The Mototracer team is feeling pretty happy:
Friends of the MonoTracer!
As some of you might already know, the X Tracer Team Switzerland is currently competing in the world's toughest competition for high efficient vehicles, the 10-million-$-X-Prize. For details on the Prize, go to:
Welcome | Progressive Automotive X PRIZE
We completed the first part of the competition, called Shakedown Phase, which took place at Michigan International Speedway near Detroit, USA, from 2nd to 8th of May successfully with both E-Tracer's (here appropriately called X-Tracer's...) going smoothly through to the next step. That will be Knockout Event from 20th to 30th of June, where only the best 15 teams will survive, from 111 teams that entered the X-Prize one year ago. We will surely be among them.
What gives us that kind of confidence, then? Well, in terms of efficiency, there is nobody in sight that could beat us, and that by far. We are regularly achieving 200 up to 300 miles per gallon equivalent (0,7 to 1,0 Liter of gasoline in form of electricity per 100 kilometers) while more or less the whole rest of the competition is struggling badly to even get to the minimum target of 100 mpge. Even some of the electric vehicles have trouble, because this is not measured at some stupid EU or US manufacturer-friendly slow cycle like the absurd NEFZ (neuer europäischer Fahrzyklus at about 35 km/h average) but at real world speeds of over 50 mph/80 km/h average.
When it gets to outright speed, there is no real match for our performance, either. We lapped all of the vehicles at least twice during the 20-lap/60 km durability run, including a certain Mr Al Unser jr, twice Indy 500 winner, driving the ZAP Alias. Now Felix has something to bragg about and tell his grandchildren...and during all of that lapping, my AC-Propulsion on-board-display always showed around 109 Wh/kilometer, and that is 220 mpge.
So it's really down to us not to make any mistakes, the two E-Tracer's holding together and no "political" or even "nationalistic" hanky-panky within the X-Prize jury taking place. I do however trust that a mostly philantrophically fueled non-profit foundation will not want to risk it's good name and give in to some protests that may or may not arise when it gets down and dirty to the final 2,5 million US$ purse for our "Tandem division in Alternative Class". What else then a E-Tracer is truly alternative, anyway? Can a narrow car, no matter who is making PR for them, be alternative if they need 1000 lbs of batteries in the floor to prevent it from falling over in corners? Stick with that coffee, George...:-)
There were other teams, however, that made a big impression on us. Like our garage neighbors from North Carolina, the green EVII. A nice vehicle run by a bunch of great guys. Or the much laughed at foam car from Spiro in Thailand. But given the fact that the little threewheeler could be produced for less than 1000 US$, it suddenly makes a lot more sense. 100'000's of people in Asia and India get killed every year riding a motorcycle. And that can't be solved with E-Tracers or Nano Tata's, either. But with that little foam tub. One of my favorites, and i'm sorry i did them wrong in the forefront of the competition.
One of the reasons i think that we might actually make it to the class win is the fact that the press made us one of their darlings immediately. we did interviews with Popular Mechanics and video sessions with Discovery Channel and some others, and a gloosy professional shoot with a star fotographer that will appear in several magazines. And of course it all has to do with the appearance, general impression, fit & finish and performance of the E-Tracer's. Sometimes, it helps to look good...;-)
I'll get back to you with more news as we march through! our blog will be updated when we get back to the USA on 20th of June...
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