Hyundai partners Forze Racing to build world’s fastest hydrogen race car

Hyundai Motor has announced a partnership with Forze Hydrogen Racing to build the first iteration of Forze IX, that the companies claim will be the world's fastest hydrogen race car.

The Forze IX weighs 1,500 kg and will be equipped with two fuel cell systems with a total combined output of 240 kW, and an accumulator with a maximum boost power of 600 kW, and all-wheel drive. The hydrogen race car will have a top speed of 300 km/h, and an acceleration from 0-100 km/h in less than three seconds.

The companies will build the first iteration of Forze IX in 2021 with one balance of the plant. Then, in 2022, the team will implement the second balance and finish the car. For this, Hyundai will make engineers from its Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center (HMETC) in Russelheim, Germany, available to the Forze Team. "By drawing on our leadership in fuel cell mobility and Forze’s ambition to take hydrogen to the next level, together we will push the boundaries of what’s possible in the development of zero-emissions racing," said Tyrone Johnson, Head of Vehicle Development at HMETC.

Forze is a team of students that design, build and compete hydrogen electric racing automobiles in order to promote fuel cell mobility. It consists of 60 students at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, who can work full or part-time for the Forze team as part of their studies.

The Forze team has earlier created the Forze VI, which lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in less than 11 minutes and set a record for hydrogen-powered vehicles in the process.

Hyundai has decades of experience and leadership in innovation and the development of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV). The automaker’s second-generation NEXO fuel-cell electric vehicle recently received the five-star rating from Green NCAP.