The makers of a futuristic-looking featherweight car today won the main prize of a $10m challenge to design a car that achieves fuel efficiency of 100 miles per gallon (mpg).
The contest, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X prize, is designed to push the boundaries of innovation and spur the development of a new generation of super-efficient cars with mass market potential.
The main prize today went to a design that opted for a more familiar internal combustion motor – rather than an electric – engine.
The Edison2 Very light car number 98, made by a Virginia company, took home $5m for its use of lightweight materials, and superior aerodynamics.
The car is powered by a single-cylinder motorcycle engine, that burns a mix of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline, mounted at the back of an extremely lightweight frame. The designers, mainly former race car drivers, decided to stick with an internal combustion engine because batteries add weight.
"Electric cars have real issues. Batteries are heavy, big and costly. With electric drives cars get heavier, performance suffers and costs go up," the Edison2 blog said.
guardian
