The video shows, for one, part of the construction process of the car. The fun part however begins some 1 minute into the video, when the vehicle is taken on the road for a spin.
The vehicle, built on a 2000 Lola Indy Car chassis, managed to achieve during testing an efficiency of 300 mpg (0.78 l/100 km), a figure which surely qualifies the car for a record. The feat has been achieved by maintaining the weight to the minimum.
The school claims that it has managed to achieve even better fuel efficiency, even if only for a short period of time. One of the drivers of the vehicle, Mario Ramirez, while cruising at 25 mpg (40 km/h), managed to achieve a fuel economy rating of 444 mpg (0.52 l/100 km).
Weight has been saved by using an ultra lightweight aerodynamic body (which, perhaps even cooler, is transparent), while the efficiency of the vehicle has been enhanced by using Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 tires. Bridgestone is a supporter of the project, having provided the Texas Proving Grounds compound for the car to be tested on.
Bridgestone also conducted research to determine which tires would deliver the lowest rolling resistance, finding that the Ecopia EP100 are best suited for this task.
The car uses an in-house built electric driveline and electric propulsion system but, unfortunately, the specs and performances of the car have not been released.
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