Ford Motor Company and the Ohio State University Student Land Speed Racing Team are going after hydrogen fuel cell records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah with the Buckeye Bullet 2 and a modified Ford Fusion.
The Ohio State Buckeye Bullet 1 currently holds the land speed record for electric vehicles at 315 mph. The Buckeye Bullet 2 will compete at the Bonneville Speedweek 2007 in the EIII Class using two Ballard fuel cells and a 700 hp electric motor.
The hydrogen-powered Buckeye Bullet 2 was designed by the Ohio State College of Engineering faculty and students using Solidworks CAD software. The Buckeye Bullet 2 also uses a 6-speed transaxle and customized Bonneville racing tires.
Ohio State University (OSU) students are also modifying a Ford Fusion XV1 to race in the production vehicle class at the salt flats. OSU will be providing the fuel cell technology and electric motor and Ford engineers will be integrating this technology with a production model Fusion body, plus streamlining the body a bit for the Bonneville run.
Bonneville Speedweek 2007 will take place August 11 – 17 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Wendover, UT.
In another race, Ford will be bringing their Explorer FCV to the Brighton Veteran Car Run (Eco Race) in Brighton, UK on June 5. From Bonneville to Brighton, Ford is hitting the racing circuit with its hydrogen vehicles.