Hybrid Vehicle Nears 100-mpg Barrier in Rally

A specially modified hybrid-electric Honda Insight achieved nearly 100 miles per gallon (mpg) over a 150-mile course last weekend, falling just short of the “100 MPG Challenge” at the National 2005 Tour de Sol. The 17th annual Tour de Sol – billed as “a sustainable energy and transportation festival and competition” – was held May 13-16 in Sarasota Springs and Albany, New York, and featured more than 60 hybrid, electric, and bio-fueled vehicles.

The Tour de Sol also featured a 500-mile Monte Carlo-style road rally, which was won by a Honda Insight that averaged 79 mpg, a Toyota Prius that averaged 61 mpg, and a biodiesel-fueled Volkswagen Passat that averaged 77 mpg. Other innovative vehicles at the Tour de Sol included two biodiesel-fueled hybrid vehicles and a biodiesel-fueled DaimlerChrysler Smart vehicle that achieved 67 mpg.

And actually, there was one vehicle at the Tour de Sol that achieved better than 100 mpg, but that was because of an electrical boost: Valence Corporation and Energy Control Systems Engineering modified a Toyota Prius to carry a high-capacity lithium-ion battery pack charged with 9 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Their “plug-in” Prius achieved 102 mpg over a 150-mile course.

While a number of homemade electric vehicles were present at the Tour de Sol, the current paucity of commercial electric vehicles may soon be addressed by Mitsubishi Motors. The company is developing a compact electric vehicle called the Colt EV, which draws on a lithium-ion battery pack to power four 20-kilowatt, in-wheel electric motors.

The next race is June 12. The Junior Solar Sprint offers students an opportunity to learn by means of a friendly competition against their peers where students take responsibility for the design, construction, and performance of a model solar-electric vehicle.

http://www.nesea.org