Honda FC .

                                                        Honda FC .

The Honda FC Sport is a concept car produced by Honda and first shown at the 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show. It is described as a design study and is intended to show what a hydrogen powered sports car might look like.

The concept takes cues from the FCX in its T-shaped headlight and grille face, and from sport-bike design with its exposed pipes and hoses under the rear glass and blue-anodized hydrogen tanks that look like twin nitrous bottles. Honda says the fuel-cell stack and batteries would sit low, keeping the center of gravity down. Pirelli PZero Rosso tires mounted to 19-inch wheels imply speed.

"The Honda FC Sport explores how to satisfy automotive performance enthusiasts in a world beyond petroleum," said Dan Bonawitz, vice president of American Honda. "People who love sports cars will still have a reason to love in a hydrogen-powered future."

The FC Sport is about the closest thing we've seen to a hydrogen-powered supercar from a mainstream automaker. Behind its long, low and lean body, Honda's engineers fitted the FC Sport with its V-Flow fuel cell stack, similar to the one used in the FCX Clarity fuel cell sedan.
One of the biggest and heaviest components in a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain is the fuel cell itself. Honda has moved this unit behind the cabin, while the electric motor that drives the car has been shifted to a position between the rear wheels. In a way, the FC Sport is the hydrogen equivalent of a mid-engined, rear-wheel drive sports car.

It also lends weight to rumours that the upcoming NSX will have a low emission cylinder deactivation mode, as Honda moves towards creating the world's zero emission sports car.

The optimal placement of fuel cell components for performance also allows for a relatively large passenger cabin by conventional supercar standards with enough space for three seating positions. The interior layout focuses primarily on the driver with a racecar-like center driving position. The enclosed canopy opens upward from the rear to allow for entry and exit. Two rear passenger seats flank the driver's left and right side.