German Car Zone

Not interested, thank you!

i am in a hurry, so two questions for me.

How much does its fuel (whatever it is ) per 100km?
and BTW, 9.5secs for 0-100 is SLOW for a bimmer...

hmm, i forgot the second question...

That would be a great achievement, just imagine a smaller car with such an engine.

I was told today Al Gore & Arnold Schwarzenegger are among 26 people from US that would get Hydrogen 7 in use.

Logical. Al Gore made this movie (imo he should have done something when he had the power as a vice president but that is another story), and Arnie is the boss of the state that tries best to ruin the planet as fast as possible.


Me neither, but you got to admit that the technology is mind-blowing.

BMW is the first to actually offer this, and it will evolve and get better.

From AutoWeek, not sure if it has been posted

Orignal link here


By KEVIN A. WILSON

AutoWeek | Published 11/29/06, 8:18 am et

AT A GLANCE:2007 BMW HYDROGEN 7
AVAILABLE: Mid-2007
PRICE: Only for loan to select drivers
DRIVETRAIN: Bi-fuel hydrogen-gasoline 6.0-liter, 260-hp, 288-lb-ft V12; rwd, six-speed automatic
CURB WEIGHT: 5285 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 9.5 seconds (mfr. est.)
FUEL MILEAGE (EU CYCLE): 16.9 mpg gasoline/17.25 miles per kilogram hydrogen




"Wanted: Drivers willing and able to promote hydrogen cars and infrastructure, to drive a BMW 7 Series for up to six months. Fee: None; rental contract will detail obligations. Apply at www.clubofpioneers.com

We suspect BMW will find far more people interested in that offer than it can accommodate with the 100 copies of its dual-fuel 7 Series that it begins putting on the road next year.

At the push of a button on the steering wheel, the car’s 6.0-liter V12 engine burns either hydrogen or gasoline. There is little discernible difference—the engine makes a somewhat coarser sound on hydrogen, because of faster combustion in the cylinders—and power delivery is the same 260 hp in either mode. To make the transition as transparent as possible, the gasoline mode is detuned, which also helps stretch fuel economy on this big, heavy luxury sedan.

The Hydrogen 7 reaches 60 mph in 9.5 seconds and has a cruising range of 125 miles on its eight kilograms of hydrogen and another 310 miles on the 19.5-gallon tank of gasoline. Emissions from hydrogen are virtually none aside from water vapor—in fact, the car always starts on hydrogen (a small reserve is retained for this purpose even after the tank is nominally empty) to eliminate cold-start emissions. In use, there’s no carbon monoxide or dioxide, a barely detectable trace of hydrocarbons due to the burning of a small amount of cylinder lubricant, and the only real concern is oxides of nitrogen (NOx). The latter are strictly controlled by a lean combustion strategy and the usual three-way catalyst.

That simple description belies a lot of complex engineering and 20 years of research into the use of hydrogen in internal combustion engines. BMW emphasizes that it’s not “testing” these cars—they’re full production models intended for regular use, though so closely monitored that they’re wired to send a report back to the folks at BMW headquarters every four hours. (Don’t worry—they’re watching engine operations and the hydrogen fueling system. Munich won’t know where you are unless you ask to have that tracked, too.)

We drove one in and around Berlin, including a refueling stop at a Total station, and aside from the reduced power output compared with a standard 438-hp 760Li, it’s a real BMW with all that implies about engineering, build quality, safety, handling and luxury features.

Before we get into how it works, though, take a moment to wonder why. That is, while other automakers develop hydrogen fuel cell cars, why is Munich burning it in an internal combustion engine? First, unlike the fuel cell, internal combustion is a mature technology, without any worries about reliability, durability or manufacturing technology.

Also important, when the hydrogen delivery infrastructure is in its infancy, it can be made to run on either fuel so there’s no question about the ability to complete a long journey. And, if it’s not quite a “zero” emissions vehicle when running on hydrogen, it’s close. Particularly in Europe, with its aggressive targets on reducing CO2 emissions, the technology holds promise to deliver benefits sooner than awaiting the maturation of fuel cell development. And it provides incentive to build hydrogen infrastructure.

On to the car: Like everyone else, BMW faced the considerable challenge of storing hydrogen, compounded by the need to also have a gasoline system. Where Honda and GM have chosen to compress gaseous hydrogen at 10,000 psi for its fuel cell cars, BMW opts for the more space-efficient liquid form, stored in a large, heavily insulated tank. It sits just above the gas tank, under the parcel shelf behind the passenger seat. The long-wheelbase chassis allows this installation while still providing interior space equivalent to that of a standard, short-wheelbase 7 Series (instead of the normal 760Li’s 4.5 inches of extra legroom, there’s only one inch, and it’s a strict four-seater—the rear center armrest no longer folds up). There’s adequate, though hardly ample, trunk volume of 7.9 cubic feet. Because of the added weight, the rear suspension incorporates heavy-duty and aluminum elements originally developed for the armored-car version.

Hydrogen produced by oil companies is typically stored in its liquid state at 20 degrees Kelvin—or -253 degrees Celsius, i.e., real damned cold. It’s transported that way in tanker trucks for delivery to stations (there are five in Europe now). The Total station in Berlin where we refueled has a separate building where hydrogen is stored as liquid in an insulated tank. There’s no active refrigeration on-site, so as hydrogen boils off into its gaseous state, it is captured and compressed for delivery to vehicles that use it that way.

