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For many years, the knock against hydrogen power and its viability has been the lack of availability. While the technology is widely lauded as an environment-friendly alternative to fossil fuels, it has struggled to gain a foothold in the energy sector as oil companies have understandably ignored its development while their petroleum products continue to supply the bulk of the world's energy demands.

Consequently it has been left to auto manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, with its A-Class, and Honda, with its FCX fuel cell car, to explore the development of hydrogen as a viable energy source, and to manufacture vehicles that produce emissions that are basically nothing more than vapor.

Now BMW has joined the party with the introduction of its new Hydrogen 7, the world's first hydrogen-drive luxury vehicle. But the Munich-based auto maker has also taken steps to resolve the lack of availability of hydrogen by equipping the Hydrogen 7 with an internal combustion engine capable of running on either hydrogen or on regular gasoline at the flip of a switch.

Based on the 7-Series, the new vehicle is powered by a 260-hp 12-cylinder engine and achieves a 0-100 km/h time of just 9.5 seconds, topping out at an electronically limited 230 km/h on both hydrogen and regular gasoline. The dual-mode drive technology, activated by a switch on the steering wheel, has been incorporated precisely because of the lack of hydrogen filling stations, and as a result the cruising range in hydrogen mode is more than 200 kilometres, with another 480 with the gasoline setting.

In either setting, the driving characteristics of the Hydrogen 7 remain identical, with the car automatically switching over to the other when the first becomes depleted.

BMW was keen to ensure that the Hydrogen 7 maintained its standards in luxury and comfort, and to that end the four-seater boasts all the standard features of the 760i. But in addition to these, the Hydrogen 7 also has climate comfort composite glazing, automatic air conditioning, auxiliary heating, electric seat heating for the driver, front passenger and rear seats, lumbar supports, electric seat adjustment with memory function on the front seats, ISOFIX child seat fastenings, Park Distance Control, a rain sensor, exterior and interior mirrors with automatic anti-dazzle, Soft Close Automatic for the doors and a headlight assistant. A complete entertainment and communication package adds to the comfort a BMW 7 Series can provide.

The Hydrogen 7 will begin production next April and will be on display at the Los Angeles auto show in November. As far as pricing goes, a BMW spokesman said the cars would be leased to selected customers rather than sold because of its high-end pricing, and the cost of the leasing would be similar to that of a fully kitted BMW 760Li.