We cover innovations in the overland and off-road industry on our blog weekly, including the ever-expanding electric vehicle segment. Major manufacturers are designing off-road vehicles with electric motors and we are here for it. But one source of alternative energy, Hydrogen fuel, is not getting much press and maybe that should change. Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, an American racing team, has released teaser images of their Baja-ready Boot off-roader outfitted with a hydrogen fuel cell and they are calling it 010 Zero.
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Details about the teased concept are murky as is the feasibility of operating a hydrogen-powered vehicle on the road in any part of North America besides Hawaii and California. With the projected 1000-mile range on a single fill up, the 010 Zero could theoretically travel the 950 miles from Sacramento, California to Victoria, British Columbia. This trip would only work if the driver kept the 37-inch mud terrains on the pavement and didn’t flex the 19-inch travel Fox suspension while traveling through Oregon and Washington-unlikely.
If it were ever produced, we can assume that the SCG 010 Zero would be a Boot plus a few electric motors, powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The Boot is a desert race monster of a truck, inspired by the General Motors Boot that competed in the 1967 Baja 1000 and was eventually purchased by Steve McQueen. The SCG Boot is no slouch off-road and even gapped the production-based Bronco R by 280 miles in the 2019 Baja 1000, then drove home.
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If you don’t have the patience to wait on a Hydrogen powered 010 Zero and a massive national investment in Hydrogen fuel infrastructure, you can order a Corvette LT4 powered SCG Boot for $258,750 and be chasing the next Baja 1000 with ease.
Photos by: Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus
Overlanding Industry News by Zach Elseman. Follow Zach @okienomads.