French University Develop a Car That does 11,000mpg

[csv8]

A group of university students from France have done what the Big-3 can only dream of, develop a car that can travel more than 11,000 miles on the equivalent of a single a gallon of gasoline.

Team Polyjule of Polytech Nantes built the ultralight, single-seat streamliner for the the Shell Eco-marathon competition in Lausitz, Germany. It is one of a series of fuel economy challenges sponsored by the energy company that are held worldwide each year.

On Friday, just a day after breaking the 10,000 miles per gallon equivalent (mpge) barrier, the team set a new record of 11, 516 mpge, although the car technically didn't use any gasoline at all. Instead, it is an electric car powered by a hydrogen fuel cell which provides energy in place of a battery. The amount of hydrogen used was then converted into its gasoline equivalent using the energy density of the two fuels to make the comparison.

Competitors in the Eco-marathon are allowed to use just about any fuel source, everything from plain old premium gasoline to biodiesel to solar power. However, the vehicles aren't actually driven 11K miles. Instead, they run over a much shorter course, only a few miles, at very low speeds, using just a tiny bit of their chosen fuel. The results are then converted to mpge to create the eye-popping figures seen above.

Of course you shouldn't expect to see anything like Team Polyjule's car in showrooms anytime soon. The tight-fitting car is worn like clothing more than sat in, and has virtually no practical applications, as is. The idea behind the competition, which was first held in 1939, is drive innovation in new automotive technologies, and get people excited about fuel efficiency.

[phillyc]

Originally Posted by csv

Team Polyjule of Polytech Nantes built the ultralight, single-seat streamliner for the the Shell Eco-marathon competition in Lausitz, Germany. It is one of a series of fuel economy challenges sponsored by the energy company that are held worldwide each year.

Amazing result although not practical! Still, it shows what is capable. Wonder what it's drag co-efficient would be. Looking at how the body almost completely encapsulates the wheels not much has been left on the table so to speak

[Airmon]

Wow, a car that can do 11000 Miles on a single gallon of Gasoline that......doesnt run on gasoline...and has never gone 11000 miles....hmmm.
Way to grab a headline.

[aussie muscle]

i agree airmon, the outback solar challenge is a more realistic competition. at least, closer to real world test.

[Fev]

I'd bet i could get an extremely good MPG rating if i idled my car to 5km/hr, switched it off and coasted another 500m to the finish line...






(Well.. that would be if i had a car right now :( )

[tweeked]

They should put them on a Dyno, i want to know how many RbicycletyreKW they make

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by tweeked

They should put them on a Dyno, i want to know how many RbicycletyreKW they make

did they conveniently forget to add up the energy that went into the making of the hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen fuel, etc...

if you add it all up ...it's probably still cheaper ...but ...my point was ....hmmm
that it's hard to pick up chicks in it ....

[388cube_edxr8]

lol they can ride on the roof

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by 388cube_edxr8

lol they can ride on the roof

It's working pretty good so far...
They've got the masses sucked in to buying their dodgey rebadged korean made cheap n nasties. I think 8 out of their 10 cars are Korean crap?

[last fairlane]

Been done before
I remember years ago it was done in Melbourne I think
and they claimed some fantastic milage from a cupful of fuel
from memory they used a model aeroplane engine of 2.5cc capacity
and ran it for 100 metres
not really practical
John

[JimNiki]

Originally Posted by JimNiki

It's working pretty good so far...
They've got the masses sucked in to buying their dodgey rebadged korean made cheap n nasties. I think 8 out of their 10 cars are Korean crap?

I stand corrected, they do the ute and sportswagon as well as the sedan and long wheelbase. and hopefully the cruise next year?

I just find something unaustralian about putting an aussie badge on a 100% Korean made car. like captiva, epica, barina, cruise, viva, roula, toula, voula

I know I'm misguided and old fashioned, and the Korean cars are probably ok and good value, it's just me...