The “Ale”: Sleek New Futuristic Car Gets 92mpg and Accelerates Zero to 60 in 5 Seconds
A fast new car that runs on fuel-vapor is making hybrids seem like gas guzzlers. It also gives off 75% less CO2 emissions than the average hybrid. The fun part is that the new car handles a lot more like a sports car than you’d expect from such an eco-friendly vehicle, and you can drive it as fast as 140mph—assuming there are no cops around.
The "alé", as it’s called, represents a new breed of futuristic, faster, and more environmentally friendly cars. Its creators used a Honda engine and suspension, and a Porsche steering mechanisms. The fuel tank only holds 10 gallons of regular gas, but it’s amazing how far those 10 gallons last.
A Gizmodo reviewer recently took one out for a test drive and wrote, “I drove it hard for 4 solid hours, throwing it into corners, accelerating and braking hard. The car's performance is spectacular. After all that hard driving, we only went through $10 in gas.”
The "alé" has an air and gas mixing ratio of 20:1—far surpassing the average car, which mixes at 14.7:1. The team that developed the car hopes to be the most fuel efficient production vehicle in the Automotive X-Prize competition.
The company that creates the car, FuelVapor Technologies Inc. is a BC “Clean Tech” company whose mission is to improve the automobile and its impact on the earth through fuel economy research, CO2 emissions reduction, and new concept vehicle development.
The "ale" will be built in limited quantities for the next 5 years, then mass produced under license in 2012.
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I really like the look of the car but operating in a lean burn condition typically creates an unacceptable level of NOX in the exhaust. I am curious if there has been any independent verification of their claims relating to performance, economy or emissions. I have also found another company in Oregon called Vapor Fuel Technologies that has multiple patents on a vapor system that greatly increases fuel economy without the NOX problem. Their system has been verified by an independent test lab. You can check them out at http://www.vftllc.com
Posted by: autoinfo | January 23, 2008 at 01:39 PM
your momma
Posted by: robert anus | May 05, 2008 at 11:25 AM