Pictures: Students Design Super-Efficient Cars in Eco-marathon

Start Your Engines

Photograph courtesy Peter Lim, AP Images for Shell

The green flag waves to start off Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2012 at Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur on July 6. This marks the third year for the Asia leg of the event, which has been running in Europe since 1985 and in the United States since 2007.

A total of 119 student teams from 18 countries across Asia and the Middle East competed at the Sepang track.

Published August 17, 2012

La Joliviere’s Microjoule: 6,663 MPG (2,833 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Ermindo Armino, AP Images for Shell

Team Microjoule from the French technical school La Joliviere in Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire glides to a win at Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2012. The white, gasoline-powered vehicle sipped fuel at a rate of 6,663 mpg (2,833 km/l), to turn in the most efficient performance among petrol-powered cars in the May race in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Published August 17, 2012

Lycee Pasquet’s SCS: 13,312 MPG-E (5,660 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Jiri Buller, AP Images for Shell

France's Lycee Pasquet of Arles came in second among the solar prototype vehicles at Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2012, with a result of 395 miles (635 kilometers) per kilowatt-hour. That's the equivalent of 13,312 mpg (5,660 km/l).

Lycee Pasquet took first prize in the solar category for five years running at the Eco-marathon from 2005 through 2010. But this year, the team was edged out by Philipp-Matthäus-Hahn-Schule, a technical school in Nürtingen, Germany.

Published August 17, 2012

Delft’s Ecorunner: 3,993 MPG-E (1,698 KM/L-E)

Photograph by Erik Van't Woud, European Pressphoto Agency

Team members from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands show concern as they lean over their hydrogen vehicle, Ecorunner 3, at Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2012.

The team faced numerous problems, including a horn that wasn't working properly. (Although it has little to do with locomotion, the horn was a mandatory safety feature.)

In the end, to make their run in the time allotted, they needed to drive faster than their optimal speed of 15 miles (25 kilometers) per hour, thus guzzling more fuel than they had hoped. In the end, the fuel cell vehicle achieved 118.5 miles (190.7 km) per kilowatt-hour, the equivalent of  3,993 mpg (1,698 km), eighth place among the 15 hydrogen prototype cars in the race.

Although they joked on their website that it was like traveling as far as Spain on one liter of fuel, the team felt their car could have done better, and resolved to do further tests this summer.

The hydrogen vehicle winner, French team Polytech Nantes from the Loire Valley, turned in a score of  540.9 kilometers (335.4 miles) per kilowatt-hour, equivalent to 11,301 mpg (4,822 km/l.)

Published August 17, 2012

Ecoteam Zollernalb: 16,082 MPG-E (6,861.7 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Bas Czerwinski, AP Images for Shell

With a flat solar panel covering its entire gold frame, the vehicle built by Germany's Ecoteam Zollernalb hit the highest energy efficiency mark at Shell Eco-marathon Europe. The team from Philipp-Matthäus-Hahn-Schule, a technical school in Nürtingen, Germany, was able to cruise at 478 miles (770 kilometers) on a single kilowatt-hour of power, the equivalent of 16,082 mpg (6,861.7 km/l.)

The Eco-marathon results reflect that electric motors are more efficient than internal combustion engines, with a far greater percentage of the energy converted into moving the car down the road. The majority of fuel energy in an internal combustion engine is lost to heat and friction, although Eco-marathon contestants seek to minimize those losses in their design.

Published August 17, 2012

ESIX Normandie’s Blue Shark: 521 MPG (221.6 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Ermindo Armino, AP Images for Shell

Students from ESIX Normandie, the engineering school of the University of Caen, Lower Normandy, designed this blue bubble-shaped gasoline vehicle, called the Blue Shark. It achieved mileage of 521 mpg (221.6 km/l) in Shell Eco-marathon Europe, coming in 35th in a field of 43 vehicles.

Published August 17, 2012

Mater Dei: 2,188.6 MPG (931 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Todd Wawrychuk, IGLA/Shell

Mater Dei, a Catholic high school of 500 students in Evansville, Indiana, sailed to first place in all four car categories it entered in Shell Eco-marathon Americas, leaving college engineering students in its wake.

The school, hailing from a state with a rich racing tradition, is a longtime competitor in Shell Eco-marathon, but this was the students' best performance ever. Their gasoline-powered vehicle, painted in the school colors red and gold, clocked in at 2,188 mpg (931 km/l).

Mater Dei's electric battery category car achieved 419 miles per kilowatt-hour (equivalent to 14,120 mpg (6,003 km/l ). The students' alternative gasoline category car achieved 1,441.5 mpg ( 613 km/l), and their street-legal urban concept category car hit the 611 mpg (260 km/l) mark. Each win netted the Mater Dei Supermileage Team a $2,000 prize.

Published August 17, 2012

ITIS Leonardo da Vinci: 2,292 MPG-E (974 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Jiri Buller, AP Images for Shell

Leonardo da Vinci ITIS (State Industrial Technical Institute) in Parma, Italy, captured the technical innovation award at Shell Eco-marathon Europe for the system the team designed for optimizing use of the fuel cell of its hydrogen car, Zero C. When the driver brakes, energy is stored and then released to the engine. "Regenerative braking is not new in the industry, but the efficiency in this system impressed the judges," the citation said. Student Lorenzo Ferrari explains the system in this video interview.

Published August 17, 2012

Westside High School: 1,373 MPG-E (584 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Todd Wawrychuk, IGLA/Shell

Bamboo delivered lightweight durability for Houston, Texas's Westside High School team, which won the 2012 eco-design award in Shell Eco-marathon Americas.

