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Equivalent of 106 km/liter

Britain-based Riversimple, a company founded by former race car driver Hugo Spowers and backed by Porsche scion Sebastian Piech, Tuesday unveiled the prototype for a two-seat, hydrogen powered car promising fuel consumption equivalent to 360 miles per gallon (106 kilometers/liter).

Riversimple bills itself as a company dedicated to making highly energy efficient vehicles using a “radical new approach to personal mobility.” Instead of selling the car, touted as the world’s first low-cost and practical hydrogen vehicle, Riversimple says it plans to lease it, for about 200 British pounds (US$315) per month – for the car’s expected 20-year lifetime.

Leases would include refueling. Production may begin by 2013, it said. Hydrogen, which generates zero emissions, is considered just about the cleanest option for automotive power. But issues of how to store and distribute it for refueling have yet to be resolved. Most prototype hydrogen-powered vehicles developed so far have been impracticably heavy or expensive, or both. Riversimple’s vehicle is built of lightweight composite materials and weighs only 772 lbs (350 kilograms).

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Riversimple Promising Equivalent of 106 km/liter