Morgan LifeCar
The Morgan Motor Company celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2009, though its LifeCar exhibited at Geneva is most definitely a look to the future.
The LifeCar is a hydrogen-fuel-cell hybrid concept, culminating a 2 ½-year project developed jointly with U.K. government support. The fuel cell comes from QinetiQ. Oxford University designed the four wheel-mounted electric motors. Cranfield University did system simulation and integration. Linde BOC is in charge of hydrogen sourcing. And tech startup OSCar Automotive is responsible for overall design and architecture. A Morgan Aero 8's aluminum structure is the basis for this swoopy coupe.
The LifeCar will feature energy-retrieving regenerative braking. Ultracapacitors (not the ubiquitously cited lithium batteries) are the electrical storage medium. Given Morgan's close ties with BMW, it's possible that the hydrogen will be stored onboard in cyrogenic liquid form. On the other hand, early construction photos appeared to show rather more conventional compressed storage. Whatever the choice, a modest 200-mile range is cited.
At this point, the LifeCar is clearly a concept only. However, tiny Morgan is a flexible company. Set the lads to it, and they could fabricate an interim gasoline-electric hybrid to be followed as fuel-cell technology — and costs — evolve.
