3,145 Miles Per Gallon (0.074 litres/100 km)

Engineering students from the University of British Columbia (UBC) have won the Society of Automotive Engineers Supermileage Competition on June 9, beating 40 teams from Canada, the U.S. and India, with a vehicle that achieved 3,145 miles per US gallon (0.074 litres/100 km). It's the fourth time in six years that the UBC wins first place. In ideal conditions, their 2006 vehicle can do Vancouver to Halifax on a gallon (3.79 litres) of gas, costing less than $5 at the pump. The team captain, Kevin Li, says: "We achieved this level of efficiency by optimizing many aspects of the vehicle design, including: aerodynamics, light-weight construction, a small displacement engine (54 cc), and conservative driving habits". Of course, we're not about to see such cars on our roads, but we can bet that all students involved have learned many important things that they will take with them once they're out of school, and it's also safe to say that big players in the industry are paying attention for breakthroughs and tricks that they can apply to their own vehicles. ::Supermileage Competition, ::UBC Engineers Create Vehicle that Travels from Vancouver to Halifax on a Gallon of Gas, via ::Jalopnik