This has been quite a few weeks for hydrogen land-speed records as in the past month, three such records have now fallen. First it was the Ford 999 setting the world land-speed record for production hydrogen cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats with a top end of 207.297 mph. Next, at the same venue, the Ohio Buckeye Bullet 2 set the American land-speed record for a hydrogen fuel cell racecar by powering to 149 mph.
Now, at a Formula Zero competition at Rotterdam in the Netherlands, driver Bo Ridder blasted his hydrogen go-kart to a new world record for its class on the 1/8 mile track by going the length in 11.591 seconds. This was 3/10th of a second faster than the previous record. The Formula Zero go-kart also achieved a top speed of 75 mph on the track.
Formula Zero is a racing venue that features zero emission fuel cell single seat vehicles. The 2008 Championship will be held next year in June and will feature hydrogen fuel cell go-karts designed and fabricated by college students.