HP2g inventor still working on technology behind '110 MPGe' Mustang

One Ohio-based inventor who's long proposed a technology that substantially boosts the driving range of a typical V8 engine says his idea still has plenty of legs. Doug Pelmear, whose HP2g technology was the guts behind the high-miles-per-gallon converted Mustang in 2009 and the Revenge Verde (pictured) that was displayed at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show, continues to try to get financial interest in his system. The idea is to boost fuel economy by shutting off fuel to some of the cylinders under non-accelerating driving conditions.

Pelmear, according to reports from the Toledo Free Press and The Street, is looking to raise financing for his "Skip Fire" system. He's tested the system, which he says will cost about $1,400 as an aftermarket product and will boost fuel economy by about 30 percent, on about 60 vehicles, and is trying to boost that count to 250. Interested parties should stop by the official website for more information.

There are some things to be aware of, though. There was trouble between Pelmear and the Automotive X-Prize and Pelmear says financing has been difficult to come by because a creditor mistakenly put a lien on HP2g instead of one of his other companies. The entrepreneur says he has patents pending in the US and China for the product, which uses a magnet system to shut certain cylinders down when the car is cruising or braking. Stopping those cylinders helped the Revenge Verde get an advertised 100 miles per gallon equivalent while delivering as much as 400 horsepower (we've wondered about the methodology before). The company looks to sell its aftermarket product to fleet-vehicle operators once it gets regulatory approval to do so.