Progressive Automotive X-Prize [Final] Round

[Patrick]

X-prize finally posted some results from Knockout. These are only for week 1. What's really interesting to me is that the relatively boxy Tata (at 134 MPGe) is doing better than a lot of the streamliners (and Aptera) and is almost up there with the Xtracer streamlined motorcycle (at 180 MPGe).

http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org...ults_final.pdf

[NeilBlanchard]

Illuminati Seven is out with a busted transmission. Leaving the two Edison2 cars as the only mainstream cars left in the contest. This is not what the folks at X-Prize would have hoped for, I think? Given that they put up the largest part of the prize money for the mainstream class.

Also, the TW4XP is also out due to the acceleration test, apparently, though they are appealing. I got to have a good long talk with Matin and the others on the team -- they are really in this for the "right reasons" and they are a great bunch of people.

Everybody that I talked to, even from teams that I had overlooked or that I had dismissed (my mistake!) -- made me realize that everybody had put in an amazing amount of work, and they all had made great strides, and have learned a great deal about making efficient cars.

[cfg83]

Neil -

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Illuminati Seven is out with a busted transmission. Leaving the two Edison2 cars as the only mainstream cars left in the contest. This is not what the folks at X-Prize would have hoped for, I think? Given that they put up the largest part of the prize money for the mainstream class.

Also, the TW4XP is also out due to the acceleration test, apparently, though they are appealing. I got to have a good long talk with Matin and the others on the team -- they are really in this for the "right reasons" and they are a great bunch of people.

Everybody that I talked to, even from teams that I had overlooked or that I had dismissed (my mistake!) -- made me realize that everybody had put in an amazing amount of work, and they all had made great strides, and have learned a great deal about making efficient cars.

Too bad about Illuminati. Is the Aptera still in the running? Also, what did you think of the Global-E cars, especially the G1 (26)? I never noticed this car until it appeared at the X-Prize and was curious as to what the car is like.

CarloSW2

[RobertSmalls]

Edison2's cars #97 and #98 are the carbon fiber and fiberglass four seaters, respectively. Look at those pre-penalty scores of 101mpg and 80mpg. That's impressive. But what did car #97 do to lose 34mpg to penalties? It's also impressive that they're still in the running despite that large penalty.

Are there any primarily gasoline-fired cars left besides the three Very Light Cars and WWU's entry?

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

But what did car #97 do to lose 34mpg to penalties?

It was overheating so they stopped multiple times to splash water on it, incurring penalty laps.

[Patrick]

Originally Posted by RobertSmalls

Are there any primarily gasoline-fired cars left besides the three Very Light Cars and WWU's entry?

The Spira. I think it uses a scooter drivetrain. It's probably one of the few that will make it to production since it's so cheap to make.

[NeilBlanchard]

As far as I know, the Aptera is still in the running. They had overheating problems under the hood, and apparently had transmission issues during the penalty lap.

The Global-E car was much more interesting than I originally thought: it was a Prius floor pan and drive train, with a Celica roof grafted on, and their own bodywork. They used a 22kWh battery pack (IIRC) in *place* of the stock Prius battery, and they changed the software to get this to work. Their DQ resulted from a ignition mapping error that kept the ICE in startup mode, so it ran too rich.

One of their team members is going to try and help me get the CarBEN 3D model translated into CATIA or SolidWorks, so we can do CFD.

Both the Edison2 mainstream cars are virtually the same (as is the tandem #95): they both have steel tube chassis, and carbon fiber panels and doors. The biggest differences were in the cooling systems -- they wanted to test variations, and the one with the largest radiator and a larger electric cooling assist fan was the best performing. They will be making this and other improvements to both cars. The only fiberglass body Edison2 car was the #96 side-by-side one (painted silver), that is out of the competition -- it was the only car that had a mid-engine layout. It was the oldest version of the VLC chassis -- the three remaining cars are all rear-engine layouts; but they all use the same basic 250cc Yamaha engine.

The other differences between the three remaining Edison2 cars is the "chrome" vinyl membrane -- the all black (carbon) car was much hotter inside, and the full coverage one was the best.

The WSU car was also very interesting: it had an Insight 1 drivetrain, as well as an electric drivetrain -- so it was a "hybrid-hybrid". Their EV drivetrain is capable of 60-70 miles range, so, they use it first. Then the Insight engine is used, along with it's IMA. They had a really complicated job keeping all three systems working and in balance.

The Spira uses a 500cc 2-cylinder Kawasaki (from the EX-500?) with it's swing arm on the right rear wheel. The left rear has just a swing arm, so there are FOUR rear shocks and springs. While this vehicle looks hokey, it actually performed really well, and it is the lightest one in the competition, and it would be the least expensive to build. They are looking at the Asian market, I'm pretty sure.

[Laurentiu]

Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard

Illuminati Seven is out with a busted transmission.

too bad for them , their MPG was 20% more than Edison 2 team and that car looks wicked !!, looks more "realistic" sturdy and quite spacious, as well as reminding me of the early Porsche 356

[NeilBlanchard]

The side profile is kinda' like a stretched Tucker?

[Laurentiu]

yea...and as a coincidence both the 356 and the tucker started being made in 1948