GM Builds Drivable Sequel

General Motors has built the first drivable version of its Sequel fuel cell vehicle, according to a speech by GM CEO Rick Wagoner at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars. The press will have a chance to try out the vehicle next month at a media ride-and-drive in Southern California. The Sequel concept (pictured), which first debuted at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, touted an operating range of 300 miles. The inclusion of this fact in Wagoner's speech suggests the range of the drivable prototype may meet that standard.

Nearly everything needed to power and control the car, including the hydrogen fuel cell stack and by-wire subsystems, is packaged into the Sequel's 11-inch thick, skateboard-like chassis structure. The stack is fueled by 8 kg of hydrogen gas stored on-board at 10,000 psi in three carbon-fiber storage tanks. A transverse-mounted, 60 kW electric motor drives the front wheels, and two 25 kW electric wheel hub motors drive the rear wheels, resulting in a total power of 110 kW. The whole vehicle is roughly the size of a Cadillac SRX and reportedly accelerates to 60 mph in less than 10 seconds.