BMW Sets Speed Records with Hydrogen fuelled V12

"We had just 10 months to develop the H2R prototype", states Jürgen Kübler, the H2R Project Manager. But a short time span like this is quite normal for the creative engineers that make this Company so very special.

In the process the engineers and development specialists were of course supported by three factors:

First, the components featured in BMW's hydrogen production car of the future have now reached a high degree of maturity allowing their unproblematic and straightforward adaptation for the record car.

Second, the development specialists were able in the development process to use proven BMW chassis and suspension systems naturally meeting the strictest requirements.

And third, consistent, far-reaching use of CAD technology allowed a clearly oriented and time-saving development process.

The "heart" of the H2R Record Car is based by and large on BMW's top-of-the-range power unit, the Company's six-litre 12 cylinder. It is able to run on hydrogen fuel through the adjustment of engine management as well as the fuel/air mixture formation components.

The most significant differences in terms of the engine's structural components are the hydrogen injection valve and the choice of materials for the combustion chambers: Contrary to the production engine with fuel injected directly into the combustion chambers themselves, the injection valves in the hydrogen engine are integrated in the intake manifolds.

And for the specific speed record requirements to be fulfilled in this case, the hydrogen combustion engine was designed and built for single-mode operation running exclusively on hydrogen.

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