Up to more than 500 kilometers range and full in a few minutes
It’s been quiet around the BMW iX5 Hydrogen for a while, but the X5-with-fuel cell is now really hitting the road. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen was even extensively photographed for the occasion in the Netherlands.
In 2019, BMW conjured up the i Hydrogen Next and after four years of development, the production version has finally been presented in the form of this BMW iX5 Hydrogen. The iX5 Hydrogen is ready to hit the road, but don’t count on buying the BMW X5 with fuel cell yourself. BMW is sending a fleet of several dozen units onto the road as part of an extensive pilot project.
The BMW iX5 Hydrogen is of course based on the X5 and apparently even on the pre-facelift version. The always electrically powered BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a 401 hp and 720 Nm strong electric motor on the rear wheels. This means that the special BMW X5 reaches a speed of 100 km/h in less than 6 seconds. Its top speed is – with a fully charged battery – 205 km/h. More interesting is of course the hydrogen part. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen does not have a large battery pack, but two hydrogen tanks that together can store just under 6 kilos of hydrogen and that provide a fuel cell with a continuous output of 170 hp with zest for life. The BMW iX5 Hydrogen has a total range of 504 kilometers. The hydrogen tanks can be refilled in three to four minutes.
BMW X5
BMW did not develop the technology of the iX5 Hydrogen entirely by itself. It gets the fuel cells from Toyota. Toyota has already gained the necessary experience in the field of cars with a fuel cell, including the Mirai. BMW is building the iX5 Hydrogen at its Research and Innovation Center in Munich. At least, X5s built in the American Spartanburg are being transformed into iX5 Hydrogen.
It is not the first time that BMW iX5’s Hydrogen on the road. During the IAA in 2021, BMW already used prototypes of the car as a shuttle. BMW believes that one type of electric car is not enough to make climate-neutral mobility possible and therefore says it will continue to develop fuel cell and hydrogen technology. As early as 2006, BMW introduced the Hydrogen 7, a technical prototype of a 7-series (E65) with the 6.0 V12 of the 760i. That twelve-cylinder liked both petrol and hydrogen and was therefore a hydrogen car of a completely different order than the iX5 Hydrogen.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl