Friday 9th March 2007

Morgan confirms hydrogen car

Car will have zero-emissions and a wooden chassis

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Morgan LifeCar

Morgan has confirmed at the Geneva motor show that it's planning to build a hydrogen fuel-cell car -- not just a concept either but a production run -- as PH reported last November (see link below).

The company is famous for its traditional production methods, but for next year’s Geneva show managing director Charles Morgan announced a plan to launch the Morgan Life Car -- a hydrogen-fuelled, zero-emissions car built using Morgan’s wooden-framed body.

Morgan said the car is intended to demonstrate that a zero-emission vehicle can also be fun to drive. Artist’s impressions of the car show a vehicle shaped like the Aero 8, but with aerodynamic fairings covering the wheel arches. It will be a very lightweight car with a fuel cell hybrid powertrain, which will give it a 200-mile range.

It’s being developed in partnership with high-tech specialists including Cranfield University, QinetiQ, Oxford University and Linde AG.

Meanwhile, Morgan said that it's doing well. Almost all of the 100 limited run AeroMaxs have now been sold, and Morgan’s total sales last year reached 650. "We have a full order book for 2007 for both the traditional Morgan and the AeroMax, and we’ve just launched a new Aero 8 for the US," said Morgan. The Aero 8 America has a 335bhp 4.4-litre BMW V8 engine and costs $115,000.

Morgan also announced it would run a full three-car works team in the FIA GT series this year, and fittingly for a maker of ‘living classics’, it has hired two classic racing drivers to head the team. Jacques Lafitte and Jean-Pierre Jabouille were both Grand Prix winners in the 1970s, and are still committed sports car racers.

• Related story: Morgan goes green

[MTv Dave]

While I'm eager to see what they make, how can they say this will be a zero emissions car? The engergy cost of getting hydrogen isn't zero. I accept it can be made with a lower energy cost than hydocarbon based fuels, but it's not 'free'

[Bodo]

I'm impressed by Morgan's visionary outlook while maintaining traditions.

[rcarr]

Bloody Matt blood Humphries!

That was his final degree show car!

[mr_tony]

Right - first of all don't get me wrong - I don't think climate change is something we're going to 'fix' with this kind of car (for a myriad of reasons).

However, zero emissions (I would call them zero emissions in use vehicles as they aren't emitting any pollutants - except water vapour the most important greenhouse gas...) cars ahve their place for the future. Oil isn't going to be with us forever, and is increasingly a ball ache to extract from the middle east. In addition it's nice to have decent air quality in towns (I live in london and having black fingernails isn't something I associate with the positive side of london)...

So go for it morgan - hopefulyl there will be a limited run for collectors, then Morgan can license the technology to someone else to give them another income stream, and keep making awesome road cars. With V8's!

[rcarr]

http://features.conceptcar.co.uk/cov-

Here is Matt's degree show model of it!

Sorry the site won't let me show it as an image

[Lord-Flasheart]

Hope it works, Will be nice to see a small British manufacturer leading the way in new technology.

[TUS 373]

Knew of this a couple of years back. They put in to the DTI for an R&D grant and won it - hence why they have a collaboration with several partners. Good luck to them.

[chickensoup]

Ash Frame
Hydrogen Power

Same sort of recipe for success as R101

[notthehamster]

Morgan have as much chance of successfully selling a hydrogen powered sports car as a frog has of successfully crossing 8 lanes of the M25 at rush hour. Stick to what you know lads!

[fly fisher]

Morgan have had quite a bit of grant money for the project so I think the financial risk to them is quite low. It will be interesting to see what price they will charge for it.
Will

[Scraggles]

personally think that climate change is just hot air and a chance for western governments to tax the people and stop the developing world from developing

was a lot warmer than it is now when the romans were around, maybe they had some way of making lots of CO2, but not sure how the little ice age in the 17th century explained....

nice story on channel 4 the other day

hydrogen is made by electrolysis, expensive way to make fuel, or u can plug cars into the natioanl grid and have coal opr gas fired stations making the electricity

[Calorus]

I agree, but the fact is, the less petrol used in cars, the more petrol will be left for use in cars - if you see what I mean.

When most cars are powered by wind, natural gas and nuclear electrolysed hydrogen, by and large, the petrol that's made car be used for 100 Octane fun juice.

But I love that Morgan may yet be first to market...

[B10]

Morgans have never had a wooden chassis (early Marcos' did) and I doubt this car will have either. I wish reporters would learn about car construction - Morgan's have a wooden body frame mounted on a steel or aluminium (Aero)chassis. Good..got that off my chest

[jensen-healey]

At the moment hydrogen is not generally made by electrolysis of water, but by stripping the hydrogen off hydrocarbons, which as I understand it uses less energy. So you still need oil or gas to drive a hydrogen vehicle.

[LewisR]

When will everyone get it into their heads that hydrogen is a non-starter. The storage of it is too expensive to make, is too big and heavey to lug around in he boot of your car. It requires alot of energy and materials to make the tank. We don't have a way of mass producing hydrogen without burning oil/coal. We don't have the infra-structure of moving it and storing it in large quantities. It has to be bio-fuels.

[beasto]

Hmmm.... a nice looker, especially the wood inserts.

Hydrogen... give it a try and see what the 'real world' energy use is on a running machine.

Meantime, good luck to them.

[Michael997]

I thought most pollution from a car was during its manufacture and not from its exhaust so perhaps we should all keep the cars we have if we want to save on pollution.

Edited by Michael997 on Saturday 10th March 12:20

[LewisR]

You have a very valid point, Michael997. I'm not entirely sure of the numbers but I did hear that it's around 80000 miles worth of fuel to build a car. Perhaps we should drive around in 1980s diesel Mercs. running on veg. oil.

[Calorus]

LewisR said:

You have a very valid point, Michael997. I'm not entirely sure of the numbers but I did hear that it's around 80000 miles worth of fuel to build a car. Perhaps we should drive around in 1980s diesel Mercs. running on veg. oil.

I'll happily run around in a 1980's Toyota running Ethanol.

[alexkp]

chickensoup said:

Ash Frame
Hydrogen Power

Same sort of recipe for success as R101

[pedant mode on]

R101, like all other dirigibles was aluminium framed.

[/pedant mode off]