Meet the Virginia-Built 110MPG X-Prize Car 370
tcd004 writes "Instead of using Detroit engineers or Silicon Valley bitheads, Virginia-based Edison2 relied on retired Formula 1 and Nascar engineers to build its entry for the X-prize. Relying on composite materials and titanium, the team assembled an ultra-lightweight car that provides all the comforts of a standard 4-passenger vehicle, but gets more than 100 mpg. The custom engineering goes all the way down to the car's lug nuts, which weigh less than 11 grams each. Amazingly, they expect a production version of the car should cost less than $20,000." Earlier today, in a Washington, DC ceremony, Edison2 received $5 million as the X-prize winner. Writes the AP (via Google) "Two other car makers will split $2.5 million each: Mooresville, N.C.-based Li-Ion Motors Corp., which made the Wave2, a two-seat electric car that gets 187 miles on a charge, and X-Tracer Team of Winterthur, Switzerland, whose motorcycle-like electric mini-car, the E-Tracer 7009, gets 205 miles on a charge. Both of those companies are taking orders for their cars."
Better story at Wired (Score:5, Informative)
The story at Wired [wired.com] has pictures.
Official Edison2 website (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Huh? (Score:1, Informative)
They get 2.5 each. It was a 10 mil prize total.
Re:Nice car (Score:5, Informative)
Like they've ensured Tesla Roadsters never get to the road, nor the Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, or the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd generation of Toyota Hybrids. Oil companies may have been able to get a stranglehold on battery patents before, but the EV genie is out of the bottle. So, go buy one (if it fits your driving needs).
Re:Cognitive dissonance (Score:4, Informative)
It looks like they opted for non-scarce materials according to the official site: [edison2.com]
The Very Light Car is a more sustainable vehicle. Not just efficient to drive, but cradle-to-grave environmentally responsible. Less mass means fewer material inputs. Energy intensive materials and hazardous or scarce materials are largely avoided in favor of conventional materials, such as aluminum and steel, that are readily available, easily made in volume, and completely recyclable.
Production costs $20,000? Yeah right (Score:1, Informative)
Titanium is expensive. It's not easy to fix. And the aircraft industry has gobbled it up. My company has seen titanium prices go up 6 fold in the past few years due to the 787 and the A380 using similar titanium/composite bodies. While it's come down in the recent years, raw titanium is still roughly $11/lb, vs steel which runs about $.50/lb. While you use less lbs of titanium for a car than you do steel because titanium is lighter, it's not 5% of the weight of steel. The raw material on this thing will likely cost 5-8x what a regular car will cost.
Low Speed Vehicle (Score:5, Informative)
The NEV article states the safety requirements:
In addition, some states have increased the MPH limit (owner can easily mod this) to 35MPH, allowing them to travel on 45MPH roads in the slow lane:
All of this adds up to a vehicle that is good for local commuting (if allowed on the 45MPH "expressways") and grocery grabbing, with minimal safety requirements and if it's non-emissions, also benefit from tax incentives.
I'm definitely keeping my eye on this, it'd be great for those days when I don't want to ride the bike to work (i.e., have to pick up the kid). The Edison2 car would fit nicely here (though it wouldn't get tax credits).
Re:Huh? (Score:3, Informative)
It's grammatical nonsense.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who read that and went "huh?".
Re:Nice car (Score:2, Informative)
P.S.
Volkswagen is now making a two-seater that gets ~200 Highway MPG. I wish I could buy it here in the US.
Re:Nice car (Score:3, Informative)
Because those processes cost too much (Score:5, Informative)
why weld? just form/machine the parts and then bolt together, see "billet aluminium car" by kirkham motor sports.
Machining is the most expensive way to produce a metal part. You start with a block of metal and grind away everything that isn't the part. It's very wasteful, in terms of energy, even if you recycle the waste metal chips. The cheapest methods are stamping or casting. Guess how most metal car parts are made?
Robotic welding is cheap, repeatable and produces strong assemblies. Bolting tends to be labor intensive, and adds more weight (bolts weigh more than welds).
It's not like the existing car companies haven't analyzed these alternatives more than a few times over the last 100 or so years.
Hmmph. Seat ibiza gets 97.4mpg (Score:4, Informative)
Seat ibiza gets 97.4mpg and it's a real car:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/carreviews/firstdrives/237415/seat_ibiza_ecomotive.html [autoexpress.co.uk]
Re:Can it meet safety standards? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Sad thing being... (Score:3, Informative)