A car rear-view mirror (illustration).

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F. Lancelot / SIPA

Racing driver Olivier Lombard has been working for two years to meet the challenge of bringing a luxurious hydrogen-powered saloon to the market by 2026.

Accompanied by a dozen people gathered within the start-up Hopium, the Frenchman wants to create a vehicle "combining elegance and performance".

For that, he surrounded himself with specialists in this engine, creators and engineers.

A prototype is expected to be unveiled within the next year, BFMTV says.

This French start-up wants to produce a high-end #hydrogen sedan.https: //t.co/hJTV5K0sZe#Hopium

- Pharmacosmetech (@pharmacosmetech) October 1, 2020

The latter is nearly 5 meters long.

The hydrogen engine would develop a power of 500 horsepower.

Particular attention has been paid to the design of the first version of the Hopium car.

This is to offer a look that will attract buyers but also to have an aerodynamics guaranteeing the good performance of the sedan.

But the experience of the driver and occupants has not been neglected.

"In a sort of cocoon"

"It will be a hyper-connected vehicle, the idea is to put the driver in a kind of cocoon, he will be able to enjoy an autonomous driving mode with access to many digital services", promises Olivier Lombard.

The choice of a hydrogen engine was naturally imposed on the youngest winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and his team.

Such a mechanism indeed has many advantages over other eco-responsible technologies.

Refueling, for example, does not take more than three minutes, compared to a much longer time for recharging the batteries of an electric car.

Once full, the vehicle can travel up to 1,000 kilometers, the distance between Paris and Marseille.

The pilot also intends to rely on an increasing presence of hydrogen stations in the country in the years to come.

The racing pilot project has already received the support of several private investors.

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