Having spent the better part of a decade behind the wheel of numerous hydrogen-powered race cars, Olivier Lombard — who is also the youngest person ever to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans — is uniquely qualified to create high-performance vehicles using hydrogen powertrains. This ultimately lead Lombard to create Hopium, a new hydrogen fuel cell-powered supercar brand, and after extensive development and testing, the fledgling firm has finally revealed a working prototype of its ambitious “Machina” model.
Dubbed the “Alpha 0,” the Machina prototype was created as a proof-of-concept and has recently undergone a wide array of track and speed tests, with the hydrogen-celled supercar topping out at around 125mph. While this might not sound too noteworthy on the surface, the idea behind the Machina — and the Hopium marque in general — is to deliver innovative automotive offerings that retain the comfort, appearance, safety standards, and around-town performance capabilities of a traditional petrol-powered car, albeit in a markedly greener and more sustainable package that offers fill-ups times comparable to a gas-engined car. Expected to launch in Q1 of 2022, Hopium has now opened bookings for the first 1,000 units of the Machina, which can be reserved now via an approximately $500 deposit.
