Morgan's Super-Clean Lifecar
By Stuart Schwartzapfel
British manufacturer Morgan Motor Cars has been producing wood-framed, curvaceous, sports cars for the better part of a century. But never before has water vapor been the only thing spewing from the tailpipe. Enter the Morgan LIFEcar concept—a hybrid vehicle that runs on hydrogen fuel cells and electricity. (LIFE stands for "lightweight fuel efficient car.")
Morgan co-developed the LIFEcar concept with startup RiverSimple and British defense technology company QinetiQ (QNTQF). The LIFEcar is based on the company's production Aero 8 supercar. Unlike traditional hybrid vehicles, the LIFEcar features electric motors mounted on each of the wheels rather than one central electric motor. This allows the car to accelerate quickly, something most fuel cell vehicles don't do but a must for sports cars.
The QinetiQ-made fuel cell converts hydrogen—and oxygen taken from the air around it—into electrical energy. Though extremely unlikely to make it to production, LIFECar has been engineered to have a 250 mile range and run from zero to 62 mph in about seven seconds.
Stuart Schwartzapfel is a regular contributor to BusinessWeek.com. He has studied the automotive marketplace and works as an advertising and marketing strategist for major manufacturers. He does not write about any car brands for which he currently works.
