Students Build Hydrogen Vehicle That Gets 1,336 MPG
Turkish students at Sakarya University have built a hydrogen car that gets 1,336 mpg. Well, sorta.
Called the SAHİMO, the vehicle’s current range is about 353 miles on a quarter gallon of fuel (568 kilometers on 1 liter). It travels such an obscene distance with so little fuel due to the vehicle’s uber-light weight: it weighs only 240 pounds (110 kilograms). The car’s made up of 90-percent carbon fiber.
I assume the size and weight limit it to holding only a liter of fuel. I couldn’t verify this as their site is in Turkish and mine is a little rusty.
The SAHMO won third most efficient vehicle in Europe’s 26th Shell Eco Marathon. And their next goal is to conquer the inaugural 2009 Global Green Challengee–an evolution of the World Solar Challenge competition in Australia–this October. About twenty electric, hybrid, alternative fuel and low emission production and prototype vehicles will compete in the race.
Melemez, a fourth-year student in the engineering department at Sakarya University, says “We are hoping to raise our record from 568 kilometers on one liter of hydrogen up to a full 1,000 kilometers on one liter, and we believe we can do it.”
A 3,000 kilometer trek across the Australian Outback on just 3 liters is quite ambitious but I really hope they can pull it off.
But before you think about running out and buying one, the car did cost $170,000 to build.
The 40-member group that developed the SAHIMO hydrogen car is the Sakarya University Advanced Technologies Implementation Group (SAITEM). Today’s Zaman reports that the team hopes to work on a non-piloted aircraft next and is already trying to get support from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
Source: Inhabitat
Btw, if you’re interested in joining the first mailing list dedicated to bulk purchasing electric cars, check it out (you can also get cheap solar there too).
I recommend exercise daily. Start walking, hiking and if you require transportation; utilize public transportation, afterall my tax dollars are suppose to fund the pork barrel projects today! (SARCASM) I will continue to drive my sports vehicle that can get 30 MPG on highway and approximately 25 MPG in the city. I get on average 27 MPG and my speedometer goes all the way up to 160 MPH! How fast is your new tech car and how long will get take to travel the thousand plus miles friend(s)?!
DUDE THATS SICK!! AWESOME IN ONLY 09?!?!
These kids will end up “mysteriously committing suicide”…
Awesome! I would definitely run to the store or the mall in this cute little thing. Better yet, they should put pedals on it and have it run by sheer manpower, like the Flintstones! This way us fat Americans loose weight AND we have a vehicle that covers us from the heat! Seeing as it weighs 240,(wow, i know people who weigh more than that..scary) im sure it doesnt have an a/c system, but it be cool if it did, no pun intended.I live in Houston,Tx and have a bicycle, but there is NO way id ride on it during noon when I usually run my errands.
Only problem with this car is that if it gets hit by a real car like my 1961 Cadillac, they will be taking the driver off the road with a spatula.
We all know that a fuel efficent car can be built, but get real and build one that is usable.
Hopefully they start manufacturing this car soon. I want one!!!! If everyone got one of these the fuel indurstry would be forced to lower their prices. I’m talken .99/gallen. It could happen.
Sounds great, awesome engineering but…
how fast does it go?
how fast does it accelerate?
Comfort features like A/C use about 10 hp which I’m sure the car doesn’t have. An A/C system on this car would bring the mileage down to 0.
Here’s what gets me. If they can build a car that gets that many MPG then I know the auto makers can. More importantly, the oil barons don’t want a car that gets that many miles per gallon.
Hey don’t get on the oil companies too hard, they feed my family and the families of a lot of folks in the southeren US. On the all veggie diet, all I gotta say in my opion of course, is blahhhh I have teeth made for tearing meat, I like my meat. I don’t wanna be small like an asian, I like being tall enough to work on lights with out a ladder, I like having the strength and leverage to lift or move large loads.
I’m all for new technologies, lets here it for higher gas mileage vehicles. I drive a diesel truck, if I could get more than 17 mpg I would be estactic.