The Viritech Apricale is a UK-made concept car designed by Pininfarina and coming to the market in a run limited to 25 production units.
Viritech is a company specializing in fuel cell technology, and its latest powertrain apparently lends itself equally well to EVs, yachts and private jets.
The Apricale features a carbon-fiber monocoque construction with supporting subframes and a body combining carbon-fiber and plant-fiber panels. Its dual electric motors are mounted one per axle and exert 1,088 PS (1,073 hp / 800 kW), enabling a sprint from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in two and a half seconds. The top speed lies at 322 km/h (200 miles per hour).
A patented technology called Viritech Tri-Volt allows the hypercar to discard heavy batteries and weigh as little as 1 metric ton (around 2,200 lbs). The electricity generated by the fuel cells on board goes into a supercapacitor instead, which can hold 6 kWh of it and stay sufficiently charged at all times thanks to regenerative braking. The supercapacitor has a high self-discharge current, but on the upside, it can release the stored power faster than any battery.
The hydrogen fuel cells on board are crucial to the system, the company says, pointing out that their capacity amounts to ‘hundreds of kilowatts.’ A smart power management program automatically determines whether the car should use the cells, the supercapacitor or both simultaneously at any given moment.
Another innovation comes in the way the hydrogen is stored. The cells are made from particularly lightweight compounds, much lighter than any conventional gas tanks out there. Furthermore, they are robust enough to warrant integrating them into the chassis frame, further saving space and weight.
The manufacturer says tests will begin this year and continue through most of 2023. The first shipments are expected to be possible in early 2024. The asking price – which we hope you have braced up for by now – is £1,500,000, or $1,845,000 USD at today’s conversion rates.