We already told you the story of the Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999 and Ford's successful attempt to push it past 200 mph on the Bonneville salt flats this month (see links below). We weren't able to get out to Bonneville to see it in person, but the team brought along a video camera and has made the footage available for your perusal. You can check it out after the jump along with our video of the the first track test.




Related:

• More on the 207mph Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999
• OSU Buckeye Bullet 2 tops 200 MPH at Bonneville
• Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999 runs 207.3 MPH at Bonneville
• Update from the salt: Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999 qualifies for top speed run

[Source: Ford]

The Fusion 999 team celebrates going 207+mph. Click for a high-res gallery

On Wednesday at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, retired Ford employee Rick Byrnes guided the Hydrogen Fusion 999 to a speed of 207.297 mph. That speed establishes a benchmark for fuel cell powered vehicles based (however loosely) on a production body shell. No other fuel cell ground vehicle has ever exceeded 200 mph and the team led by Matt Zuehlk that included engineers from Ford, Roush Industries and Ballard Power Systems. Now that the Ford team has met their goal the focus shifts over to the Buckey Bullet 2 which will try to go 350 mph with their fuel cell powered streamliner.

Related Stories:

• VIDEO: Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 hits the track for the first time
• Exclusive: Live shots of the Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999
• Ford's Hydrogen 999 racer shooting for fuel cell land speed record

[Source: Ford]

Click on the team photo for a high res gallery of the action at Bonneville

On Tuesday, the Ford and Ohio State teams continued their efforts to establish land speed records for fuel cell powered vehicles at the Bonneville Salt Flats. After an initial qualifying run on their first day at 161 mph, Rick Byrnes pushed the Hydrogen Fusion 999 to 184 mph as they kept cranking up the speed.

Meanwhile the OSU crew made their first pass in the Buckeye Bullet 2 Streamliner. They ran 150mph on the Bonneville short course and will now start cranking up the speed trying to get up to 350mph. According to Ford's Nick Twork they plan to make a run for 200mph early today if all goes well. Keep checking back here for updates.



[Source: Ford]

The team from Ford that is trying to push the fuel cell-powered Fusion-bodied racer over 200 mph is now out in Utah preparing to make their record attempt. On Sunday August 12, they made their qualifying pass at 161mph across the Bonneville Salt Flats which will allow them to make their attempt at 200 which they hope to try on Monday. The team from Ohio State University is also hoping to make their first pass with their similarly-powered stream-liner, the Buckeye Bullet 2, on Monday. If all goes well for the OSU team, they expect to crack 350mph on the salt. We'll keep you up to date on events from Bonneville as they happen.



[Source: Ford]

Cilck on the Hydrogen Fusion 999 for a high res gallery of the reveal

If you've got a hankerin' to see Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 in the metal, head on up to the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture Oshkosh 2007 next week. I don't hink the Fusion 999 can fly, but Ford, as the exclusive automotive sponsor since 1999 likes to bring some cars up to the annual aviation extravaganza for publicity. This year, on top of the hydrogen-powered 999, Ford will bring 60 cars, including the Shelby GT500KR, the Ford Flex, as well as the Ford Interceptor and Lincoln MKR concept cars.

AirVenture takes place form July 23 to July 29 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. For those of us who can't get to the show, there's always these photo galleries:


Related:

• Exclusive: Live shots of the Ford Hydrogen Fusion 999
• Ford's Hydrogen 999 racer shooting for fuel cell land speed record
• VIDEO: Ford's Hydrogen Fusion 999 hits the track for the first time

[Source: Ford]

Click on the bare Fusion for a high res gallery from the first track test

Last week Ford gave us the first look at the fuel cell-powered Fusion that they will be taking out to Bonneville next month to try and establish a top speed benchmark for production bodied fuel cell vehicles. This past weekend a group of twenty engineers and technicians from Ford and Roush took the Hydrogen Fusion 999 to the Transportation Research Center in East Liberty, OH for its first track test as a complete vehicle and they invited AutoblogGreen to stop by.

The Fusion 999 project was born in early 2006 when Ford Fuel Cell Engineering Manager Mujeeb Ijaz approached Roush about doing a project to demonstrate the performance potential of a fuel cell-powered vehicle. Although they initially envisioned using a Focus body shell, once the analysis started it quickly became clear they would need something larger, so they switched to Fusion.

Continue reading the story of the Fusion 999's gestation and see video of the car after the jump.

Remember that Ford Fusion land speed record we told you about in May? Ford has finally released more information about its plans to head out to Bonneville with a specially-designed Ford Fusion, the Hydrogen 999, to try and break the record for an production-based fuel cell powered vehicle. Ohio State University currently holds the unlimited land speed record for an electric vehicle when the school team managed to go 315 mph in the first Buckeye Bullet, the BB1. OSU will head out to the Salt Flats with Ford in the new BB2 for another go.

OSU, Ballard and Roush are working with Ford on the Hydrogen 999, with OSU supplying the 770 hp electric motors and Ballard Power Systems the fuel cells. The driver in the record attempt will be Ford retiree Rick Byrnes, a veteran Bonneville racer.

We'll be watching the news between now and August 10 (when the teams head out to Bonneville) for more updates. You can read Ford's announcement after the jump.

[Source: Ford]