Automotive

Hyundai Tucson sets land speed record for production fuel cell SUV

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The record runs were undertaken in an unmodified Tucson Fuel Cell with a full fuel cell
The record runs were undertaken in an unmodified Tucson Fuel Cell with a full fuel cell
The record runs took place on a flat and dry 1-mi (1.6-km) stretch of the Soggy Dry Lake Bed
The Tucson Fuel Cell has a driving range of driving range of 265 mi (426 km) and can be refueled in less than five minutes
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Hyundai's Tuscon Fuel Cell has unofficially set the first land speed record for production fuel cell SUVs. The Tucson achieved a top speed of 94.6 mph (152.2 km/h) during runs at the Soggy Dry Lake Bed in Southern California.

The Tucson Fuel Cell was the first mass-produced fuel cell vehicle (FCV), with deliveries being made to customers from June 2014. It has a driving range of driving range of 265 mi (426 km) and can be refuelled in less than five minutes.

No modifications were made to the vehicle for the record runs, which took place on a flat and dry 1-mi (1.6-km) stretch of the Californian lake on Nov. 11. Hyundai tells Gizmag that several runs were carried out, though some were to simply provide the various required camera angles for documenting the day.

"We did not certify the result officially," Hyundai Product PR Manager Derek Joyce tells us. "But I was there, and we achieved the speed by both GPS VBOX and radar, and it is recorded in the video. The Tucson Fuel Cell is the world's only production fuel cell SUV (there could be prototypes out there), so we are the first to set this specific category record."

The video below documents the achievement.

Source: Hyundai

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5 comments
Peter Kelly
If ever there was a pointless record this is certainly a candidate. Completely meaningless and a waste of time and money...nice one Hyundai!
grtbluyonder
Speed records matter little. What does matter is a combination of speed and most importantly endurance at speed. So I say big deal. Proves nothing much.
the.other.will
Why the dry lake bed instead of a race track? What will the Tuscon Fuel Cell do on a freeway? 265 miles is still marginal if it is the only car someone owns.
S Michael
Has to go a minimum of 500 miles on a "fill up". Or stay at home.... Not worth my time or my money.
Tom Lee Mullins
I think that is cool and green.