Three fuel-efficient cars were last week declared the winners of the US$10-million Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize. The over 100 miles-per-gallon (100 mpg) winners were selected from among a total of 136 competing vehicles.
Though all the participating vehicles in this important, yet difficult, competition deserve appreciation, the three winners were: Edison2’s Very Light Car (VLC); the bright yellow E-Tracer; and battery-electric hybrid Wave II.
The VLC was declared the “Mainstream class” winner and it claimed $5 million of the prize money. The remaining $5 million prize money was split between the motorcycle-like electric mini-car E-Tracer, which was declared the Alternative Class-Tandem class winner; and the North Carolina-based Li-Ion Motors’ Wave II, which was the Alternative Class winner.
The 376kg VLC achieves 100mpg+ by the way of its 40 horsepower motorcycle engine; the Wave II managed to get 187 miles on a charge; and the E-Tracer – developed by X-Tracer Team of Winterthur, Switzerland – managed to get 187 miles on a charge.
The 111 teams developing the cars for the Progressive Insurance-funded X Prize competition were given as many as 30 months. Upon completion of their development, the cars were put through driving, safety and efficiency tests.
Talking about VLC’s win, Oliver Kuttner, the founder of Lynchburg, Virginia-based Edison2, said: “We've been working on these types of solutions, really, all our lives. In racing, fuel is a precious resource. One less pit stop is the difference between winning and losing.”
