World's First Hydrogen Fueled Sports Car Unveiled At Auto Show

They're the latest and the greatest next generation of cars that you may be driving someday. But you can see them now. The Geneva Auto Show began Tuesday with a display of the usual new and improved vehicles you'll be seeing in showrooms in the coming months or years.

But as always, the real stars of this show were the curiosity factors - the kind of futuristic Jetson's-looking contraptions that capture the eye as well as the imagination.

Nissan unveiled the next generation of its futuristic bubble car, called the Pivo2. It's powered by an electric lithium ion battery and is designed not to need any gas at all.

Then there's the petrol-powered but Back-to-The-Future-styled Phantom coupe, whose most outstanding feature is its hinged doors. It boasts a 453-horsepower, a V-12 engine and the kind of price tag you'd expect from an exclusive product made by Rolls Royce.

But perhaps the biggest car star of all is one that may never actually hit the road and has been in development for years. It's called the Lifecar, and it has the backing of the British government and a number of universities. 

What's so special about this vehicle? It's billed as a 'zero emission' automobile, and is totally powered by hydrogen fuel cells. There have been others that used similar power sources before, but its backers claim this is the first true sports car of its kind, and its sleek lines make it instantly attractive.

It can go up to 400 kilometres per tank of hydrogen, and can hit 0-100 kilometres in about seven seconds. Its top speed: about 145 km/h, not quite as fast as some of its high powered gasoline counterparts, but enough to get you a speeding ticket on the highway.

The entire car is designed to be as efficient as possible. Its chassis is made entirely of aluminum and the interior seats are built of wood to reduce weight.

What runs it? The hydrogen cells c****ine with oxygen from the air outside to cause an electro-chemical reaction. That not only allows the car to move at a good clip, it has a side - or in this case, a rear - benefit. The only thing that comes out of its tailpipe is water vapour. And the batteries recharge themselves every time you hit the brakes.

While the firm that created the vehicle, Morgan Motor Company, believes this concept car could one day be made into a viable product, some critics don't agree. They point out the cost of hydrogen is high and the electricity needed to produce the cells themselves is hardly environmentally friendly.

But for most people the real impediment will be the cost. It takes a lot of green to be this green. If it were to hit the market today, the Lifecar would sell for a whopping Cdn$235,600.

At that price it would really help the environment because you'd be afraid to take it out of your garage.  

Get a closer look at it here

See a photo gallery of all the concept cars