Photo: Honda
The Honda Insight is (almost) dead. Long live the new Honda Insight! Sticking with its tradition of always pushing the cutting edge of engineering, Japanese carmaker Honda is moving away from mainstream hybrid tech and into the fuel cell market, which is showing more promise by the day.
A concept car previewing their future FCV was unveiled in Japan today, featuring all the latest design cues that have yet to trickle down to any European or America model. Perhaps more important than the look is the fact that a production model has been confirmed for March 2016.
Thanks to a slippery aerodynamically efficient body and a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, the Honda FCV is expected to have a maximum range of over 700 km (435 miles). That's way more than most drivers are willing to do in a single trip and also double the range of even the best EVs around. Crucially in this game of top trumps, Honda is promising more driving per tank than Toyota's FCV, which claims around 300 miles (483 km).
I'm going to be bold about this and say that the Honda FCV is prettier than Toyota's model as well. The roof flows very nicely, like on a Tesla Model S. It also has a distinctive front end a sculpted profile. Of course, the really big question is do FCV buyers want to be discrete or do they want a big dose of futurism?
Like many other Japanese car companies, Honda has envisioned a way in which its FCV, which is essentially an EV, can work as a mobile powerplant. Should the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 happen again, the hydrogen in that tank could potentially save lives.
Thanks to a slippery aerodynamically efficient body and a 70 MPa high-pressure hydrogen tank, the Honda FCV is expected to have a maximum range of over 700 km (435 miles). That's way more than most drivers are willing to do in a single trip and also double the range of even the best EVs around. Crucially in this game of top trumps, Honda is promising more driving per tank than Toyota's FCV, which claims around 300 miles (483 km).
I'm going to be bold about this and say that the Honda FCV is prettier than Toyota's model as well. The roof flows very nicely, like on a Tesla Model S. It also has a distinctive front end a sculpted profile. Of course, the really big question is do FCV buyers want to be discrete or do they want a big dose of futurism?
Like many other Japanese car companies, Honda has envisioned a way in which its FCV, which is essentially an EV, can work as a mobile powerplant. Should the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 happen again, the hydrogen in that tank could potentially save lives.
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