The Hopium Machina is a hydrogen-powered French saloon

Welcome, Internet, to the fantastically-named Hopium Machina.

Hopium is a fairly new French company founded by racing driver Olivier Lombard, who actually became the youngest class winner at Le Mans when he took an LMP2 victory at the age of 21 back in 2011.

The plan is to produce high-end hydrogen-powered vehicles, and the Machina was first unveiled back in October last year. Now though, a real-life prototype has been completed and the order books are open.

This prototype has been named ‘Alpha 0’ and its job is essentially to certify the reliability of the fuel cell system. That system, by the way, will allow the production Machina to travel over 620 miles (1,000km) on a single tank with a three-minute refuelling time. There will also be over 500bhp on tap and a top speed of 143mph.

Also, it may be a young manufacturer, but Hopium has already got its design speak on point. Check out this concerning the headlights: “Alpha 0 also introduces for the first time the signature lighting, emblem of Hopium, whose shape is reminiscent of the stratification of hydrogen and the movement of waves on the surface of water.”

You love to see it.

Hopium will take a maximum of 1,000 pre-orders right now, with each slot costing €410.