Shell Eco-Marathon In France This Weekend
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 05.16.06
Rev up for this weekend's Shell Eco-Marathon Finals in Nagaro, France. The principle of the race is simple: to drive the maximum number of kilometres on a motor circuit with the highest energy yield possible. Teams are free to use any conventionally available energy source, including petrol (gasoline), diesel, LPG (propane), solar, electric, hydrogen or biomass. Over 21 years the fuel economy has improved dramatically- in 2003 team Microjoule from France achieved fuel consumption of 10,705 miles per gallon, which beats your usual CAFE standards by a bit. (Warren covered an entry yesterday that got 3556 MPG, but we think we are getting into conversion problems between metric, imperial and American gallons. Lets just say they all get damn fine mileage) 255 teams from 20 countries are participating this year- 163 running on gasoline, 21 on diesel, 19 on Propane and 52 on alternative fuels like hydrogen, biofuel, solar or electric. We suspect that in terms of excitement it is not exactly NASCAR- how long does it take? However the air will smell better and being in France, the concession food will be just fine. ::Shell Eco-Marathon
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Can I enter with my bicycle? ...and just fill the paneers with as much liquified food and water as I can fit. I reckon I could get 200 miles on a gallon of good soup, anymore and I'll start feeling dizzy.
Tom, I read somewhere that bicycles get the equivalent of about 8,000-10,000 mpg (gasoline). But maybe with a super-aerodynamic fairing, you could multiply that ten-fold or so...
Do you mean that more soup will get you dizzy or more riding?
the town is nogaro, not nagaro
http://www.ethlife.ethz.ch/e/articles/sciencelife/pac2ladoux.html
"...Last weekend the car set a new world record in fuel efficiency. On Saturday the PAC Car covered the sensational (converted) distance of 5,134 kilometres with just a litre of petrol; they topped the following day with 5,385 km...."
as you will see from this recent item distance is now cited in 1000s
of kilometres per litre
here are some conversions
http://www.abelard.org/news/archive-oil1-2.htm#measurement_comparisons_liquids
from the conversions...
5,385 km/litre
is 20,382 km per us gallon
and 24,480 km per uk gallon
or
is 12,738 miles per us gallon
and 15,300 miles per uk gallon
here are some 'ordinary' road vehicle comparisons
http://www.abelard.org/briefings/transportable-fuel.asp#comparison_us
regards...
(corrected)
This sounds like the grown-up version of the SAE Supermileage competition here in the states. I attended one a few summers ago as a spectator, and yes, it was considerably more relaxed than a Nascar event. Folks were free to wander across the track, kibbitz with the teams, or buy a soda for their favorite driver.
The Supermileage event is gasoline-only, starting with a specific 1-cylinder Briggs engine, and modifications from that point are completely unrestricted. Mostly it comes down to aerodynamics and rolling resistance, though drivetrain efficiency isn't always as easy as it looks. The fun part is that it's open to high schools as well as colleges, and some of the youngsters have placed surprisingly well.
this sounds great. i wonder if i can get it on cable here in ny.
i'd like to see some eco car speed races. maybe a race for the finish in which there were minimum fuel economy requirements for each class. cars that exceeded the requirements would get awarded additional points.