Tomorrow, September 13, 2011 Mercedes-Benz is supposed to introduce its newest hydrogen fuel cell concept car, the F125 at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany. Apparently, due to some leakage to the media we have some info about this car a day early.
In the Spring of 2010, the Mercedes Benz B-Class F-Cell began serial production and now a few drivers in Germany and the U. S. are leasing this car. So, apparently Mercedes decided to raise the bar a bit with the introduction of the F125.
At this point no one knows if the Mercedes F125 will be intended for commercial production or not. However what we do know is that this concept car is no slacker.
Powered by a hydrogen fuel cell stack it can put out 231 horsepower which is enough to propel it from 0 to 62 mph in just 4.9 seconds. The car gets some of its oomph from a bank of lithium ion batteries hidden inside the vehicle.
The Mercedes F125 also has a top speed of 137 mph. But, this speed burner is also a gas sipper as well. This hydrogen fuel cell cars gets around 74 miles per gallon equivalent and can travel approximately 620 miles before needing to be refueled with 10,000 psi hydrogen gas.
The chassis is made from carbon fiber, aluminum and high tech plastics to reduce the weight of the vehicle while strengthening its shell. My only hope is that Mercedes will decide to go into serial production with this FCV as this will surely be a car that many people will want to drive and drive with gusto.
External Video Link
Here’s a Youtube Video of the car in action
Performance stats are quite good. Less than 5 sec from 0 to 100km/h. The look is somewhat questionable but nevertheless I am glad big guys are coming out with hydrogen concepts.