Goodwood: Racing drivers react to driving Extreme H hydrogen car at FOS 2025
Extreme H ran their hydrogen-fuelled Pioneer 25 prototype at the prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed 2025.
With a top speed of 125mph and maximum power of 400kW, the racer was one of four hydrogen cars on display at the festival.
Through the demonstration of the car on the iconic Hillclimb, Extreme H starts their journey towards the goal of “setting a new standard for eco-friendly motorsport”.
Extreme H is the new hydrogen successor to Extreme E, and is designed to showcase hydrogen vehicles in extreme off road racing scenarios.
The series will take place in “the most remote corners of the planet impacted by climate change”.
Ten cars for the series have been designed, manufactured and readied by Spark Racing Technology, and have been in development since the series’ announcement.
They can go from 0-60mph (0-100kph) in 4.5 seconds, and scale gradients of up to 130 percent.
Extreme E evolved into Extreme H in June 2024, choosing hydrogen fuel cells as the new powertrain of choice, and now awaits the “FIA Extreme H World Cup” to debut later this year.
Klara Andersson, the 25-year-old Swedish rallycross driver, was one of the drivers to take the helm of the hydrogen powered racing car.
She described the experience of taking the Pioneer 25 up the Hillclimb: “It was really cool. I mean, what a place to make my debut in the Extreme H car… It’s the first time I [have driven] one of these on tarmac and I could really feel the suspension moving, and the braking where the car was handling, and I think it handled very well.”
Andersson made World Rallycross history in 2022 as the first female driver to reach the World RX podium.
She has raced with Extreme E before in the 2022 season, before the company began its transition into hydrogen racing earlier this year.
Comparing the Pioneer 25 to the previous Extreme E car, she said: “I can really realise now what the other drivers that I’ve been speaking to have been on about, because the car is really well built.
“For sure, the Extreme E car was good as well, but this feels like a little bit next level with everything so I’m really intrigued now to really see what it can do on a race course.”
Extreme H had one static display car at Goodwood Festival of Speed as well as one running the track multiple times across four days.
The drives were undertaken by four female drivers – a rare sight in global motorsport.
Fellow driver 22-year-old Amanda Sorenson also drove the Pioneer 25 at Goodwood, saying she enjoyed every second of it.
She said: “You can actually feel the power down to the ground from each tire, just because it has each drivetrain as its own motor. So that was very cool.”
Sorenson was the first woman to reach the Formula Drift podium, and now makes select appearances with Extreme E while campaigning the Air Force BMW with Formula Drift.
When asked about the future of taking Pioneer 25 into wheel-to-wheel action, Sorenson said, “I think honestly all of the new upgrades with the new Pioneer 25 have been very ideal for wheel to wheel action on the track, even just changing driver position, allowing us drivers more visibility.”
