At the first instance it may seem like a futuristic vehicle concept shown at some glitzy exhibition. But the truth of the matter is this is an utterly advanced vehicle conceived by a Canadian team called Alerion Supermileage, which won the Shell Eco-marathon Americas student design competition. And truly living up to its name, the car had actually maintained a phenomenal mileage of 2564.8 mpg (1,090 kilometer-per-liter), to be exact!
We should hark back to statistical figures, just to allude to the exceptionally impressive nature of this feat. A conventional vehicle in U.S. typically average between 15 to 40 miles per U.S. gallon (19 to 50 miles per imperial gallon). Now compare that to the 2500 miles per gallon mileage of this remarkable vehicle; as logical mathematical calculations show it is at least 50 times more than conventional mileage. All of this was supposedly achieved by innovative design considerations like the lightweight polycarbonate body, the crafty aerodynamic features and of course the sturdy engine itself; in a way clearly hinting to the potential of our future vehicles.
Though, if one is familiar with the Shell Eco-marathon competitions, it really shouldn’t come as a surprise. For example just in the previous year a French technical school St. Joseph La Joliverie reached a whopping 6,973.4 mpg (2,964.7 km/l) mileage in the European version of the competition. But the main problem that lies with such concepts is that many of them are not practically applicable for a more commercial mode of commuting. They are just designed specifically for astronomical mileages, not for convenient driving and smooth controls.
So in 2009, Shell introduced a new category in the competition that deals specifically with urban commuting and the safety features associated with it. And even adhering to such stringent norms, a Louisiana Tech University team won the category with their fusion styled (of Plymouth Prowler and Mazda) vehicle, which achieved a comprehensive mileage of 647 mpg (275 km/liter).
Via: National Geographic
