the past few years.
Pininfarina already claims to have buyers lined up for the car, even with an estimated price tag of $2.5 million. The company hopes to have a working prototype completed by early next year, and deliver the production models around 12-14 months after that.
CEO Angori is also adamant that Pininfarina will turn a profit on these cars, something that’s likely as important to the company as pushing the boundaries of race car design. Pininfarina has produced many iconic car designs over the years, but it recently fell into financial trouble. Last year, Indian carmaker Mahindra purchased a controlling interest in the Italian firm.
The H2 Speed could help put Pininfarina back in the spotlight. If the company really is serious about racing the car, it will be much more than another expensive toy for rich people. Putting a hydrogen fuel cell car on track in a real race series could be a major leap forward for the technology, and help make racing more sustainable.
Volkswagen’s newest EVs in China are making its American and European models look unusually conservative.
With Xpeng’s help, VW has introduced 800-volt charging and advanced urban driving assistance. The new VEGA technology package brings its locally developed vehicle platforms and CEA electronic architecture under one umbrella. Bloomberg reports that Volkswagen intends to update VEGA every three months. Western buyers can find pieces of that package, but not the whole thing in a Volkswagen.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?