Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus couldn’t complete their hydrogen-powered desert racer in time for this year’s Baja 1000, but they plan to bring it out for the 2026 San Felipe 250 in March. If things work out, the team hopes to become the first to complete the Baja 1000 with zero emissions.

The Glickenhaus HFC (Hydrogen Fuel Cell) Boot has been in the works for over five years, spinning off the existing SCG Boot with a focus on hydrogen. The name and appearance are nods to Steve McQueen’s Chevrolet Baja Boot that raced in the 1960s and ’70s. SCG’s ICE Boot won Class 2 at the 2019 and 2020 Baja 1000s with Darren Skilton.

In terms of design, the HFC Boot isn’t too different from its gas counterpart. Skilton, who’s also the director of the Sonora Rally, found that swapping out the ICE unit for hydrogen and electric versions was almost one-to-one, with the major difference being weight distribution due to the different tank placement.

The fuel cell can be swapped out once the built-in sensors detect it is running low. Designed by GRZ, the system weighs roughly 150 pounds. It can hold three tanks at a time at 625 bar and 6.2 kilograms of hydrogen. To test the system, team members used inert nitrogen.

Besides design, the team sought to figure out viable methods to fuel the car and refuel in the desert. The plan is to use a pickup truck that could swap out the tanks. While coming up with designs, an even more radical idea was to have a single, giant tank attached to the rear which gave it the appearance of a post-apocalyptic buggy.

The HFC Boot was signed up for the Baja 1000 with Skilton as the lone entry in the Baja-E Truck category. Of course, with the team unable to finish it in time, the class ended up as one of ten without a finisher.

Glickenhaus is mainly known for their sports car program that’s competed in races like Le Mans, where they in 2022 became the first American manufacturer to podium since Ford in 1969. The team also has the SCG 008, an ICE prototype off-road car that’s eligible for SCORE as well as rallies like Dakar and NORRA.

Featured image credit: Glickenhaus