Nissan has become the first automaker to record a fuel cell vehicle (FCV) lap on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit in Germany.
The X-Trail FCV was driven by Frank Eickholt, member of the Nissan 24 Hours Nürburgring race team and Nordschleife aficionado.
He skilfully steered the 1.3 million euro prototype through 'The Green Hell' - as the course is often referred to - on standard street tyres.
And although the 20.8 kilometre-long course was consistently wet - making it difficult to drive aggressively - Eickholt was thoroughly impressed with the X-Trail FCV, which clocked in at 11:58 minutes.
"I was very surprised at just how comfortable it is to drive a fuel cell car. You get in, turn the key and off you go, just like with a normal car," said Eickholt.
"Although some of the uphill sections were challenging, the speed was still very impressive.
"If the course hadn't been so wet, I could have gotten more momentum out of the curves. Thirty to 40 seconds could have been shaved off for sure," he added.
The five-seater X-Trail FCV is a zero-emission electric vehicle that runs in near silence.
It is powered by electricity produced on board the vehicle, in a hydrogen fuel cell stack. |
