[Graeme]

The first 100mpg car – now that’s a concept with legs

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ith oil prices predicted to hit $200 a barrel by 2010, a competition is under way to design an affordable family car that offers the magical 100 miles to the gallon, says Emma Smith.

An international competition with a $10m (£5m) prize is drawing innovators from around the world who believe they can create a viable ultra-high-mileage, low-emissions vehicle to combat the dual perils of soaring oil prices and global warming.

The Automotive X Prize, or AXP, has already attracted about 50 entries – including two from Britain – although the competition, along with the names of its wealthy backers, will not be formally announced until March.

The teams will then have a year to prepare for the first-round heats, in which they will have to prove their vehicles can exceed 75mpg. The following year, the competitors will battle it out in a final, 10-stage showdown in cities across the United States, with spectators able to watch on a live web link. In the finals, the cars will have to achieve at least 100mpg consistently – less than a third of the 32mpg average fuel consumption of all cars on UK roads.

[perdition79]

An automotive x prize would have been a great idea 15 years ago. Now it's just more polishing the brass on the titanic. We all know that oil will get increasingly scarce, and the personal automobile will probably be the first vehicles on the chopping block when it comes time to cut consumption. We know that petroleum's far too valuable to continue wasting it as a motor fuel; I'd rather have chemically fertilized crops and a bicycle fifteen years from now than have to starve while a fuel-efficient car sits unused in the driveway.