Buckeye Bullet 2 claims land speed record for fuel cell vehicles, 300.992 mph

Sam Abuelsamid — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:33:00 EST

We first heard about the Buckeye Bullet 2 about two years ago when we covering the Ford Fusion 999 land speed record project. The student engineering team from Ohio State University was collaborating with engineers from Ford and the two teams shared data on improving performance of the fuel cell and electric motor system. While Ford finished the Fusion program after setting a 207 mph record, the OSU team has soldiered on.

This week at the Bonneville Salt Flats the team made another attempt at hitting their target of 300 mph. After making the required two passes in opposite directions, the hydrogen fueled streamliner finally topped the magic mark. Over the flying mile, the car averaged 299.900 mph. In the flying kilometer, the average was 300.992 mph, with a top recorded speed of 304 mph. That makes this the first hydrogen vehicle to top 300 mph and the fastest FIA recorded speed for an electric drive vehicle. The original battery powered Buckeye Bullet 1 has a national record of 314.958 mph and maximum recorded speed of 321.834 mph.

[Source: Buckeye Bullet Blog]

Buckeye Bullet 2 claims land speed record for fuel cell vehicles, 300.992 mph originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 16:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford attempting land speed record with Fusion Hydrogen 999 Racer

Frank Filipponio — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:05:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Green, Ford

click above image for more high-res pics of Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 Racer

Ford thinks it's time to make hydrogen sexy. Capitalizing on its 10 years of hydrogen research expertise, the automaker is headed to the Bonneville Salt Flats in August to go for a few world land speed records with a hydrogen fuel cell-powered Ford Fusion. Actually, there will be two vehicles going to Bonneville. The Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999 pictured above is a collaboration with Ballard, Roush and Ohio State University. It features a 770-hp electric motor and is going after the production-based fuel cell-powered vehicle title. We're not sure what the current record is (ha ha, current), or if one even exists, but with 770 hp, we're guessing this Fusion should be good for some serious speed.

The second car is a bit more radical. Ford is working with student engineers from Ohio State University on the Buckeye Bullet 2. This one is a fuel cell-powered racer that will compete in the unlimited class. The "2" in the name should be a tip-off that these guys have tried this before. In 2004, the BB1 ran 315 mph and set the unlimited land speed record for an electric vehicle.

Full press release after the jump.

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford attempting land speed record with Fusion Hydrogen 999 Racer

Ford attempting land speed record with Fusion Hydrogen 999 Racer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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