Eco-marathon
Encyclopedia : E : EC : ECO : Eco-marathon
The Eco-Marathon is an annual competition sponsored by Shell, in which vehicles take fuel consumption to the extreme -- the current record is 12,665 miles per gallon (MPG). (In contrast, the most efficient diesel passenger cars achieve 60 MPG, and some high-powered sportscars achieve as little as 8 MPG.)
Its history stretches back over fifty years. A group of Shell scientists based in a research laboratory in Illinois, USA, had a friendly bet to see who could drive their own car furthest on one gallon of fuel. At the time, 50 MPG was the best that could be achieved.
That idea was the foundation of today's prestigious international event. The first rigorous competition was held in Mallory Park in the UK in 1977.
Eco-Marathon Cars
The best designs consider aspects of aerodynamics, rolling resistance, engine efficiency and driving techniques to achieve the highest fuel economy. Each year the teams demonstrate creativity and innovation to make the leap required to improve their performance. The current top teams use specially mixed fuels, and specially designed tires and wheels. Like the petite jockeys that ride racehorses, children as young as 11 years old drive the vehicles, as another way of keeping the total weight down.
Although the vehicles are custom-built, it does not necessarily take a large budget to build one. Team Green's entry for 2006 was reportedly built for only £2,000[link]. Some of the cars have recently been built for even less than that, although the amount of effort that is required to keep their construction to a budget definitely increases their cost (especially if you are building it!!!)
Although tremendously efficient, the vehicles rarely reach 30 miles per hour (mph).
The competition
The Eco-Marathon has three classes of competition: gasoline-fueled, diesel-fueled and LPG-fueled. During the competition, cars must attain an average speed of at least 15 mph over a distance of 10 miles. At the end of the course, the amount of fuel used is measured; from that figure, fuel economy is calculated.
Teams who have participated in the competition include
- Team Green [link]
- Microjoule
- Trinity School Racing [link]
Criticism
The cars in this competition are highly impractical for consumer use. They carry no passengers, and the driver is sometimes forced into an uncomfortable position in order to reduce aerodynamic drag. The cars are designed to achieve maximum efficiency at 15 mph. They mostly have few comfort features, due to the levels of safety equipment which is required in the cars, and the obvious issues of aerodynamics, and are not "street-legal."
Eco-Marathon car designers have no doubt discovered many tricks for increasing efficiency, but many observers are disappointed in the slow pace with which mainstream automakers adopt those efficiency improvements.
The overall point of the competition however, is to promote the manufacture and development of environmentally friendly cars, rather than to actually develop cars for the street.
See also
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.