Wild SCG Hydrogen Boot challenges EV firms to Baja 1000 battle

19 Jan 2022
SCG Hydrogen Boot

Say hello to the new Glickenhaus Hydrogen Boot, a bonkers new ‘cryogenic supercritical hydrogen fuel cell electric race vehicle’ built to tackle the Baja 1000 off-road enduro. But it also serves another purpose: it serves as a gauntlet thrown down to the likes of Ford and Tesla.

The new machine is a hydrogen-powered version of US ‘boutique’ car firm Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus (SCG)’s proven petrol-engined SCG Boot racer, which won its class in the Baja 1000 in 2019. The hydrogen version is the brainchild of company boss Cameron Glickenhaus, and is intended to be the first zero emission vehicle to complete the endurance race held on Mexico’s Baja California each November.

When he announced the new Hydrogen Boot earlier this year, Glickenhaus outlined plans for a Baja ‘zero emission vehicle’ challenge, inviting other car firms to ready a zero emission challenger to take on the Hydrogen Boot on one of motorsport’s toughest tests. 

Glickenhaus seems firmly focused on attracting opposition from rivals focused purely on battery electric vehicles, particularly Tesla, which is working on the bold Cybertruck, Ford, which recently launched the F-150 Livewire electric pick-up and GMC Hummer, which currently competes in the Extreme E electric off-road series.

First shown in concept form last year, the Hydrogen Boot uses a quad-cab pick-up shell, with the back seats replaced with a sizeable hydrogen fuel cell system that powers an electric motor. The firm is anticipating the unit to offer a range of more than 600 miles.

Addressing questions over the efficiency of hydrogen-electric vehicles – particularly from rival car firms fully focused on EVs – Glickenhaus said: “Batteries and fuel cells will likely both be part of the future of transportation. Each has strengths and areas for improvement.”

Glickenhaus cited current limitations in the energy density of battery storage, adding: “Batteries work for small things: cell phones, scooters, bikes, small passenger cars. Fuel cells work better for larger vehicles. And the vehicles in the middle will likely be a hybrid of battery and fuel cells, providing energy under different circumstances.”

He added: “Our truck is something you can drive to the Baja 1000, race 1000 miles, and drive home. The Baja is a brutal race, the longest continuous off-road race globally. There is not a battery-electric vehicle in the world that can successfully run the Baja 1000.

“When people see this vehicle race the Baja 1000 and finish, with zero emissions, it can be safely driven over the most intense landscapes and refuelled in the middle of the desert, with our own infrastructure, that will change the world.”

Best described as the 24 Hours of Le Mans on dirt, the Baja 1000 is held on a mix of desert tracks and small roads that are open to the public, and is contested by a mix of cars, buggies, trucks and bikes. Vehicles in the event’s top classes are usually highly tuned bespoke racers, although like rally cars they are required to be road legal.

SCG already sells road-going versions of the regular Boot, and is working on a USA road-legal version of the Hydrogen Boot, with Glickenhaus adding: “We are using all the engineering, testing, and development of this race vehicle to create the systems and knowledge around cryogenic hydrogen, fuel cells, and our refuelling system.”

The firm does face plenty of challenges, including a lack of motorsport regulations for off-road hydrogen systems, a lack of US road regulations for the fuel, and the fact the firm has yet to even source cryogenic hydrogen to test the car.

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