British automaker Morgan has partnered with QinetiQ, Cranfield and Oxford Universities, BOC and OSCar to develop a fuel cell-powered sports car. The new vehicle, known as LIFECar, will be ultra quiet and its only emissions will be water vapor.

LIFECar will be based on the Morgan Aero Eight, and is powered by a QinetiQ-made fuel cell, which converts hydrogen – and oxygen taken from the air around it – into electrical energy. Regenerative braking and surplus energy will be used to charge ultra-capacitors, which will release their energy when the car is accelerating.

"LIFECar is about catching the first big wave in the energy revolution, which is set to transform the motoring industry in the same way that the computer industry was transformed by the personal computer decades ago," said Stephen Evans, Professor of Life Cycle Engineering, Cranfield University.

Morgan first announced plans for its hydrogen powered LifeCar as far back as October 2006 but we’re still yet to see the fruits of the classic car company’s labors. That’s about to change because Morgan is prepping a fully working prototype of the LifeCar for next month’s Geneva Motor Show. The new prototype is a fuel cell hybrid sports car based on its Aero Eight roadster, and was co-developed with several organizations including Oxford University at a price of over $3 million.

The goal of the project is to demonstrate that a zero emission vehicle can also be fun to drive, and to lower the entry barriers for hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles. The design features a regenerative-electric motor in each wheel that’s powered by a fuel cell and is claimed to have a driving range of 200 miles. Regenerative braking and surplus energy is used to charge ultra-capacitors, which release their energy when the car is accelerating. This architecture will allow the LifeCar to have a much smaller fuel cell and hydrogen tank than is conventionally regarded as necessary.

There’s no mention of whether the LifeCar is actually destined for production but its makers hope the combination of performance, range and fuel economy will alter most people’s views towards ‘green’ motoring.