GM unveils World's First Drivable Fuel Cell and By-wire Vehicle

"The new packaging of the components was a major challenge and certainly, in terms of compactness, we're not at the finish line yet," said Erhard Schubert, director of the Mainz-Kastel facility. "But this functional prototype impressively demonstrates just how flexible our fuel cell technology is and the opportunities it offers."

Hy-wire weighs 1,900 kilograms (4,180 pounds) with 20-inch tires in front and 22-inch tires in the rear. Putting all technical elements into the chassis provides a low center of gravity, giving the architecture both a high safety and driving dynamics potential. Passive safety requirements will be fulfilled using impact-absorbing elements, so-called crash boxes, at a later stage of development.

"Most of the powertrain load has been evenly distributed between the front and rear of the chassis so there is a lower center of gravity for the whole vehicle, without sacrificing ground clearance," Borroni-Bird said. "This contributes to the overall safety of the vehicle by enabling superior handling, while resisting rollover forces, with the tallest body attached."

Hy-wire so profoundly changes the automotive industry that GM has more than 30 patents in progress covering business models, technologies and manufacturing processes related to the concept and more inventions are being added all the time.

"Someday, Hy-wire could be displayed in a museum side-by-side with the first horseless carriages of Carl Benz or Gottlieb Daimler, or next to Henry Ford's Model T," Burns said.

General Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. It has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM employs about 355,000 people around the world. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com or visit article 1166 at gizmag.com to read more about the history of the AUTOnomy concept.