We do a lot of talking and thinking about super-fuel-efficient automobiles, and have often contemplated building one. Well the time is now! I think we are ready to design and then build a vehicle.
This vehicle would capable of entering a competition like the Progressive X-Prize. This is nerd-dom at its best. One of the past winners of the Progressive X-Prize is the Edison2 an ultra-light, aerodynamic, and highly-efficiency vehicle.
Here is a little bit of insight into the vehicle ideas we have been tossing around:
Layout: Three or four wheeled with narrow, low rolling-resistance tires.
Seating: 2-4 adults
Safety: It will be road legal and conform to required safety standards.
Efficiency: It will be tested for real-world efficiency and MPG.
Body: would be fiberglass or carbon fiber, with an aerodynamic tear-drop shape.
Chassis: Chrome moly steel skeleton built to incorporate the propulsion, steering and suspension systems, and attach to the body.
Propulsion System:
- A small economical diesel engine which can directly and indirectly power the vehicle.
- A feature to cut out the engine when vehicle is braking or stopped.
- An electric drivetrain compatible with both plug-in EVs, or a fully hybrid-only system.
- A Li-Po or NiMH battery pack, which will be modular so you can easily increase or decrease the capacity as needed.
We have also put some thought into other energy storage techniques, such as flywheel technology. One of the main drawbacks that I can see is that in order for flywheels to provide usable power, it needs to be extremely heavy and and spin at low RPMs (revolutions per minute). Alternatively, it could be lighter if it spun at very high RPMs in a vacuum, but that would increase the cost and complexity of the system one hundred fold.
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