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LONDON, England - Aston Martin has entered the record books with the first hydrogen-fuelled, zero emissions, lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany.
The lap was completed on April 27 2013 with Aston Martin chief executive officer Ulrich Bez behind the wheel of a prototype Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S. The lap served as the testing ground ahead of formal record-breaking attempt at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nurburgring in May 2013.
‘AN EXCEPTIONAL FIRST’
Aston Martin engineers were using the four-hour Adac Acas H&R-Cup VLN series race as a test session ahead of the gruelling 24-hour during which the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S will line-up alongside more than 200 GT cars.
Bez said: “I'm incredibly proud of the Aston Martin team and our partners Alset Global. We've written a little motorsport history with this qualifying lap as well as finishing the four-hour race on hydrogen and, of course, it bodes extremely well for our participation in the 24-Hours of Nurburgring.
“To have run full laps on hydrogen alone during the four-hour event was an exceptional ‘first’ and I now hope we can stabilise the system and further improve the Rapide S for the race with many zero-emissions laps.”
David King, director of special projects at Aston Martin, said: “This achievement should leave nobody in any doubt that the system we have developed with Alset Global is a viable and exciting option for the future.
“The creation of the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S was, for Aston Martin, another high-profile way for us to mark our centenary in 2013 and to demonstrate our engineering capabilities in the most demanding environment of a major endurance race.
“This is the ultimate expression of our long-term strategy of using the Nurburgring 24-Hou to publicly demonstrate the abilities of our cars and our people.”
EXPERIMENTAL CLASS
The hybrid Rapide S will compete in an experimental class (E1-XP) and will be refuelled with 3.5kg of hydrogen as well as petrol.
The prototype has a twin-turbo, six-litre V12 capable of running on petrol, hydrogen or a blend of both. In hydrogen mode the car's exhaust emits only water.
The Hybrid Hydrogen system comprises a hydrogen fuel-rail, storage tanks and engine management system. Safety is paramount and the system includes four ultra-strong carbon-fibre tanks for the liquid hydrogen stord at 350 bar pressure.
The race car is based on the new Rapide S four-door sports car arriving in Aston Martin showrooms worldwide in April 2013.
The lap was completed on April 27 2013 with Aston Martin chief executive officer Ulrich Bez behind the wheel of a prototype Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S. The lap served as the testing ground ahead of formal record-breaking attempt at the ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nurburgring in May 2013.
‘AN EXCEPTIONAL FIRST’
Aston Martin engineers were using the four-hour Adac Acas H&R-Cup VLN series race as a test session ahead of the gruelling 24-hour during which the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S will line-up alongside more than 200 GT cars.
Bez said: “I'm incredibly proud of the Aston Martin team and our partners Alset Global. We've written a little motorsport history with this qualifying lap as well as finishing the four-hour race on hydrogen and, of course, it bodes extremely well for our participation in the 24-Hours of Nurburgring.
“To have run full laps on hydrogen alone during the four-hour event was an exceptional ‘first’ and I now hope we can stabilise the system and further improve the Rapide S for the race with many zero-emissions laps.”
David King, director of special projects at Aston Martin, said: “This achievement should leave nobody in any doubt that the system we have developed with Alset Global is a viable and exciting option for the future.
“The creation of the Hybrid Hydrogen Rapide S was, for Aston Martin, another high-profile way for us to mark our centenary in 2013 and to demonstrate our engineering capabilities in the most demanding environment of a major endurance race.
“This is the ultimate expression of our long-term strategy of using the Nurburgring 24-Hou to publicly demonstrate the abilities of our cars and our people.”
EXPERIMENTAL CLASS
The hybrid Rapide S will compete in an experimental class (E1-XP) and will be refuelled with 3.5kg of hydrogen as well as petrol.
The prototype has a twin-turbo, six-litre V12 capable of running on petrol, hydrogen or a blend of both. In hydrogen mode the car's exhaust emits only water.
The Hybrid Hydrogen system comprises a hydrogen fuel-rail, storage tanks and engine management system. Safety is paramount and the system includes four ultra-strong carbon-fibre tanks for the liquid hydrogen stord at 350 bar pressure.
The race car is based on the new Rapide S four-door sports car arriving in Aston Martin showrooms worldwide in April 2013.