Jack Murray wrote:
> The winner proclaimed he entered to make a profit on the prize money,
> not build a production car. nuff said.
Oliver Kuttner, the man behind the "Edison2" team that won the
mainstream category has certainly built up a reputation as being
something of a character in his local area, near where I now find myself
living. And latest report is they are going to try electric(!).
I've been intrigued following his postings to the team's FaceBook page
(under "Edison2", no membership required, or link from their web site at
www.edison2.com). Tidbits that stayed with me:
They chose ethanol not because of a particular love for the fuel, but
because they felt it gave them the best chance of winning. And he went
into to win.
A essay describing his stance as a "fuel agnostic", ie a fence-sitter
about electrics.
In turn, it was a pleasant surprise to read in this weeks "Hook" (local
news magazine) that "the team is now hard at work on a next generation
edition of the Very Light Car, this time with an electric engine and
assistance from fellow X Prize competitors Li-ion Motors (winner of one
of the two-seater X Prize categories) and a firm called TW4XP."
http://www.readthehook.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/16/kuttner-conquers-olivers-edison2-car-wins-5-million-x-prize/
As for the winning car, I too am a bit disappointed. I originally
understood that the goal of mainstream was to build a mass-producible
consumer-ready vehicle. I doubt the many engine mod tricks and exotic
materials for weight reduction would scale up well. I don't know about
heat and air conditioning that Lee mentioned, but from the Hook article
it did say the engine runs very load (ie saved weight on a better
muffler) and has no reverse gear(!), saving a bit more weight*. I know
they had a very talented team working on this so I'm sure it all fits
within the rules, but... I have to wonder about the rules/goals that
were established.
The Hook article seconds Mathew's comments on the collaborations formed
between the various teams so I hope good things will come.
*The print version of The Hook includes a short bit from a reporter who
got to go for a spin, but I can't find it on-line. In part it says: "So
what's it like on the road? Well, for now at least, it's noisy. 'We'll
fix that', shouts Kuttner on a drive through town. 'You have to
remember, this is a prototype. It's a race car.' Showing off handling...
the car clung steadily to the road... A turbo boost sent the car
hurtling faster, and braking was smooth and steady. Turning around was
a different story, since the hand-built 6-speed currently has no reverse."
--
Jim Coate
Waynesboro, VA
http://www.FreeRangeElectric.com
http://www.ElectricTractorStore.com
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