Jay Leno, is a fan of hydrogen cars. The American comedian and chat-show host thinks they are the shape of motoring in the future.

The BMW Hydrogen 7 which costs a cool £5m ($10m)

Leno comments, “For the past few days I have been driving BMW’s latest 7-series hydrogen car. There is some terrific technology there. It makes plenty of power for its size; the only thing that has limited it is the choice of fuel. This is a flex-fuel vehicle. It runs on either hydrogen or petrol. If you run out of hydrogen you press a button and it goes to petrol.”

Model BMW Hydrogen 7
Engine 5972cc, 12 cylinders
Power 260bhp @ 5100rpm
Torque 287 lb ft @ 4300rpm
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Fuel 19.2mpg (hydrogen) / 20mpg (petrol)
CO2 5.2g/km (hydrogen) / 325g/km (petrol)
Performance 0-62mph: 9.5sec. Top speed: 143mph
Range 125 miles (hydrogen) 310 miles (petrol)
Price £5m (but not on sale)

Jay Leno helped BMW to introduce the hydrogen car seven or eight years ago. “We did a rather dramatic demonstration where I drove the car up onto a platform. I let it run and put an empty glass under the exhaust pipe. I spoke for about half an hour and when I finished I shut off the car and drank the water that was in the glass. It wasn’t the best-tasting water I’d ever had but it certainly wasn’t bad for me.”

The main disadvantage, he says, “is that there is always a certain amount of hydrogen bleed-off as the liquid turns to gas. That means that if you let the car sit for an extended period of time, eventually the hydrogen would run out because it escapes. It’s deliberate. The hydrogen, as it escapes, keeps everything cold.”

It seems you cannot tell the difference moving from gas (petrol) to hydrogen. “It’s viable but it’s expensive. I think you’ll see it in the years ahead. There’s no hydrogen infrastructure right now. It’s got to be one of those things like when John Kennedy said we’re going to the moon, long before 1969. Everybody works on it and gets it done.”

Is the age of hydrogen nearly upon us?

Warwick University’s Eco One

The WMG students at Warwick University have designed and built one of the greenest cars on earth, the Eco One – and it’s made from potatoes and cashew nuts, amongst other exotic materials. Amazingly, it’s a racing car capable of 150 mph and runs on bio-fuels.

The ultimate aim of the students’ project is to build a car that is ninety-five percent bio-degradable or recyclable. The Eco One is just the beginning, it seems. But it does show what is already possible in this field of research and points the way for manufacturers of green cars in the future.

The Eco One will debut at the Sexy Green Car Show at the Eden Project between March 30 and April 15, where it will stand alongside the offerings of some of the largest car manufacturers in the world. To learn more, visit the Warwick University site or read PitPass’ article giving the racing view of the project.