Looks about like the "car" I've been developing in my head, except with about 700 more horsepower. Combine low weight, small tires and incredible aerodynamics. Take this thing, put a 50hp (or even less) engine in it, use some cheaper materials/design, mass produce it and price it less than $20,000. You'll have yourself a vehicle that can get 100mpg and can still carry two people, or one person and some stuff. I like the idea of still being able to drive fast and get good FE. The biggest thing that annoys me about hypermiling is turning those 3 hour trips into 4 hours. If I could cruise the interstate at 83 miles an hour while getting 100+mpg I'd be in heaven.
Have you guys seen the VentureOne? If not, check out http://flytheroad.com When I saw the thread title I though this was the the article subject --you'll see why if you visit the site. I've been keeping an eye on the news from that company and though it is a very interesting concept I've not seen anything substantial coming from them -- the forum posters over there have been quite frustrated with that. Along with the Aptera, I think it is one of the most interesting concepts out there.
Wow 30second 0-300, that sounds like a lot of fun. I like the sound of 25mpg at 250mph. @Right_Lane_Cruiser The venture looks kind of like that dutch vehicle the carver or something like that. I would have no problem driving something like this on my commute. That EV version would be perfect for me.
The VentureOne is in fact based on the Carver. You can find some test footage and it is all in a Carver -- interesting concept and I too could see myself commuting in one of those.
This thing is from Australia right? Does Australia use Imperial gallons? If so, then it only gets about 80 miles per USgal at 100 mph.
You just have to get (or make) a car with a very low Cd and tall gearing to get good FE at normal highway speeds. The way my low Cd, non-hybrid car is currently configured, I have no problem getting 80mpg on a reasonably flat interstate at 65mph. And I've considered putting a used Golf diesel in my car when my current engine wears out, which should be good for over 100mpg at those speeds.
I really am tired of concepts that dont make it to the road, or turn out to be something like the aforementioned. 3 million...that is absolutely ridiculous....absolutely...ridiculous....i thought the idea of getting better mileage was to keep more money in your pocket.
I think the point of this vehicle is the over 300 MPH top speed , hahaha not the 80 mpg .. that is just a little side note on creating an efficient design and engine ... hahhaa , you guys are hilarious .... ( this is in regards to the people saying that the 80 or 100 mpg is not that impresive and that thir prius/geo metro... can get that much ... )
If a Hayabusa motor is getting that kind of FE in that thing, it must be light. So I'll take one with a Kawasaki 250cc motor. 200mpg at 40mph sounds doable.
In addition to weight, cd, tall gearing and rolling resistance, we actually need SMALLER engines. Big engines just don't produce small power efficiently. Edit: With a well-designed CVT, I wonder how much power output you really need for a 2500lb car. 50hp? 25? Obviously it depends on the design, but as I understand it takes less than 20hp to cruise a medium sized car at 65mph. Is triple-digit horsepower silly for anything that doesnt tow?
I'm sort of imagining one of those future worlds where everyone has one of these things and it's all computer controlled on special roads/tracks. I'd get to work in about 5 minutes. It really won't be for getting groceries. Well, maybe you'd have one programmed to bring the groceries to you.
You must remember that much automotive technology that we have today was developed through racing. I think that an vehicle putting out 750hp that still gets 100mpg@100mph is very impressive. See how much mileage you get from a 750hp American v8. They would probably be single digits.
Now thats cool (although slightly less than practical for those of us who prefer efficiency to speed on the road) Thought you guys may get a kick out of this. Jim is quite an amazing, accomplished famous/infamous aircraft designer (opinions vary about the famous/infamous part, but not the amazing/accomplised...). Jim designed this "car/motorcycle" circa 1980. For those of you who don't know who Jim is, he designed the BD- series of aircraft, the most famous of which was the BD-5, which many people would recognize as the "Budweiser" or "Coors" jet, and was flown through a hangar in one of the James Bond movies. No matter what anyone says about Jim, he has always been well ahead of his time as a designer and he continues shows the world what can be done... http://www.autocycles.org/compare.html Sometimes it takes a designer to "dream big" to come up with an idea, then someone else runs with it to make it more - appropriate? affordable? realistic? Would love to see someone make one of these that gets 200mpg at normal highway speeds and costs about the same as an inexpensive car!
