See more of the fuel-thrifty contenders in our gallery.
The qualifying round of the is over, leaving 42 teams striving to show that their market-ready, super-efficient vehicle is better than the rest. The prize? A cool $10聽million. The challenge? To drive more than 100聽kilometres using the equivalent of less than 2.35聽litres of fuel (100聽miles per gallon).
Last weekend, representatives of the 42 teams gathered in Las Vegas, Nevada, where officials answered questions about the competition schedule and rules. The contestants now have until 15 December to submit final designs.
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In October, the field of 111 entrants was cut down to 43 whose initial designs met the qualifying criteria for safety and potential for mass production. Last week, one of the 43 dropped out for reasons of funding. Eric Cahill, director of the competition, expects that more will follow: 鈥淣ot all of these teams are going to make it to the starting line,鈥� he told 快猫短视频.
The remaining teams now face a series of technical hurdles. They need to show adequate progress in completing their cars while passing safety, emissions and efficiency tests. 鈥淲e鈥檒l be verifying that these are not concept cars or science projects but roadworthy vehicles,鈥� says Cahill.
The challenge culminates in a road race next summer to determine which teams will win the $10聽million prize money. Exact dates and venues will be announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, in January.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely kicked up to the next phase,鈥� says Michael Kadie, leader of , a qualifying team from San Diego, California. Kadie鈥檚 entry runs on an all-electric system. Cahill agrees. 鈥淭he game is really on now,鈥� he says.
See more: Highly efficient car contenders
