$118,000 Hopium Machina Hydrogen EV Can Complete A Refill In 3 Minutes Offering 620-Mile Range

Two years after the first concept was shown, the hydrogen-powered Hopium Machina Vision has made its premiere at the Paris motor show. The French automaker is now accepting reservations for the upcoming production vehicle.

Company founder and former racecar driver Olivier Lombard received French President Emmanuel Macron this morning for the big reveal of the luxury sedan that will be produced Vernon, France.

Although the plant is intended to be able to produce 20,000 vehicles per year, it’s not expected to be up and running until the start of 2025. Despite that, the company has started accepting reservations for €656 ($649 USD at current exchange rates), a reference to the atomic wavelength of hydrogen.

Le Président de la République @EmmanuelMacron reçu ce matin par @OlivLombard, fondateur et CEO d’Hopium, pour la présentation de l’Hopium Māchina Vision, révélée en avant-première au @mondialdelauto. pic.twitter.com/VooaAI8xx7

— Hopium (@hopiumofficial) October 17, 2022

That allows customers to reserve their spot in line, and the company will get in touch with them closer to their build date in order to allow them to spec it out. Other details about the Hopium Machina are scant, but so far, we know that the car will store hydrogen in long, cylindrical tanks that run along the floor, where the transmission tunnel would be in an internal combustion vehicle.

493 HP, 620-Mile Range And 3-Minute Refill

The hydrogen can be refilled in just three minutes and is used to generate electricity, which can be stored in the small batteries that are used to power the electric motors providing a range of up to 1,000 km or 620 miles. The motors generate 493 hp (368 kW/500 PS), and allow the car to hit 62 mph (100 km/h) in less than five seconds.

Inside, the luxurious four-seater features minimalistic design from Felix Godard, who was also responsible for interiors in Porsches, Lucids, and Teslas. A rising screen reaches all the way across the dash and can shrink to hide behind the trim in order to be as unintrusive as possible.

The automaker estimates that the car will cost €120,000 ($118,134 USD), though it says that prices are subject to change without warning.