Morgan builds hydrogen sports car

Classic car company Morgan has used the Geneva Motor Show to demonstrate its vision of the car of the future which is emissions-free and runs entirely on hydrogen.

The Morgan LifeCar uses a hydrogen fuel cell to go from 0-60mph in seven seconds up to a top speed of 90mph. The cell has an estimated range of 200 miles.

"The LifeCar's purpose is to demonstrate that a zero emissions vehicle can also be fun to drive," said the company.

"Going far beyond the incremental adaptation of traditional car designs as seen in current hybrid vehicles, it will demonstrate that a new step in vehicle architecture is enabled by the use of a fuel cell hybrid power train."

The car is very light at only 700kg and uses four electric motors to drive wheels that are 10kg lighter and much more efficient than anything else on the market, the firm claims.

The engines recoup 50 per cent of their power used while braking, a huge improvement on the more usual 10 per cent.

The lightness of the car and efficiency of the engines makes it possible to install a much smaller fuel cell, although a finished car would probably need more range.

The project is a collaboration between Morgan, Cranfield University, QinetiQ and Oxford University.