With the price of gas skyrocketing in the US, the need for a highly efficient vehicle is greater than ever. Combine that with a concern about global warming, and you have a marketplace that is ready and willing to invest in super fuel-efficient vehicles.
The Automotive X Prize intends to speed up the search for fuel-efficient vehicles by offering a $10 million prize to anyone who can produce a production ready vehicle that boasts 100 mile per gallon efficiency.
Of course, 10 million dollars is a small charge for most huge auto manufacturers. Still, Automotive X Prize hopes it will be enough to fuel the imagination of inventors around the globe, and result in the world’s most fuel-efficient vehicle.
But the prize isn’t just about fuel efficiency. They’re looking for more than a prototype vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon in a closed environment. The prize will be awarded to the vehicle that achieves 100 miles per gallon AND wins a race, proving that it is production ready and can easily take its place beside any other vehicle on the world’s major roads and highways.
So far, 64 teams have signed up to compete in the contest. They range from small “mom-and-pop” shop automakers, to more advanced electric car makers such as Tesla Motors. Even a few school groups are taking part, including one team from a high school in Philadelphia.
The Automotive X Prize, a California nonprofit foundation, has also recently received a $3.5 million grant from the US Department of energy, which will help fund the contest.
A vehicle that can get 100 miles per gallon isn’t exactly a first. In fact, Volkswagen has produced a three-wheeled concept vehicle called “The Vortex” capable of an astounding 235 miles per gallon! Ford and other automakers also have prototype vehicles capable of 100 miles per gallon or better under certain conditions.
But the X Prize won’t be awarded to any of these prototypes. The foundation is looking for a bona fide production ready vehicle that can hold its own with any other car on the road. Currently, the most fuel-efficient cars in production in the US are capable of in the neighborhood of 50 miles per gallon. In Europe, several small cars — especially diesels — can routinely get 70 miles per gallon.
But to produce a vehicle that can consistently get 100 miles per gallon in regular everyday driving situations is no small feat. Interestingly enough, none of the big US automakers from Detroit have entered the X Prize contest, although one small start up from Ann Arbor Michigan (not affiliated with any of the major car manufacturers) has applied.
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