Automotive X PRIZE Announced; Will Include Aptera Motors
8/3/07 – The X PRIZE Foundation, best known for its $10 million Ansari X PRIZE which resulted in the world’s first private vehicle to fly into space twice within two weeks, has announced that it will launch the Automotive X PRIZE competition, which will include Pasadena-based Aptera Motors. The Foundation, based in Santa Monica, says the new international competition is designed to “inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles to help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change.” Aptera is one of 30 teams to sign up to this point.
Aptera is an IdeaLab startup that is developing an ultra-fuel efficient automobile. In March the company unveiled a prototype of its concept car that gets gas mileage of 200 miles-per-gallon.
The Automotive X PRIZE competition is open to teams from around the world to prove they can design, build and bring to market 100 mile-per-gallon or equivalent fuel economy vehicles that people want to buy. The Foundation says that once officially funded and launched, industry experts will scrutinize team plans. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stages that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed a 100 mile-per-gallon equivalent, fall under strict emissions caps and finish in the fastest time.
The competition is expected to travel through multiple cities while broadcasting to a global audience in 2009 and 2010, with the goal of building consumer demand for vehicles in the competition and demonstrating many practical, clean and affordable vehicle options, according to X PRIZE.
X PRIZE Foundation – www.xprize.org
Comments
Videos of the earlier Aptera Mk0 can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/apteramotors
Posted by: steve | August 5, 2007 06:19 AM
You can see more of Aptera here:
http://www.youtube.com/apteramotors
http://www.myspace.com/theaptera
http://www.aptera.com
Posted by: steve | August 5, 2007 01:53 PM
I would like to be on the assembly line helping you build these marvelous machines. Are you hireing?
Posted by: Rick Bagwell | October 5, 2007 06:03 AM