They’re already setting up camp in the baking sun, on a white sheet of ground that stretches out miles to the horizon. Soon, behind temporary fencing, small knots of spectators will join professional auto engineers and amateur speed freaks in their annual pilgrimage.

Since 1935, when British motorist Malcolm Campbell broke the 300-mile-per-hour barrier on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, this huge, prehistoric lakebed has become Woodstock for motorheads. They come to the stark Flats to chase the same goal: speed. Raw velocity. Pure, unadulterated, fast-as-you-can-possibly-go-and-hope-not-to-die speed.

The first speed runs took place wherever teams pitched their tents. But by 1949, a standard course was set, and the records for 300, 400, 500, and 600 m.p.h. were all broken there. During the annual Bonneville Speed Week (August 11 to 17 this year), a line of unusual vehicles—from full sedans to conveyances consisting of little more than wheels and a jet engine—does timed runs in each direction, each contender hoping to capture a speed record.

But in an age of global climate change and carbon awareness, why should we care about the fastest anything? Spewing copious amounts of burned fuel, most of the record contenders are far from street-legal; they’d never pass any state’s emissions test. And the last land speed record, of 763 m.p.h. (that’s supersonic, by the way), was set more than 10 years ago. What brings the likes of Ford Motor to the Flats, to hang out with hot-rodders and thrill seekers?

Beyond the laurels for Fastest Vehicle Ever, teams compete for scores of other land speed records. Diesel cars, production cars, motorcycles, and many other vehicle classes have expanded the scope of the racing; the latest flurry of interest is in alternative-fuel technologies. Ford is running in the company of lesser-known teams that are trying to bring public awareness to eco-technology. They’re the ones that demonstrate that even alternatives can be . . . well, fast. Call it green speed.

Fifty years ago, speed was what sold passenger cars. These days, safety, technology, and better environmental stewardship tip the balance. That’s what brings the emissions-free Ford Fusion Hydrogen 999, a highly modified sedan, to the Flats. Ford’s engineers designed it; Ballard Power Systems contributed the fuel cell that powers its electric motor; and it was built by Roush Racing, fabricators of many a race-winning car.

The team wants to demonstrate that a car powered by hydrogen fuel cells can be fast and sexy—and garner enough attention to offset the cost (up to $1 million in time and materials) of creating this very special-purpose model. Its makers also want to understand how to create fuel cells with enough power to overcome the much higher aerodynamic drag that occurs at speeds of more than 100 m.p.h., where today’s fuel-cell test vehicles top out.

On the outside, the 999 looks like Ford’s standard midsize Fusion sedan, lowered and sporting flashy racing paint. If it grabs the record, consumers can easily make the connection to a car they can see and buy at their Ford showroom—just like the old Nascar saying “Win on Sunday; sell on Monday.” Underneath, though, like most record contenders, it’s custom-built to go seven miles in roughly three minutes, targeting a speed of more than 200 m.p.h.