Schools Gearing Up to Show Their Drive at the Annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas Event

The Mater Dei High School team proudly posing for a picture after winning the Prototype Award at last year’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas event. The team had the distinction of setting the marathon’s record with a fuel efficiency of 2,843 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter. Photo courtesy of Shell Oil Co.

HOUSTON - High schools and universities across the Eastern Hemisphere are gearing up for the third annual Shell Eco-marathon Americas event this Friday at the Auto Club Speedway, Fontana, Calif.

“The Eco-marathon challenges teams to design, build, and drive the farthest using the least amount of energy,” said Robin Lebovitz, media relations coordinator for Shell Oil Co.

Student teams manage their projects from start to finish, including vehicle design, financing, and transportation to the event. This year, 52 teams from nine high schools and 32 universities will be competing in two categories- the Prototype and the premiering Urban Concept.

In detailing both categories, Ms. Lebovitz explained that the “futuristic prototypes are streamlined vehicles, where the primary design consideration is reducing drag and maximizing efficiency. The Prototype group encourages a maximum of technical creativity, imposing only minimal restrictions on critical automotive design aspects.

“The Urban Concept vehicles are built to more conventional four-wheel roadworthy criteria. The Urban Concept group is intended to be closer to road going vehicles in appearance and technology, addressing current transportation aspects.”

Of the teams competing, the Prototype entries include 35 vehicles powered by combustion engines; five by fuel cell/hydrogen technology; three by liquid petroleum gas; three by solar power; two by diesel fuel; and one by ethanol gas. The Urban Concept entries include two vehicles powered by combustion engines, and one by solar power.

The winning teams in both categories will receive a grand prize of $5,000 for their schools. And this year, Shell will also have several ‘off track’ awards, including the Safety Award, Technical Innovation Award, and Eco-friendly Award, among others. The awards ceremonies will be on Saturday.

Last year’s Prototype winner was the Mater Dei High School team from Evansville, Ind., which had the distinction of setting the marathon’s record with a fuel efficiency of 2,843 miles per gallon, equivalent to 1,208.6 kilometers per liter.

This May, Shell will also be holding a European Eco-marathon event at the EuroSpeedway, Lausitz, Germany. “The 2008 European event attracted teams from 20 countries. Plans are also underway to bring Shell Eco-marathon to Asia in 2010,” said Ms. Lebovitz.