BMW once loaned Jason Bateman a hydrogen-powered 7 Series that felt like a luxury time machine

In 2008, BMW trusted Jason Bateman with a hydrogen-powered 7 Series that felt like a luxury time machine.

It ran on liquid hydrogen, had a V12 engine, and wasn’t available to buy – and yeah, it still sounds pretty impressive today.

In Arrested Development, Bateman drove a beat-up airport stair car. 

But in real life, BMW loaned him a Hydrogen 7 – their futuristic luxury concept, merging flagship sedan comfort with future-facing technology.

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It had the same 7 Series styling, but with a totally different fuel source under the hood.

The Hydrogen 7 engine was capable of running on both gasoline and liquid hydrogen, offering about 100 miles of range on hydrogen before automatically switching to gas.

Only 100 were made at the time, loaned to a select celebrity few as part of BMW’s Pioneer Program – part of a PR push to prove hydrogen could be cool, not just clean. 

Bateman joined Jay Leno, Ed Norton, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt, Sharon Stone, and more – a focus group anyone would kill to be part of.

The program’s goal? To prove hydrogen cars could actually work as daily drivers.

“A time machine… with power windows,” is how Bateman described the Hydrogen 7, quipping he hoped to use to it to ‘get back to the future’.

Looking back almost 17 years later, we’d still say that’s an accurate description.

The Hydrogen 7 was never offered to the public, meant more as a proof-of-concept to push hydrogen tech as the next big thing in automotive sustainability.

And whether that tech took off or not, for one brief moment in 2008 Jason Bateman wasn’t just starring in cult comedies – he was driving the future.

The rest of us are just catching up.

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