- Event: The UBC Supermileage Team will demonstrate two cars in advance of the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas competition for ultra energy-efficient vehicles
- Date/Time: Wednesday, April 2, 2014, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- Location: Main Mall and Crescent Road
In front of the Belkin Art Gallery, 1825 Main Mall - Map:http://www.maps.ubc.ca/?568
The UBC Supermileage Team has developed two vehicles, the Odysseus and the Mark IX, to send to the annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas competition for ultra energy-efficient vehicles on April 24 in Houston, Texas. Both cars will be on display at Wednesday’s event and the team will demo the Odysseus.
Resembling a smart car, the 86-kg Odysseus is a single-passenger, four-wheeled vehicle that achieves a fuel efficiency of 577 miles per gallon (0.4 litres/100 km).
“We’ve refined our design from last year by reducing the weight of the vehicle with advanced materials like carbon fibre composites,” says UBC Supermileage team captain Ryan Gibson, a fourth-year engineering student. “We’ve also optimized the engine and will be relying on efficient driving habits such as eliminating unnecessary acceleration and braking.”
The bullet-shaped Mark IX is entered in the prototype category. It is designed to surpass last year’s entry, the Mark VIII, which achieved a fuel efficiency of 1,383 miles per gallon (0.17 litres/100 km).
UBC will compete against 125 teams from North and South America including California Polytechnic State University, Purdue University and the University of California at Berkeley.
Learn more about the Shell Eco Marathon America competition here.