22.3.2005
HydroGen3 on the grid at Rallye Monte Carlo

The Zafira-based HydroGen3 fuel cell prototype will be on the grid the first weekend of April at the “Rallye Monte Carlo Fuel Cell and Hybrid”. The vehicle will be driven by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Formula One World Championship runner-up in 1997, three-time Formula One Grand Prix winner and current Opel driver in the German Touring Car Championship.

The race is driven to target times and is organized by the International Automobile Federation (FIA: Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) and the Automobile Club of Monaco (A. C. M.). The event starts with vehicle scrutineering in Lugano, Switzerland on April 1. The actual Rallye kicks off at 9:00 a.m. on April 2. The approximately 410 kilometer long route has two legs and passes through Switzerland, Italy and France and ends in Monaco, where the participants arrive in the afternoon of the same day. According to the rules, the fuel cell vehicles are allowed one stop for refueling. Consumption is measured and taken into account in the evaluation, which is conducted according to classes.

The five-seat HydroGen3 is powered by a 60 kW/82 hp three-phase asynchronous motor. The required electrical energy is produced by a fuel cell stack comprising a total of 200 individual cells connected in series. With its almost noiseless propulsion system, this front-wheel-drive vehicle accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in around 16 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 160 km/h.

The HydroGen3 has already proven its endurance on many occasions, most recently in the summer of 2004 at the “Opel Fuel Cell Marathon – powered by GM” event. In 38 days, the prototype traveled exactly 9,696 kilometers between Hammerfest, Norway, and Cabo da Roca, Portugal – a new world record for a fuel cell vehicle.