Glickenhaus says its new hydrogen truck will be as cheap to run as a diesel

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus, the Maverick racing team that has against the major automakers at the 24 Hours of Le Mansstrangely draws attention to the pickup truck segment. It aims to create a hydrogen-powered work truck that will be as cheap to buy and run as a turbodiesel model.

To say the announcement came as a surprise is an understatement; it’s as if Lamborghini suddenly decided to create an alternative Ford F-Series Super Duty. The street versions of the SCG race cars are very expensive low-production supercars aimed at serious collectors. However, SCG explains that it is designing its upcoming pickup for “fleets, gamekeepers and farmers,” among other buyers. This is an unlikely coincidence.

Back to the road: on paper, the as-yet-unnamed model has already begun to take shape. It will be offered with two or four doors and a six- or eight-foot cargo box, according to post on the SCG Facebook page. Each variant, regardless of body style, will have replaceable hydrogen tanks, presumably to keep the truck going even if it ventures a hundred miles from the nearest gas station.

Other than that, details are sketchy. “Hydrogen engine” can mean very different things in different contexts. Is it a fuel cell that uses hydrogen to produce electricity, like the BMW iX5, or is it an internal combustion engine burning hydrogen as in Toyota Corolla experimental racing car? Either way, the SCG promises towing, payload and performance similar to those of a diesel truck, along with a range of up to 800 miles. It also plans to offer “a small unit that can fill our removable tanks using solar energy and water to produce (hydrogen).” The color intrigued us, to say the least.

Ambitious? Hell yes. Can SCG do it? Who knows? The brand has made some pretty remarkable strides over the past couple of years, but the difference between building a few supercars and a mass-market pickup makes the Grand Canyon look like a rain gutter. At least SCG isn’t starting from scratch: it made a hydrogen-powered variant a shoe designed for the Baja 1000 in 2022, although the street model we were promised has yet to appear. Some of the technology found in the prototype, such as interchangeable tanks, was carried over to the truck.

As for the design, well… let’s call it unfinished. SCG has released a preview image that combines a Jeep Wrangler-as the front end, a Ford F-150– cabin, a black chest for hydrogen equipment and a relatively short cargo box. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that the production model wouldn’t look like this. We may not have to wait long to find out, as the company wrote on Facebook that it hopes to build its first test truck “soon.”

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