NEWS
Automotive X-PRIZE competition launched
March 25th, 2008
At the New York International Auto Show on 20th March, the X PRIZE Foundation and the Progressive insurance company jointly announced the latter's sponsorship of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE competition and its funding of the $10 million prize purse.
The newly-renamed Progressive Automotive X PRIZE is an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles. The independent and technology-neutral competition is open to teams from around the world that can design, build and bring to market 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that people want to buy, and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance.
To date, more than 60 teams from nine countries have signed a Letter of Intent to compete for a share of the prize purse and global publicity. To date, only one of them - Delta Motorsport - is from the UK; most are US-based.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has been behind transforming the city's taxi fleet into hybrids and cutting the city's energy use by 30% over the next ten years, announced that New York will be the starting point for the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE race next year.
The X PRIZE Foundation, best known for the successful $10 million Ansari X PRIZE for private suborbital spaceflight, is an educational nonprofit whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity by holding $10 million dollar (or larger) competitions to solve some of the world's greatest challenges.
The window for applications will be open until mid 2008, when a qualification process will assess safety, cost, features and business plans to ensure that only production-capable, consumer-friendly cars compete. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stage races in 2009 and 2010 that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed 100 MPGe, meet strict emissions standards and finish in the fastest time. Host cities involved in the competition route are to be announced shortly.
Draft Guidelines that specify vehicle requirements and other aspects of the competition are available at http://auto.xprize.org/auto/automotive-x-prize/draft-guidelines, as are teams listed as having signed letters of intent to compete.
Support and encouragement has been received from US government agencies that will help the privately funded organization conduct the competition and test vehicle compliance, including the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory; the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway, Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ); and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
In addition, non-governmental organizations supporting the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE include the National Resources Defense Council, The Sierra Club, the National Wildlife Federation, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Apollo Alliance, the Consumer Federation of America, Global Green USA and CALSTART, among others.
The U.S. Department of Energy is the Sponsor of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, and Adobe¨ and Idealab¨ are Supporting Sponsors. The Auto Research Center (ARC) is the Official Performance Simulation Provider. Ray Sidney of Big George Ventures is a prize benefactor, and patron donors are named as Gil & Elyssa Elbaz, Jack Hidary, Jeffery Shames, and Nadine Weil.
