Mazda’s RX-8 Hydrogen RE burns hydrogen like it’s gasoline

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Outside of Norway -- which remains relentless in its pursuit of developing a viable hydrogen infrastructure -- hydrogen-powered vehicles aren’t of too much concern to the public. After all, a car that can’t be refueled wouldn’t sit too well in the ‘good investments’ column, and hydrogen stations aren’t just going to pop up at every local fill-up overnight.

Most hydrogen cars run on fuel cells, which are nifty devices that turn hydrogen into electricity through a process of complex chemical reactions, only emitting Green Party-approved H20 as a byproduct. They essentially run like electric cars. So in other words they are, for the most part, quiet, well-mannered and slightly yawn-inducing.

Last week, however, we drove a hydrogen car that genuine gearheads might actually approve of. It was Mazda’s RX-8 Hydrogen RE, and what makes it unique is that it makes power through the combustion of hydrogen. As a result, it drives and sounds like a normal sports car.

Well, almost. With only around 110 horsepower, calling it fast would be like calling a Motel 6 luxurious, but all the right characteristics are there. The real genius part of the design is that the engine can actually run on gasoline and hydrogen. A two-second press of a button -- which can be done while driving -- switches the car from hydrogen to gasoline propulsion. Once brought to a stop it can be switched back to hydrogen, simple as that.

The rotary engine inherently works well as a hydrogen power plant because the intake and combustion chambers are separate, unlike in a traditional piston engine, where heat buildup leads to misfire due to premature combustion of hydrogen.
If one day in the future Southern California decided to build a hydrogen infrastructure, a dual-fuel vehicle could help bridge the gap. And with only 110 horsepower to work with, we just might put the CHP out of business.

-- Brian Alexander

Brian Alexander is a staff writer at DriverSide.com