The idea of a hydrogen-powered BMW may seem like a novelty, but fans of the brand must remember the strange H2R concept with the V12 engine. The closest the brand came to mass-producing a car with this type of fuel was the Hydrogen 7, variant of the Series 7 in the 760Li version, also with a fuel cell V12, but which was a limited series.
In 2013, the manufacturer partnered with Toyota to develop fuel cell technologies and even started testing some units of the 5 Series GT fueled with hydrogen in 2015. In the same year, BMW unveiled a prototype of the i8 hybrid and admitted working on another concept.
Then, BMW remained silent about it until 2018, when revealed plans to create a new hydrogen-powered street model, which begins to take shape with the I Hydrogen NEXT concept, presented at the Frankfurt Motor Show (Germany). Based on the current generation of the X5, the crossover is practically the same as the gasoline model.
The BMW fuel cell concept is being produced alongside Toyota, and both companies are investing in the future of the FCV’s.