100 MPG Cars Compete At MIS

Twelve teams with 15 cars competed Friday at a blistering hot
Michigan International Speedway for the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize.

Under threatening skies and temperatures of 92 degrees in the shade and 118 on the track, the vehicles participated in the endurance testing portion of the event.

Cars in the "mainstream" class -- a minimum of four seats, four wheels, and at least 10 cubic feet of cargo area -- had to go at least 200 miles without stopping to refuel (or, for electric vehicles, to charge their batteries). Cars in the "alternative" class -- two, three or four wheels and two seats -- had to go at least 100 miles.

The vehicles had the option of going between 45 and 70 mph to meet the endurance test.

The teams performed superbly, but as Friday afternoon wore on, X Prize officials said it was clear that not all teams were going to be advancing into the second week of Finals.  

* Amp met the requirement of 90 MPG equivalent, but exceeded the maximum threshold of 200 grams per mile of CO2 in the efficiency event. The team was also unable to complete all of the required laps in the range event.

*Commuter Cars' Tango was unable to meet the minimum fuel economy requirement and exceeded the maximum threshold of 200g/mile CO2 in the efficiency event.  The team was also unable to complete the required laps within the range event.

* Spira was unable to meet the minimum fuel economy requirement of 90 MPG equivalent.

* Tata was unable to present its vehicle for the range test due to a technical issue and has withdrawn from the competition.

The above teams have agreed to remain with the competition this week and demonstrate their technology and vehicle capabilities in the dynamic safety events on Monday as well as the combined performance and efficiency event on Tuesday. The scores achieved by the teams will be posted on our website, though not considered in the awarding of the prize purses.

After taking the weekend off, the cars will be back on the track at MIS Monday for a dynamic safety test supervised by Consumer Reports. Cars will be required to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in no more than 15 seconds, brake from 60 to a stop in no more than 170 feet, and conduct a lane change avoidance maneuver at no less than 45 mph.

From there, the cars head to Argonne National Laboratories in suburban Chicago for dynamometer testing. Announcement of winners is expected in Washington, D.C. in mid-September.

Steve Wesoloski, a former Rockwell and General Motors automotive engineer who serves as the Automotive X Prize's director of technical operations, said the big surprise for him in the competition was the level of innovation by small, startup teams -- "As I call them, five guys in a pole barn," Wesoloski said.

He predicted some of the advances in battery and internal combustion engine technologies in the X Prize cars would some day make it into vehicles sold by global automakers.

The other big surprise, Wesoloski said, is that only one of the 15 finalists is a hybrid vehicle, currently the dominant high mileage vehicle now on the market. The 200-mile range requirement for mainstream vehicles made it tough for both hybrids and pure electrics, Wesoloski said.

And he predicted that the pace of high-MPG innovation would only increase.

"We've seen more progress the past couple of years than in the past 25," he said.

Finalists in the alternative side-by-side seating are Amp (Cincinnati, Ohio); Aptera (San Diego, Calif.); Li-ion Motors (Mooresville, N.C.);RaceAbout Association (Finland); Tata Motors (Coventry, England); TW4XP (Germany); Western Washington University (Bellingham, Wash.); and Zap (Santa Rosa, Calif.). Only the Western Washington team is a hybrid.

The four tandem class teams -- the same requirements as side-by-side except for the seating arrangement, one in front of the other -- are Tango (Spokane, Wash.); Spira (Carrollton, Ill. and Thailand); X-Tracer (Switzerland); and Edison2 L(Lynchburg, Va.). The Tango and X-Tracers are electric, while Edison2's Very Light Car and the Spira are internal combustion.

Edison2 is the sole team remaining in the Mainstream class. The E85 fueled #97 and #98 cars are the only vehicles to survive the knockout round.

The Mainstream class comes with a $5 million prize, the alternative classes $2.5 million each.

More at www.progressiveautoxprize.org.

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