Glorified Weed Whacker Vehicle: Ultimate in Fuel Efficiency?
A group of engineering students at Dalhousie University will enter their “Maritime Mileage Machine” in the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon America to try to beat the current fuel efficiency record of 1,445 kilometers per liter.
“It’s basically a big weed whacker.” - Matthew Harding, team manager
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The aerodynamically designed body is made out of Kevlar, the power plant is a 35cc engine, and it rolls on three Olympic-racing wheelchair tires. The driver, Carmen McKnight, chosen for her small size, drives the vehicle while lying in a hammock-like seat, and steers the car using handles on either side of her body.
“The main thing is to keep it simple and efficient. The whole point of the competition is maximum fuel economy.” - Harding
The Shell Eco-marathon Americas challenges high school and post-secondary students from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South America with designing and building a vehicle that uses the least amount of energy while driving the farthest. Circuits are about seven miles long and the race will last approximately 45 minutes per circuit.
The event will be held from April 15 to 18 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and the winners will take home thousands of dollars in prize money and have a chance to make history. The current Dalhousie record is 420 kilometers per liter using unleaded gasoline.
“Considering the average car is getting about 30 miles per gallon (or 13 km per liter), that’s pretty drastic.”
The other members of the team are Liam Jeffrey, Craig Arthur, Chad Batterton, Brad Marcus and the driver Carmen McKnight
Will someone please provide documentation for the record of 3398.85 MPG? That’s what 1445 Km/l converts to.
@ChuckL
See the results of the 2008 Eco-marathon Americas
Here’re some results from 2008:
http://www.shell.us/home/content/usa/responsible_energy/ecomarathon_americas/2008/highlights/sem08_results.html
Apparently, the Europeans got 3,382 km/l for a combustion engine!
hmm? sounds great, i see the tyres are inside..not good if it is on a wet track?? and why kevlar not aluminium for even lighter body?
Ok great, we can all drive motorized wheel chairs. These contests are ridiculous. Instead of wasting all of this money on silly games, why not spend it on building an engine that will actually move a real vehicle. Seriously, 35cc is a joke, who cares if a freaking sewing machine gets good gas mileage.
@ Doug:
That’s like saying “why both with auto racing” it’s a joke. No one needs an 800hp racing engine to power a family sedan.” The fact you’ve overlooked is that auto racing provides a platform for design, development and technological innovation. The competition highlighted in this article provides a venue to explore, experiment and test cutting-edge designs. While testing a 35cc engine might seem like a “ridiculous joke” to you, I guarantee you that something good will come of this practical application of technology.
At the very least, the students who participate in designing and building these vehicles are the same ones who in five years will be designing and building the latest generation in fuel saving technology to be used in our vehicles. Hands-on experience of this type is absolutely essential.