Detroit 2008: Automotive X-Prize entries coming to Cobo
The New York Auto Show in March will provide the official venue to launch the Automotive X-Prize contest, but all 43 entrants will be making an advanced appearance next month in Detroit at the North American International Auto show. The teams vying for the Auto X-Prize have to bring a combination of functionality and fuel-efficiency in order to win the substantial chunk of change offered by the organizers.
The picture above is the Aptera, which through the use of either a plug-in gas-electric hybrid or a straight electric setup can get 300 mpg and has the potential of being retailed for less than $30,000. Some of the entrants could easily be chocked up to vaporware, but we're sure our colleagues at our greener sibling site will give us the skinny next month in D-town.
[Source: Click On Detroit via Jalopnik]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
tankd0g 3:53PM (12/11/2007)
When I saw automotvie and X-Prize in the same sentence, I thought we were finally going to get a flying car. Oh well. a 300mpg enclosed quad bike is nice too.
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k.w.a 3:53PM (12/11/2007)
looking like that, this car better be able to fly or something
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The Other Bob 4:01PM (12/11/2007)
"The picture above is the Aptera, which through the use of either a plug-in gas-electric hybrid or a straight electric setup can get 300 mpg and has the potential of being retailed for less than $30,000."
So it is just as crash worthy and has all the airbags and other accessories demanded by current standards and the market? Doubtful.
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Jared 4:45PM (12/11/2007)
Exactly! It isn't hard to design a car that gets very good mileage. It will be tiny, very light, very noisy and horrifically dangerous in a collision. The neat trick is designing one that is comfortable to drive, has good crash protection, meets all regulations, and is still economical.
If the X-prize does not require meeting all regulations, then it is a farce that will greatly mislead the public.
tanooki2003 4:46PM (12/11/2007)
Why don't you read more about it on Aptera's website before commenting
Damon 5:17PM (12/11/2007)
I think you mean.. chalked up... to vaporware.
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Josh 1:12AM (12/12/2007)
Come on! Look at the picture again, notice that the Aptera has 3 wheels. This means that it is only required to conform to the current safety standards for motorcycles.
Until the big auto manufactures have sufficient incentive (real market demand) to mass produce a 300 mpg car, we will all have to be happy with what can fit through the 'motorcycle loophole'.
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Brent 7:05PM (12/11/2007)
"The Typ-1 is performing beautifully in the simulations, and we will soon upload the associated video and pictures to the website. We begin our side-impact phase sometime in the next two months, and we have a high degree of confidence that we'll see similar results."
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Guenther 8:21PM (12/11/2007)
Messerschmidt built a conveyance that could be called part inspiration for this thing. Certainly 60 years of advancements show, but the heritage is there.
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Jared 8:37AM (12/12/2007)
Looking at the Auto X-prize standards, they require that the vehicle meet US safety standards and EPA tier 2 bin 5. So I withdraw my criticism.
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cookeatFRET 3:42PM (12/13/2007)
rear ending that thing would get you impaled
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NSFW 11:42PM (12/14/2007)
300 mpg from an electric car?
Imagine going 300 miles using just one gallon of electricity.
That would be awesome!
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