Although Tata Motors’, Indica Vista EV-X, the only Indian participant at the $10mn Automotive X-Prize competition to produce highly efficient production-ready cars, failed to wow the judges at the competition, the event surely had some prized models worth noticing. Leading the trail is one light-weight petrol-driven four-wheeler, “Very Light Car No. 98”, which also won the biggest prize of $5mn at the competition.
While it’s not likely to go on sale in its current form, Edison2’s lightweight vehicle with gull-wing doors was cited for its innovative use of lightweight materials, its superior aerodynamics and its very low production cost. Oliver Kuttner, the founder of Lynchburg, USA-based Edison2, said his target price is $20,000.
The “Very Light Car No. 98” seats four and is built on a steel frame of mostly aluminum parts. That keeps the weight at 376.5 kg, around a quarter of the weight of an average car. It has a space-age, race car look and a tear drop shape, with the wheels set far out from the car to help deflect crashes.
Kuttner, a real-estate developer and race-car driver, said a team of around 100 people — including many racing veterans — developed the car. They opted for a one-cylinder, ethanol-capable engine instead of an electric car because batteries add weight and gas is readily available. But the team said its innovations in aerodynamics and the use of lightweight materials could apply to any kind of vehicle.
“We’ve been working on these types of solutions, really, all our lives,” Kuttner said. “In racing, fuel is a precious resource. One less pit stop is the difference between winning and losing.”
Kuttner said Edison2 spent more than the prize money, $5mn, to develop the car, but he wouldn’t give an exact figure.
Some of the prize money will go into development of the next generation light car, Kuttner said. The team is focused on making the car more consumer-friendly and “easier on the eyes” but without adding to its weight or hurting its fuel economy. Once Edison2 is convinced the car is ready, Kuttner plans to find partners to manufacture and distribute it.
Among other winners were, US-based Li-Ion Motor Corps, which made Wave2, a two-seater electric car that gets 300 km on a charge, and X-Tracer Team of Winterthur, Switzerland, whose motorcycle-like electric mini-car, the E-Tracer 7009, gets 330 km on a charge. Both Wave2 and E-Tracer won $2.5mn each. The two companies are currently taking orders for their cars.