Shell Eco-Marathon winner gets 7,148MPG economy

Posted Sun Mar 16 2008 9:27 PM by Siddharth Raja

For the past couple of years Dutch oil-giant Shell has played host to the ‘Eco-Marathon’ challenge, a competition where teams have to build the most fuel efficient cars possible and then race them. The car that won the last two challenges recorded fuel economy levels as high as 7,148mpg (0.03L/100km), and this year’s event, scheduled to take place at the Fontana California Speedway next month, is expected to see the record broken.

The goal of the challenge is to design and build a vehicle that uses the least fuel and produce the fewest emissions possible. Teams can use conventional fuels such as diesel, petrol and LPG, as well as alternative fuels such as solar, electric, hydrogen and biomass can power the vehicles.

Although the vehicles may not be entirely practical, their design provides clues as to some of the features we may one day be seeing on regular production cars. Key elements include a low, aerodynamic profile, downsized engines and bodies, and low rolling resistance tires and drivetrain.

Gallery: Shell Eco-Marathon 7,148MPG

Reader Comments

Mon Mar 17 2008 7:21 AM
chris says

realize one way these cars work is by only running the engine for short bursts over long periods of time. the technology in these vehicles is more or less the drag reduction and efficiency of drive train, not the engine itself.

for more information about this topic, check out the SAE Supermileage competition
Tue Apr 15 2008 7:37 PM
ThomasKast says

Realize that Cal Polly did not get 7,000 something. More along the lines of 1,900 their first year.

MotorAuthority