Edison2 and X-Tracer move to the final stage of the X-Prize competition
The Progressive Automotive x-Prize will award $10 million in prizes to the winners of three car categories: Mainstream, Alternate Class- Tandem, and Alternate Class-Side by Side. One hundred and thirty-six cars representing one hundred and eleven teams began the competition. Now after almost a year, two of those classes have been narrowed down to just one team each with two cars. The Edison2 team is the winner of the Mainstream Class and the X-Tracer is the winner of the Tandem Class. The Side by Side Class is yet to be narrowed down to the final three.
As previously mentioned:
This prize promotes the development of safe, fuel efficient, market viable automobiles. Currently, the international competition for the prize is focused on creating the first 100 mile per gallon "energy equivalency" automobile that is safe, affordable, and appeals to the market.
The final cars in all three categories have had to undergo a series of tests over the past year in order to move on to the final stage of the X-Prize competition. The cars have had to prove that they are production ready, capable of achieving certain distances on one tank or battery charge and capable of reaching and sustaining highway speeds. They have had to pass safety tests and speed tests. All the cars that made it to the final stage have achieved 100 MPG or the energy equivalent of 100 MPGe.
The Edison2 Team had the two winning cars in the Mainstream Category. Although the Edison2 team pared down the features of the car, they kept the essentials like heating, air conditioning (conductive cooling) and an Ipod dock for music. The cars can seat two to four passengers. The cars were built by experts in car racing who incorporated many of the safety features of race cars like a passenger steel cage, collapsible space, and a diamond shape to deflect forces on impact.
These cars run on one cylinder, 250cc turbo charged internal combustion engines using 6.5 gallons of E85. The steel tube car bodies are wrapped in carbon fiber. Many of the parts weigh one tenth of their counterparts on today’s vehicles. Overall the cars are extremely light at about 750 lbs hence its name.
The Mainstream Category entered the shake down stage with 11 teams and 13 cars. This category had to achieve 90 MPGe minimum. The two Edison2 cars #97 and #98 got excellent mileage. Number 97 achieved 95.7 MPGe and #98 achieved 101.3 MPGe under difficult conditions. Car #97 had previously gotten 101.4 MPGe in an earlier stage.
Team X-Tracer has the only two cars left in the tandem division,E-Tracers #72 and #79. This team beat out six other teams and six other cars to make it to the end. Both are two wheel vehicles with what look like training wheels that automatically extend when the cars are moving at low speeds or when there are hazardous road conditions. There is room for one passenger who sits behind the driver (tandem) and room for luggage.
The two battery powered cars differ in their motor size with one using a 90 KW motor while the other uses a 130 KW motor. The cars will get 150 miles on a charge at highway speeds using very little energy. The E-Tracer is modeled on the Peraves MonoTracer, essentially an enclosed motorcycle with all of the safety of a car and the thrill of driving a motorcycle.
The cars are composed of ”Self-supporting composite-monocoque made of composite materials, reinforced with roll bars and Crashbar. Engine frame, steering head and stabilizer axles made from aircraft steel.” In the original gasoline powered MonoTracer, you can add air conditioning and cruise control. The MonoTracer is already on sale for a base price of $89,500.
Although these two teams are the only ones left in their respective categories, they still must make it through the final Validation stage. The Very Light Cars and E-Tracers that made it through this final competition are now going through a coast down event at the Chrysler Proving Ground. Once they finish there, they will head to the Argonne National Labs in Chicago for dynamometer testing.
If Edison2 and X-Tracer have cars that make it through the final two stages, they will be the winners of the Mainstream Category and the Alternate-Tandem Category respectively. Both will claim a portion of the $10 million dollar prize money when the winners are announced in September.
Photographs from X-Prize Team pages and Consumer Reports
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