Audi is in the fuel cell business, introducing its A7 Sportback h-tron concept car at the Los Angeles Convention centre. Able to drive 500 kilometres on a single tankful of lighter-than-air hydrogen, the h-tron uses electric motors on each axle to allow fully electronic distribution of torque through its Quattro all-wheel-drive. And in fuel cell mode, the h-tron needs only about one kilogram of hydrogen to cover 100 kilometers, the energy content equivalent of 3.7 litres (1.0 US gal) of gasoline.
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What’s unique about the h-tron, however, is that it is a plug-in “hybrid” with an 8.8 kW-h lithium-ion battery onboard that can also power the A7 for 50 kilometres on power sourced from the electrical grid. And with 229 horsepower of torquey electric motors available, the h-tron should also be plenty speedy, accelerating to 100 kilometres an hour in 7.9 emissions-free seconds and topping out at 180 km/h. All while its only emissions are a few drops of plain, old water!