BMW also has built five mobile fueling stations that can deliver gaseous or liquid hydrogen where needed. Three of these trucks will be in Europe, two in the U.S., so users of the Hydrogen 7 need not necessarily be within range of the handful of such stations. If needed, BMW can also provide a home refueling system.

Think of the car’s hydrogen tank as a giant thermos bottle. It’s 1.2 inches thick but has the insulating value of a layer of Styrofoam 56 feet thick. BMW boasts that if you put boiling-hot coffee in it, it would be 80 days before it cooled enough to drink. Still, super-cold liquid hydrogen boils off. There’s no loss if you drive it again within 17 hours, but if you leave it parked at the airport for nine days, you’re gonna be out of hydrogen when you get back. The tank contains the gas above the liquid until a certain pressure (determined by liquid volume and external air pressure) is reached, and then it’s released and sent into a catalyst under the rear bumper where it is burned off—you might see a puddle of condensed water vapor under the car.

If an accident violates the tank insulation resulting in rapid boil-off, there are pressure release mechanisms (pipes route through the C-pillars to a rooftop vent). BMW tested its tank to extremes, immersing it in flames for 70 minutes, firing bullets into it, etc., and the strict German TUV testing procedures establish that it is “at least as safe” as a gasoline tank.

The filling procedure is more complex than for gasoline, but easy enough. A dashboard button is pressed, and once the system is satisfied the engine is off, the transmission is in park and the e-brake is set, it releases the transparent hydrogen fill flap on the right C-pillar. The hose, much bulkier and somewhat heavier than a gasoline pump hose, is then attached with a sealing process akin to that used in racing pit stops. Once the connection is made, it’s all automatic, including protection against static electrical discharge. BMW says filling an empty tank takes less than eight minutes. Our half-empty tank took just less than six minutes.

After that, the engine operation seems simple enough. When it runs on gasoline, it uses a direct-injection system that delivers fuel directly into the combustion chamber. Push the H2 button on the wheel and electronics manage a near-instant transition to a separate hydrogen fuel system with injectors in the intake manifold. The hydrogen injectors are much larger than gasoline injectors, and their installation in the manifold raises the top of the engine enough that this model needs its own hood with a taller powerdome.

Inside, the dashboard includes an electronic fuel readout that indicates both the levels and remaining range on each fuel and an “H2” light that illuminates when you’re in that mode.

The car weighs nearly 5300 pounds, so it doesn’t feel like a great performer with only 260 hp, but it’s not a slug, either. A sensitive backside familiar with the standard 760Li would notice the center of gravity feels a little higher, and regular autobahn users will note that top speed is a mere 143 mph vs. the standard car’s 155.

If you want to get in line to drive one, the website, www.clubofpioneers.com, goes active later this month, says BMW. Or you could contact your dealer—we suspect loyal customers will be near the top of the list when the cars start arriving next spring. Preference will go, too, to people and institutions that BMW decides have the kind of influence that could promote the development of the necessary hydrogen infrastructure—the sort of people likely to be attracted to a 7 Series, anyway. Getting the influencers on board is much of the point of the exercise "

Slightly off topic, but does anyone else notice how the E65/66 is starting to show it's age in the face lift design???

In certain pictures yes, but overall no! In any case, the new one already hit the roads, so you won't wait too long if this one is no longer interesting to you...

Top Gear's review;

Orignal link

"With everyone chest-beating over climate change and automotive corporations getting various degrees of needle over emissions, it seems that the timing couldn't be better for BMW to pop up with a hydrogen combustion engine - housed here in the new 7-Series.

Of course, we've seen BMW's commitment to future fuelling for over a decade, but now the company has seen fit to produce a hydrogen-capable car that looks and goes like a regular Seven, and even to lease it out to a select few. The point being that this looks and feels like a production car, rather than an experimental platform.

The Hydrogen 7 is basically a V12 760Li adapted to contain the necessary pipework to combust hydrogen in its naturally aspirated engine. Thus, as well as a standard petrol fuel tank, you also get a rather large hydrogen tank finagled into the back, cutting legroom on this long-wheelbase chassis to just an inch over a regular Seven.

Uncovered, the hydrogen tank looks like a small aluminium boiler lying prone just under the C-pillar. Liquid hydrogen needs to be kept cool and under pressure, and the tank has a twin-skin construction that uses space-age tin foil and glass fibre, plus 30mm of vacuum to provide insulation equivalent to 17 metres of polystyrene.

Despite BMW's protestations, this car feels different on the move; the usually brawny-but-silky V12 suddenly seems anaemic with just 260bhp at its disposal (the price of hydrogen combustion is horsepower) and the extra bulk to haul about - the extra tank, etc, adding over 200kg.

BMW's engineers have done a fine job of keeping a creditable 47/53 weight split front to back, but it still feels strange through tight corners, especially as we're used to the normal Seven being sprightly for its size.

You might not notice the engine's differences at town speeds, but accelerate hard and you get both a lack of expected power and a surfeit of diesel-style aural clatter. Running on hydrogen, the Seven hits the benchmark in 9.5 seconds and on to an electronically limited 143mph.

But saying that, the Hydrogen Seven otherwise performs impeccably as a large saloon, with none of the weirdness of other future fuellers.

To be fair, BMW is not saying that this car is the magic bullet. The hydrogen tank only allows for a 125-mile range, hence the other 400-mile tankful of petrol, and of course there's an issue because hydrogen isn't readily available. But it opens up the debate. The Hydrogen 7 might not be the future, but it helps us point the way.

Tom Ford "