Revolutionary hydrogen-powered cars could be taking to the streets of Oxford within three years as part of a national pilot scheme.

It is hoped that a fleet of 50 green cars could be moving around the city by 2012, with Oxford to see one of the UK’s first hydrogen filling stations.

Oxford University engineers have been involved in the development of the car, which its creators say could usher in a new era of motoring, with the technology eventually replacing the internal combustion engine.

The lightweight hydrogen-powered urban car was unveiled in London on Tuesday at Somerset House.

And Hugo Spowers, the man responsible for the ultimate green car, said he would be pressing to test the car with a pilot scheme in the city that helped develop it so as to prove its effectiveness.

It is claimed that the two-seater hydrogen fuel cell Riversimple urban car can achieve performance figures never before attained from existing fuel cell technology, which sees water rather than fumes coming out of the car exhaust.

And the car’s creators say they are ready to challenge the most fundamental conventions of the car industry.

For the pilot scheme in Oxford would test a plan to make the green car only available to drivers on lease. It would not be available to buy.

If the pilot scheme in Oxford proved successful, the car would then be made available to other cities in the UK.

The principal investment is coming from the Piech family, the car manufacturing dynasty behind Porsche and Volkswagen.

Sebastian Piech, who is responsible for developing his family’s company, Porsche Holding, Europe’s largest automotive retail business, attended the unveiling of the hydrogen car, billed as a defining moment in the history of transport.

The urban car has been developed over three years, with both Oxford University and Cranfield University involved in the research programme. The car has a lightweight composite body, an electric motor attached to each wheel and can reach speeds of 50mph.

It only consumes the petrol energy equivalent of 300 miles per gallon in hydrogen, a dramatic advancement on the previous performance for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

The cars would have a lifespan of about 20 years. Finance is now being raised to build ten prototypes at the end of this year with a batch of 50 built of the pilot.

Mr Spowers said that although no formal approaches had yet been made, he believed Oxford would be the ideal place to pilot the urban car.

He said: “It would be easier to pilot in a small city, with a single refill station.”

Each urban car would be leased with ongoing maintenance support and fuel cost included. Fuel development work is being carried out in collaboration with BOC, the leading supplier of industrial gases, including hydrogen.

Mr Spowers added: “Oxford is the right size and I think it is also a city where there is a clear will to do things about transport and to change things for the better. It fits in with much of the work going on in Oxford at a technical level. And, of course, Oxford’s prestige would mean people across the world would take notice of the pilot.”

An electrical power group, led by Dr Malcolm McCulloch, at Oxford University’s department of engineering, played an important role in helping to develop the car’s electric motors, attached to each wheel, which double as brakes and also generate electricity.

On the face of it, the man behind the car, Hugo Spowers, might not seem the best person to usher in a new era of ‘sensible’ driving.

Mr Spowers, aged 49, was one of the founders of the Dangerous Sports Club at Oxford University, where he read engineering.

In Oxford, Mr Spowers is best remembered for his reckless bungee jumping (a pastime that led to him breaking his back) and stunts like coming down the slopes at St Moritz on a grand piano on skis.

Ian Hudspeth, county council cabinet member for growth and infrastructure, said the county council would be ready to investigate the proposal for a pilot scheme.

But the company will face tough competition to develop the first commercially viable hydrogen-powered car.

The annual Venturefest exhibition, being held at the Kassam Stadium, Oxford, on June 29, will feature several other designs for zero-emissions cars.