NAMX HUV

NAMX presented the prototype of its HUV, the world’s first car partially powered by a patented removable tank system that promises to change the experience paradigm of clean mobility and make hydrogen fuel widely available.

Fruit of a collaboration between NAMX and PININFARINA, the design of the car reflects a firm attention to details and purity. The inventiveness of Thomas de Lussac, also designer of the NAMX, was reinforced by the unique know-how of Kevin Rice, Chief Creative Officer of PININFARINA, and his teams to design a prototype that is both resolutely futureoriented and inspired by multiple facets. Fascinated by science fiction, Thomas de Lussac chose to give the vehicle’s shape the cutting edge of the coming era. His taste for the American design of the 50s and 60s, his predilection for “Muscle Cars”, inspired him to create a car that goes against the current, smooth, conventional design of electric cars. The NAMX HUV is powerful and asserts a conquering stance.

Pininfarina has brought Italian elegance and an unparalleled sense of proportion and detail to the design, right down to the brand’s X engraved on the doors in continuous lines and repeated on the grille. It will be marketed in two different versions: an entry-level rear-wheel drive version with 300 hp for a regulated top speed of 200 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds; a four-wheel drive GTH version with 550 hp for a regulated top speed of 250 km/h and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds. The HUV will be marketed from the Q4 2025 with a price range between 65,000 Euro and 95,000 Euro depending on the options selected.

Pininfarina has always been at the foremost frontier of a new automotive mobility experience and has always looked attentively at hydrogen in the last 15 years by investing in studies and prototypes in collaboration with start-ups that are fully committed in new technologies. In 2008 Pininfarina integrated the concept of connected cars and automated mobility in the car and unveiled its hydrogen fuel cell concept car, the Sintesi, at the Geneva Motor Show. In 2016 Pininfarina presented its vision of a high-performance track car based on revolutionary hydrogen fuel cell technology, the H2 Speed. In 2019, at the Shanghai Motor Show, Grove Hydrogen Automotive Company announced a wide-ranging cooperation with Pininfarina subsidiary in Shanghai. Pininfarina’s commitment to hydrogen goes beyond the car. In 2021 the most powerful 100% hydrogen and electric racing truck ever built was presented by Gaussin Group and the design of the range was entrusted to Pininfarina. And today, in this collaboration with NAMX, Pininfarina brings this enormous wealth of experience applied for the first time to a mass-market SUV.

Pininfarina and NAMX redefined a completely new creative approach while designing together the HUV. This is a “next generation” car. A futuristic fusion of muscular main volumes, aggressive graphics, and a touch of retro around the lamp elements. Viewed from any angle, this car is unmistakably a NAMX. A new design language and identity has been created for NAMX, not just to celebrate a new brand, but really give an all-new meaning to the innovative hydrogen concept never seen before. Stylistically speaking, the HUV consciously adopts a contrasting image as compared to the current “green design” approach of our time.

The project commenced by first designing the removable hydrogen tanks and understanding the best way to integrate them into the car from a functional, ergonomic and user experience point of view. Keeping in mind the positioning of its occupants and the intricate packaging of the tanks and the rear, the overall volume of the vehicle started to take shape. As a result, the NAMX HUV might probably be the first car in Pininfarina’s history designed from back to front. As one approaches the HUV from the side, one cannot miss the car's high-slung, wedge silhouette. The HUV boasts a purposeful nose, a rising body-side that eventually culminates in an extremely powerful and muscular rear volume. Still on the side, two intersecting lines subconsciously create an “X” – a deliberate attempt to visually read the brand name NAM”X” on the car's surface. Powerful wheel fenders flare outwards from the “X” and wrap around the extremity of the vehicle, enough to create the entire volume. This simple and iconic gesture ties together the entire car and is unmistakably Pininfarina in its philosophy. The “X” is also at the heart of the concept’s graphics. The imposing front grille maximizes cooling requirements for the fuel cells, while its contour and the charge lamp's is a nod to the “X”. The wide, horizontal coast-to-coast lamps cap off the front fascia. It is also the icing on the cake to the rear tank deck, which on its own is a symphonic standalone work of art.