Earlier today, President Obama called on American automakers to increase fuel efficiency in the wake of the Gulf Oil spill, particularly for trucks. Though their creation is about the furthest thing from a big rig we can imagine — it looks more like some sort of hover vehicle — they might want to look to this hydrogen-powered car by France’s Team Polyjoule. The unnamed prototype has by far the highest fuel efficiency ever recorded — 4,896 kilometers per liter, or 11,516 MPG.
The previous record, set in 2005, was 3,836 kilometers per liter, or 9,023 MPG.
This year’s car, which won Shell’s annual Eco Marathon, was the result of a collaboration between Polytech Nantes and a previously competing group, Lycée La Joliverie. (“Polyjoule” being a cute science pun on the beginnings of the teams’ respective names.) According to one competitor, this year’s car, which was powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, was the product of “five years’ research.”
Tech like this may be a long way from our local dealerships, but when (if!) big automakers adopt
