Cars rev

Say want you want about the media’s obsession around Britain’s newly-wed royal coupe, Kate and Williams, but for some people, like Sonny Brazil, it’s a gift from the heavens.

You see, Sonny’s father Al, bought Kate Middleton’s inky-blue 2001 VW Golf hatchback back in 2009 from her brother James for a reasonable £1,400 (about US$2,300 or €1,600 at today’s exchange rates).

"At the time, I didnt put two and two together because he didnt exactly say he was related to Kate but when I noticed the log book and saw the first owner was Catherine Middleton I got quite excited,” Sonny told The Daily Mail.

Now, Sonny believes his Golf is worth its weight in gold (or so to speak) and has put it up for auction on eBay UK with the starting bid set at £20,000 (~US$32,200 or €22,800)!

“I went to an auction house in Dorset a few weeks ago and they said it would be worth £30,000 pounds plus, purely because of the name in the log book,” Sonny told the British newspaper.

Sonny was initially considering to offer a pair of sterling silver cufflinks that he found inside the Golf, even though was not sure if they belonged to Kate’s brother James Middleton or Prince William, but today he noted on eBay that he had a change of heart and decided to return them back to the Middleton family.

Contrary to what you might expect is not Honda, Nissan Mercedes or a hydrogen car in series production increases, but Hyundai. Or so claims the South Korean brand itself. What we can be sure of that before the turn of the year the production of the ix35 Fuel Cell is started.

The Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell is the result of fourteen years of research by hundreds of engineers at Hyundais R & D center in Mabuk, Korea. The car has more than two million test kilometers in everyday conditions in Europe, Korea and the U.S. behind. End of 2012 has come and is the first Hyundai fuel cell module as part of the powertrain in the showroom. The ix35 Fuel Cell starts its life as normal ix35 and is then converted to the final product. The fuel cell module converts hydrogen to produce the electricity for the electric motor, which also provided the wheels. The only thing out of the exhaust is water.

Hyundai ix35 hydrogen

Cost price
Because hydrogen can be produced in several ways, and because there are few vehicles that use this fuel, the cost for fuel instead of artificially determined by supply and demand. According to Hyundai, the cost in Europe is roughly 10 euros for a range of 100 kilometers. A full uplift Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell has a tank capacity of about 5.6 kg of hydrogen and that he can pass along 588 km. The cost per full tank is thus 56 euros.

Audience
Even before the first ix35 Fuel Cell the tire rolls, Hyundai assured outlet. As has already signed contracts with cities in Sweden and Denmark that the hydrogen car to lease. Other local authorities in Europe have in their own words expressed interest in the car.

Although the series production of the ix35 Fuel Cell will be the build numbers also kept relatively small. The goal is to have 2015 1.000 copies produced. After that calendar there is the intention to grow to an annual production of 10,000 units. The lack of sufficient stations have a role to play and the (higher) asking price of the car, though it can not yet say what the Hyundai ix35 Fuel Cell exactly going to cost.