2021: Did Europe Find a Match for Tesla?
French company Hopium has designed a sleek hydrogen-fuelled sports car that it hopes could take on Tesla in the zero-emissions vehicle race.
Led by French racing driver Olivier Lombard, Hopium unveiled a prototype for its luxury car, the Machina, in June. The 100 per cent hydrogen-powered sedan has 500 horsepower and a range of 1,000 kilometers, the company claims.
But prospective customers face a wait, as the car won’t be available before 2025 at the earliest.
“It’s true that we are compared a lot with Tesla and our ambition is to have a higher-end car and to try to have a big experience for the driver using hydrogen,” Lombard told Euronews Next at the VivaTech 2021 conference in Paris.
“But I don’t know if we can be compared to Tesla. I think each company has its history, however, I think it can be some inspiration,” the 30-year-old said.
Hopium has so far produced a single prototype of the Machina, the Alpha 0. Deliveries of the production version of the Machina are estimated to begin in 2025, with the company currently accepting deposits for the first 1,000 cars.