Progressive Automotive X-Prize [Final] Round

[Patrick]

Wow, Aptera DNFd in the range test today. They only had a couple miles to go to complete it. They had completed 68, but had to do at least one penalty lap because they had an unscheduled stop. They only made it about 1/4 of the way into the first penalty lap. Initial word is they had a fluid leak from the Borg-Warner reduction transmission.

[Patrick]

American HyPower is out too, though they claim it's not due to a failure with their system.

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

I'm having a really hard time finding coverage of these events. I want to know how each team does, in mpg, and which events the eliminated teams failed.

On the website, all I've found is a webcam, and this: Standings | Progressive Automotive XPRIZE

Ian Osgood put up this summary page on Wiki:

User:IanOsgood/Automotive X Prize standings - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MetroMPG]

Patrick: I assume Aptera continues on with other cars on hand, like Edison2?

Matt: more info about the FourSight/Insight cars: Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Automotive X Prize: A tale of two teams--Wikispeed, FourSight

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Patrick: I assume Aptera continues on with other cars on hand, like Edison2?

I don't know. The X-prize website only shows that they have one car.

I heard one of the track guys say over the radio that Aptera was declaring a DNF.

But then Aptera posted a few minutes ago on their Team page that they passed the range test. So maybe they were given a reprieve by the officials?

[Patrick]

The West Philly team says they're out: All Good Things

So that would mean there are only two teams left in mainstream: Edison2 with their 2 Very Light Cars powered by E85; and Illuminati with the battery-only "7."

It looks like it will be very tough for anyone to get to the 100 mpg goal in Mainstream.

Alternative should be doable, especially for a vehicle like the E-tracer, which is really a faired motorcycle. They were showing over 300 MPGe on the telemetry during the highway test. Aptera was also above 100 (if they're still in the competition), as was the Li-Ion Wave, FVT Evaro, and ZAP Alias.

[gone-ot]

...one "good" result of setting a HIGH goal is that we get to see just "...how far & how close..." the contestants actually can achieve (ie: the B-I-G stretch), which isn't possible when merely 'achievable' goals are used.

...maybe, NO one will meet all the goals, but in the end we can learn just what the realworld "limits" truly are (hooray!).

[NeilBlanchard]

Aptera had to stop 3 times to cool something under the hood. Edison2 had to several cooling stops on one of their cars, too (they ran with different cooling systems, to try things out). Edison2 loaned one of their water sprayers to Aptera. I did not hear that Aptera had not completed the penalty lap (I think it simply adds to the energy consumption) and I heard from several of the Aptera guys (later in the same restaurant) that they had passed.

Aptera only entered the one vehicle. They should have entered an older design prototype as well, in hindsight!

And yes, just the Illuminati and the two Edison2 mainstream cars are left. (The West Philly mainstream Focus hybrid with the Harley engine sounded pretty rough: it sqealed in EV mode, and sounded quite constricted when the Harley was running.)

The interesting thing is that the Illuminati and the Edison2 cars are a study in contrasts: weight difference is huge, pure EV vs pure ICE, homegrown vs professional, one entry vs four...

They have good aero drag in common -- and they are both there for the same reasons: to build as efficient a car as possible! We need to keep this in mind, I think? All the teams are there for the right reasons, IMO.

I will be writing a synopsis as soon as I can, and I will post a copy here. I got home last night, driving the ~825+ miles back to Massachusetts yesterday...] I've uploaded a bunch more pictures: Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket

[gone-ot]

...Thanks, Neil!

...while I'll probably never buy nor own any of those vehicles, I do enjoy knowing that SOMEBODY is "...doing the right thing..." automotive-wise about aerodynamics (Detroit, are you listening?).

...the automotive designers need to take "...some lessons..." from the aircraft companies, especially since jets can now break the 'sound-barrier' without using after-burners.

..."brute force" isn't the only answer for jets...or automobiles!

[Patrick]

The Illuminati 7 was knocked out when the transmission broke during the 0-60 acceleration test. That leaves only the two Edison2 Very Light Cars in the Mainstream class.