Alternative fuels and power sources for automobiles are front of mind for automakers these days. Porsche is looking extensively into e-fuels, many automakers offer at least one electrified car or SUV, and even a few have offer hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The use of hydrogen as a future fuel is, for now, quite limited, with only a few such vehicles, such as the Toyota Mirai and the Hyundai Nexo, existing in today’s marketplace. Refueling infrastructure for hydrogen vehicles also is sorely lacking outside of California. But, outside-the-box thinkers such as Jim Glickenhaus, the man behind Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG), see some hope.
Glickenhaus recently posted an image of a not-quite-Lamborghini Countach, not-quite-DeTomaso Pantera, not-quite-BMW M1 wedge-shaped hydrogen-powered supercar concept to Facebook. It looks rad, to say the least. The only thing Jim had to say about it was, “SCG 009 Concept. Liquid Hydrogen Fuel Cell. Range [New York to Los Angeles]. One’s grasp should always exceed one’s reach.”
Right now, that statement certainly holds up. There isn’t a single car on earth, gas-powered or otherwise, that has anything like the approximately 2,800 miles of range needed to drive from Tinseltown to The Big Apple. That said, the SCG 009 isn’t a complete fantasy nor something Glickenhaus just pulled out of a hat. SCG is already experimenting with hydrogen fuel. The SCG Boot—a road-legal rally racer designed to make every day an adventure—competed in the 2019 Baja 1000 and beat a factory-backed Ford Racing Bronco that was modified for the task.
Right now the Boot is powered by a supercharged V-8, but in 2023, SCG hopes to run a hydrogen-powered Boot in the Baja 1000, and the company wants to do it all without ever refueling. It won’t be easy, but it could certainly prove that hydrogen power works in one of the toughest endurance events on the planet. And just like in New York, if you can make it in Baja, you can make it just about anywhere.
The SCG 009 might just be a concept right now, but it’s working on principles that Glickenhaus both believes in and actually wants to develop in the near future. Best of luck to him, because we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing the 009 on the road.