The team wanted to make its car stand out, and its members were inspired when they saw bicycles made of bamboo.

The electric vehicle, nicknamed "Piece O'Scrap," won a $1,000 prize sponsored by Michelin for its recycled and eco-friendly materials and the use of an alternative direct drive. Its efficiency was 40.8 miles per kilowatt-hour, the equivalent of 1,373 mpg (584 km/l).

Published August 17, 2012

Korea’s Yeungnam: 91 MPG (39 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Peter Lim, AP Images for Shell

In South Korea's first year participating in Shell Eco-marathon, students from Yeungnam University designed a street-legal urban concept car that achieved 91 mpg (39 km/l). Four other countries—Lebanon, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong—joined Korea as newcomers to Eco-marathon in the Asia edition of the race, held in Kuala Lumpur in July.

Published August 17, 2012

Thailand’s Dhurakij Pubdit: 6,828.3 MPG (2,903 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Peter Lim, AP Images for Shell

Powered by ethanol, the vehicle put together by team Luk Jao Mae Khlong Prapa of Thailand surpassed the same team's own fuel efficiency record from last year by 31 percent to clinch the top place at Shell Eco-marathon Asia. The students from Dhurakij Pubdit University achieved fuel efficiency of 6,828.3 mpg (2,903 km/l) at Kuala Lumpur's Sepang International Circuit.

The team said they chose to use ethanol as a fuel because Thailand is one of the world's leading sugar cane exporters, and is looking to tap into the market potential of the biofuel.

Published August 17, 2012

Granite Falls’ ShopGirls: 519.8 MPG (221 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Todd Wawrychuk, IGLA/Shell

Granite Falls High School, in Washington State, north of Seattle, was honored at Shell Eco-marathon with a safety award, for care in design, construction, and on-site behavior at Shell Eco-marathon Americas in Houston. The school fields an all-girls team (pictured) and an all-boys team, both of whom designed and built diesel-powered vehicles. The ShopGirls finished with mileage of 519.8 mpg (221 km/l).

(Related Photos: "ShopGirls Design for the Prize" and Story: "All-Girls Team Seeks Record in High-Mileage Marathon")

Published August 17, 2012

Mater Dei: 611 MPG (260 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Richard Harbaugh, AP Images for Shell

Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Indiana, the red car on the right, took first place among the street-legal urban concept vehicles in Shell Eco-marathon Americas 2012 with its best run of 611 mpg (260 km/l). The school took three other first-place awards in the efficiency race.

At left, the NightHawk, a solar-powered urban concept car designed by students at California's Murrieta Valley High School, waits its turn on the track.

Published August 17, 2012

Japan’s Clean Diesel: 2,791 MPG (1,186.6 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Peter Lim, AP Images for Shell

Hyogo Prefectural Tajima Technical Institute in Japan placed first in the alternative diesel category at Shell Eco-marathon Asia, with a car fueled by fatty acid methyl ester (FAME), known more commonly as biodiesel. The "Clean Diesel Team" completed the track with fuel economy of 2,791 mpg (1,186.6 km/l).

Published August 17, 2012

Malaysia’s Vagabond: 964 MPG-E (410 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Ching Kien Huo, AP Images for Shell

Universiti Sains Malaysia's student team won a special eco-design award at Shell Eco-marathon Asia for its battery-powered vehicle made of plywood.  "We chose to use wood because it's strong and biodegradable," said David Chew, manager of Team USM-EVT. The vehicle, called Vagabond, achieved 964 mpg (410 km/l) fuel economy.

(Related Blog Post: Wooden Car Steals Limelight at Eco-marathon)

Published August 17, 2012

Germany’s Lausitz: 15,334 MPG (6,519 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Ermindo Armino, AP Images for Shell

Hochschule Lausitz of Germany took first place among battery-electric prototype vehicles at Shell Eco-marathon Europe with a result of 723.3 kilometers per kilowatt-hour, the equivalent of 15,334 mpg (6,519 km/l).

Published August 17, 2012

Singapore’s NTU Diesel: 826 MPG (351 KM/L)

Photograph courtesy Peter Lim, AP Images for Shell

Nanyang Technological University of Singapore placed second among diesel protype cars at Shell Eco-marathon Asia with an  826 mpg (351 km/l) result at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur.

More than 1,500 students from 18 countries across Asia and the Middle East participated.

Published August 17, 2012

Poland’s Elvic: 3,994 MPG-E (1,698 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Ermindo Armino, AP Images for Shell

Lublin University of Technology, from Poland, turned in a result of 190.7 kilometers per kilowatt-hour with its battery-electric car at Shell Eco-marathon Europe. Team Elvic's score was the equivalent of 3,994 mpg (1,698 km/l).

Published August 17, 2012

Greece’s TUC ECO: 80 MPG-E (34.3 KM/L-E)

Photograph courtesy Jiri Buller, AP Images for Shell

As one of Rotterdam's public transport trains passes by overhead, Greece's team from Technical University of Crete races for fuel efficiency on the streets of the Netherlands port city in Shell Eco-marathon Europe. TUC Eco's hydrogen vehicle achieved 34.3 kilometers per kilowatt-hour, the equivalent of 80 mpg (34.3 km/l).

Published August 17, 2012

Next: Rare Look Inside Carmakers' Drive for 55 MPG

Photograph by Jeffrey Sauger, National Geographic

Published August 17, 2012