There is a first hydrogen race car planned for Le Mans in 2024 and the car you see here, the Hopium Māchina, aims to be part of the race. The car is by HMC (Hydrogen Motive Company) group, a recently established company of French racing driver Olivier Lombard, under its new Hopium brand.
The Hopium Māchina Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car is far from being a reality though. The company aims to debut a prototype in June 2021 and so for now, there are only renders of it. As far aesthetic goes, the Māchina is looking fantastic.
The Hopium Māchina will be powered by an electric motor juiced by hydrogen fuel cell which will offer up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) range and refueling will only take just 3 minutes – when the technology and infrastructure are in placed. When is the keyword here.
For now, the Hopium Māchina is expected to have over 507 PS, but beyond that, little is known about this upcoming eco-conscious sports sedan. Lombard, who was the youngest LMP2 class winner of the Le Mans 24 hours in 2011, believes hydrogen is a future as opposed to battery electric vehicle (BEV).
Well, it does not matter if he think that way. Personally, I too, believe hydrogen is the way to go, but like I say, it does not matter what we believe. The industry has to believe and then we get the infrastructure to support it.
I welcome BEV, but the fact that it need such a long-ass time to recharge makes me skeptical. Here’s to hoping that Lombard will be able to do what Elon did with BEV. But it will be a long while before Hopium Māchina can be seen on the roads.
The company is gunning for market release in 2025 and when it does, a final fully-equipped production model will have a price of around €120,000 (or around US$140,800). Meanwhile, you can learn more about the Hopium Māchina HERE. Before that, you want to take a look at this video:
Images: Hopium.
Source: Goodwood.
