Gaussin has revealed the H2 Racing Truck, which it calls the “most powerful 100 percent hydrogen and electric racing truck ever built.” Designed to compete in the World Rally-Raid Championship, the 2022 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia will be its first stage. The truck is intended as a demonstration of the power and reliability of Gaussin’s hydrogen-electric motorization. The company says that data collected during the 2022 Dakar Rally will be used to develop its range of road trucks, slated for launch in 2022.
Based on what the company calls an
ultra-light chassis based on a modular electric vehicle platform of its own
design, the H2 Racing Truck is powered by two motors that each produce 402 hp. Its battery is the same size as the battery in a Volkswagen
ID.4, at 82 kWh. Its batteries don’t need to be enormous because of its
hydrogen fuel cells, which are capable of carrying 80 kg of fuel. In
race conditions, traveling at speeds of up to 140 km/h —as regulations
dictate—Gaussin figures the truck will be capable of going up to 250 km between 20-minute recharging stops.
The H2 Racing Truck, like the production
versions of the truck that will follow, was designed by Pininfarina. The full
range is intended to look dramatic, exciting, and to have a familial
resemblance.
The trucks that aren’t intended for
racing, meanwhile, will be offered in two trims. The long-distance truck is
capable of going up to 800 km on a charge, thanks to its hydrogen
fuel cell that takes less than 20 minutes to fill. A shorter-range model that
is powered by batteries alone, can go 400 km on a charge and features
a battery that can be swapped out in just three minutes.
