6,025 Mile GM Fuel Cell Marathon

General Motors' "Opel Fuel Cell Marathon" has come to a successful finish, arriving in Cabo da Roca near the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on schedule after traveling 6,025 miles from Hammerfest in northern Norway. In 38 days, the HydroGen3 nearly doubled the previous distance record for fuel cell cars set by DaimlerChrysler.

No unscheduled stops for repair were required during the 14 country tour.

However, the vehicle's fuel cell stack was replaced at the halfway point, reportedly to allow journalists who would be driving the car to experience optimum system performance. A truck-mounted mobile fueling station provided by Linde was used for replenishing the vehicle's hydrogen during the trip, with refueling stops requiring an average of four minutes each.

The Opel-based HydroGen3 is powered by an 82 hp electric motor that accelerates the front-wheel drive vehicle from 0 to 62 mph in approximately 16 seconds, and to a top speed of approximately 100 mph.

GM, which says it has invested over a billion dollars in the development of fuel cell propulsion, has set a target of developing a commercially-viable fuel cell propulsion system by 2010 that can compare favorably with internal combustion engines in terms of cost, performance, and durability.