The Hy-wire is a concept car

Concept car

A concept vehicle or show vehicle is a car made to showcase new styling and or new technology. They are often shown at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or may not have a chance of being produced....

 from General Motors originally introduced in January 2002. The car runs on hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 fuel cell

Fuel cell

A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...

s and uses a drive-by-wire system, meaning that the car is controlled electronically

Electronics

Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...

. GM asked school children to name the car, and one of them suggested "Hy-wire".

In 2003, General Motors stated that it was confident that it could produce a commercially viable model by 2010.

Design

Due to hydrogen fuel cell drive system used by the Hy-wire, the conventional car layout has been revamped. Without the need for a conventional engine block and transmission

Transmission (mechanics)

A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a...

 system coupled to the steering column

Steering wheel

A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels ....

 and pedals

Automobile pedal

An automobile may have two to four foot pedals. The arrangement is the same for both right- and left-hand traffic. From left to right:* normally operated by the left foot:**clutch pedal, not in the case of automatic transmission...

 through mechanical linkage the car's power system and single electric motor are built into a flat skateboard configuration. This serves to lower the car's center of gravity

Center of gravity

In physics, a center of gravity of a material body is a point that may be used for a summary description of gravitational interactions. In a uniform gravitational field, the center of mass serves as the center of gravity...

 but more importantly to standardize vehicle drive train systems. Because all propulsion and energy storage systems are housed in the skateboard, designers are free to arrange the passenger compartment however they see fit. This allows for highly flexible modular vehicle configurations such as a 4 door sedan, mini van, or even a small bus to be placed on the same drive system, with the only difference being the shape of the car's upper body and the location of seats. The skateboard itself contains crumple zones similar to those in conventional automobiles.

Driver interface

The car's drive-by-wire system coupled with cameras instead of mirrors and multiple LCD displays for feedback to the driver theoretically allows the driver's seat to be located anywhere; however, most current designs still favor the driver in front of or beside the other passengers for maximum visibility. The digital coupling of the controls to the drive system means neither the driver's seat nor the steering and throttle controls must be fixed in place. For example, the 2003 concept model has a single control interface that can be operated from either the right or left front seats, and the 2004 concept design places the two front seats on a rotating platform which allows the driver and passenger seats to be swapped or the driver to sit in front of the passenger for greater flexibility.

Powerplant

The Hy-wire is powered by a fuel cell capable of producing 94 kilowatts of power continuously and up to 129 kilowatts for short periods. The fuel cell itself is supplied with hydrogen from 3 tanks of compressed hydrogen

Compressed hydrogen

Compressed hydrogen is the gaseous state of the element hydrogen kept under pressure. Compressed hydrogen in hydrogen tanks at 350 bar and 700 bar is used for mobile hydrogen storage in hydrogen vehicles...

 located in the chassis. With its three-phase

Three-phase

In electrical engineering, three-phase electric power systems have at least three conductors carrying voltage waveforms that are radians offset in time...

 electric motor the 1,814 kg (4,000 lb) vehicle has a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mi/h).

See also

• General Motors Sequel
  General Motors Sequel
  The Sequel is a purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell-powered concept car and sport utility vehicle from General Motors, employing the latest generation of HydroGen3 technology developed by Opel. The Sequel uses a "skateboard chassis" in which all relevant drivetrain and 700 bar hydrogen storage...
  
  
• List of fuel cell vehicles
• Zero-emissions vehicle
  Zero-emissions vehicle
  A zero-emissions vehicle, or ZEV, is a vehicle that emits no tailpipe pollutants from the onboard source of power. Harmful pollutants to the health and the environment include particulates , hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, ozone, lead, and various oxides of nitrogen. Although not considered emission...
  
  
• Video of Hy-wire in operation by Top Gear