Automotive X Prize

Edison2's Very Light Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Conceived as a catalyst for change, the Progressive Automotive X Prize is an event engineers dream of and dreamers engineer to win. At stake is a share of a $10 million purse and the opportunity to impact the world. Announced in March 2008, the backers of the X Prize hoped their significant purse would speed the development of more efficient automotive transportation. How efficient? How about at least 100 mpg?

X-Tracer – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive X-Prize vehicles line up in the Knockout Stage – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive X-Prize vehicles line up in the Knockout Stage – Click above for high-res image gallery

In just a short while, the Automotive X-Prize will come to an end with an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C. Wish you could be there? So do we, but we'll all have to make due with the next best thing: live streaming of the event. Starting at 10:30 a.m. EDT this morning, the X-Prize team will offer a live video feed here.

The on-track testing portions of the Automotive X-Prize are over with, and the vast majority of teams have been eliminated from contention. However, the $10 million in prize money won't be handed out until September 16. Before those checks are signed, the remaining competitors will have to complete a drive cycle on a dynamometer at the Argonne National Labratory. The dyno results will be averaged with the on-track results and t

Edison2's Very Light Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive X-Prize Knockout Stage – Click above for high-res image gallery

TW4XP at the Automotive X-Prize – Click above for high-res image gallery

After the first week of the Progressive Automotive X-Prize's Finals Stage, some of the better-known teams will have to say good-bye and watch the rest of the competition from the sidelines. According to a new press release from the AXP, Tata Motors, Amp, Commuter Car

Edison2's Very Light Car gets packed with ice – Click above for high-res image gallery

The picture above was taken today at the Automotive X-Prize event at the Michigan International Speedway, and it shows – in the simplest way possible – the goal of the competition: a car that gets more than 100 miles per gallon equivalent (mpge). The X-Prize was supposed to bring us the best, most efficient vehicle possible and award the winning team millions of dollars for developing it. While there's no questio

The Finals Stage of the Progressive Automotive X-Prize is taking place this week and, if nothing else, the organizers and teams involved now really know what they're doing. Most everything is running well and the teams "sailed" through tech inspection, in the words of Eric Cahill, the X-Prize's senior director. Also, there are fewer cars now to test, so the scene at the Michigan International Speedway is quiet and tense. After

Edison2's Very Light Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

Illuminati Motor Works at the Automotive X-Prize – Click above to watch video Sebastian Blanco

Amp Equinox – Click above for high-res image gallery

Automotive X-Prize Knockout Stage – Click above for high-res image gallery

Edison2's Very Light Car – Click above for high-res image gallery

While the Automotive X-Prize has not yet issued any official press release about which teams have made it through the Knockout Stage, some of the teams are spreading the good news about their results. Western Washington University, the team behind the Viking 45, says it is one of 12 teams left in the $10 million competition. Team Leader Eric Leonhardt said in a statement that: