CES: Cadillac Provoq Hydrogen Fuel Cell Concept Revealed

Viva, Las Vegas, baby! Our ramblin' and gamblin' boss is in Sin City for a day and he's reporting back on GM's latest concept car they're showing off at the 2008 CES show. As we told you first earlier today, the General's luxe brand has brought some hydrogen-powered action to the Consumer Electronics Show in the form of the 2008 Cadillac Provoq Fuel Cell concept car. It's a hydrogen fuel cell crossover — but you're probably wondering how it works. Here's what the General has to say:

"The concept can drive 300 miles (483 km) on a single fill of hydrogen - with 280 miles (450 km) from hydrogen and 20 miles (32 km) on pure, battery electric energy...a pair of 10,000 psi (700 bar) composite storage tanks beneath the rear cargo floor hold 13.2 pounds (6 kg) of hydrogen to feed the fuel cell stack, located under the hood. There, hydrogen mixes with oxygen to generate electricity - up to 88 kW continuous power. A lithium-ion battery pack can store up to a total of 9kWh of electrical energy and also provides a peak of 60 kW of power for additional performance...the electricity generated by the fuel cell is distributed to a 70 kW co-axial drive system for the front wheels and individual, 40 kW wheel hub motors on the rear wheels, giving the Cadillac Provoq its all-wheel-drive traction and great driving dynamics. Its 0-60 mph (approximately 100 km/h) speed of 8.5 seconds is a more than 30-percent improvement over the previous-generation fuel cell system and with instantaneous torque to the wheels, it feels even faster. Provoq has a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h)."

The Provoq is built on the E-Flex system — the same platform that brought us the electric Volt at the Detroit Show, the diesel Flextreme in Frankfurt and a few others we don't care to remember. It's all about being flexible for the General — kind of like the showgirls Wert's spending the night oggling. Full press release after the jump. More »