Azusa, Calif.--Gale Banks, president and founder of Banks Power in Azusa, has been chosen by BMW to road-test its new advanced-technology showcase vehicle, the Hydrogen 7 sedan.
The sleek 12-cylinder, four-door luxury sedan is one of 100 BMW production-ready vehicles based on the 760i. The 260-HP, 6.0-liter sedan was adapted to run on liquid hydrogen to show the viability of the alternative fuel as perhaps the cleanest engine propellant on Earth.
Twenty of the machines are in use in the United States, with the rest seeing duty around the world as "ambassadors" of the new technology.
The unique vehicles are being placed in the hands of well-known figures from business, sports, politics, and entertainment, influential people who, BMW expects, will use them in everyday situations and report back about their experiences driving a car that "runs on the most plentiful element in the world and emits virtually nothing but water vapor."
BMW CleanEnergy Program Director James Ryan said Banks was chosen because of his reputation as a futurist and his interest in clean-burning alternative fuels.
"He'll have the car for a month or so, and we're hoping that he both enjoys being one of our pioneer drivers and that he'll give us his professional feedback on our car," Ryan said. "The more people who experience using hydrogen for a fuel, the closer we'll be to providing the infrastructure that will make widespread ownership possible."
Banks said he plans to "do a little blogging" about the experience on his company's bankspower.com Web site over the next month or more.
