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Caterham Seven gets 131 mpg

07/26/2006, 7:28 PM

By admin

A modified Caterham Seven achieved 131 miles per gallon at the recent Shell Eco- Marathon in the U.K. Customized by carbon fibre specialist Axon Automotive, with the support of Energy-Efficient Motorsport (EEMS), the standard Caterham Seven Roadsport 1.6-litre K Series used enhanced aerodynamics, new lightweight seating, narrow low rolling resistance tyres and economic driving techniques to ensure it maximised every drop of fuel. The sportscar smashed the team’s initial 100 mpg target. The Shell Eco-Marathon is an annual competition to determine the car with the greatest fuel economy after 40 minutes driving and seven laps of the track at a minimum of 15mph.

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07/26, 7:30 PM

posted by:

Dav

wow that was a pointless topic…

07/26, 7:52 PM

posted by:

Upstream River

LAME!! I agree with Dav ^ ^

07/26, 7:55 PM

posted by:

Thing2

..yeah, Its the same Caterham Seven you can buy except that everything is changed. It performs like the old one except that it tops out at speeds less than 20 mph…

(sarcasm)

07/26, 8:32 PM

posted by:

wa wa wa

If you dont like the topic header then dont read the post and dont bother leaving a comment. I dont see why people put the time into criticizing this.

07/26, 8:37 PM

posted by:

BASILISK CORVETTE

i just wanted to c wut people had to say about this lame topic

07/26, 8:37 PM

posted by:

BASILISK CORVETTE

it cant possibly spark a conversation other sharing how lame u think it is

07/26, 9:01 PM

posted by:

johnjohn

I’m sorry but this is no accomplishment worth talking about. While striving to make vehicles get great gas millage is a wonderful thing, this is pointless to get excited about.
Let’s see a sedan or light suv/truck get this millage, then we’ll have somethign to talk about.

07/26, 9:05 PM

posted by:

Upstream River

#4 wa wa wa, in order for LNN to aviod posting lame topics like this, peeps have to complain and LNN will see that and will stop posting meaningless crap!

#7 johnjohn, yes, something worthy to read like that. Real sedan getting this kind of MPG that will come out in 2008 is sure gonna get nothing but positive comments!

07/26, 9:08 PM

posted by:

Craig

Very cool win for competition. It does make you realize how hard it is to get such fuel efficiency from ANY car. I’d probably get well over 30mpg if I drove my Prelude in 4th or 5th gear at 20-30mph constantly. Not very practical but then again neither are the criteria for this race.

07/26, 9:27 PM

posted by:

manny

thats barely recognizable as a catherham…
johnjohns right… theres no point in making cars incredibly fuel efficient to the point that theyre completely impractical and nowhere near safe… someone do that, and then we’ll talk.

07/26, 9:27 PM

posted by:

Slow Moe Joe

If you can go as slow as 15 mph, is the windshield and roll bar really needed?

07/26, 10:18 PM

posted by:

Renton

I would love to get my hands on a Caterham for a few hours.

I’m not talkin about getting good mileage either.

07/27, 1:57 AM

posted by:

don fletcher

When vehicles in this race get upward of 600 MPG (they do) at over 20 mph, the significance of this vehicle getting that paltry mileage is that it could do so despite its much greater weight.

vehicles of various weights are used for demonstration purposes. The very large engine involved predestines this vehicle to achieve only modest economy. We might readily have seen double the mileage with one quarter the engine. But this machine equipped as it was remained capable of travelling at much higher speeds.

Reality is that as speeds exceed 40 mph wind resistance would cut economy.

The race is useful as an exploration of the limits of fuel economy, but equally the strategies used to achieve them.

07/27, 12:10 PM

posted by:

Interphase

It doesn’t matter one bit how fast it went, or how it looks – what matters is that this sort of extreme test is the way you make the discoveries that’ll eventually filter down into the domestic market. Nobody is suggesting for one minute that you buy a Caterham like this (although if you bought a VW Lupo diesel and drove it properly you could already get almost 100mpg anyway..), but that you appreciate that people are trying to dosciver new technologies that’ll benefit everyone. Big picture time…

07/27, 12:59 PM

posted by:

Ahk-Med

Science experiments and the data the provide have always scared the uneducated masses.

07/27, 1:33 PM

posted by:

Mamako

The point that this vehicle makes is that if you want fuel economy you need to compromise.

07/27, 2:09 PM

posted by:

Leopold Porkstacker

Something tells me that the car isn’t sporting a set of dual Weber DCOE45 carbs.

-he who stacks pork

07/28, 7:40 AM

posted by:

The Stig

The steel wheels are an especially nice touch. Perhaps they’ll make a comeback.

 
 
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