(Notícia em Inglês)
The inside of the George R. Brown Convention Center had all the trappings of an advanced shop class on Friday, as teams of students sawed, hammered and even taped the final touches on their eco-friendly race cars.
But this isn't your average race, it's the Shell Eco-marathon, and the goal isn't a car that moves around the track the quickest — it's to get it across the finish line using as little energy as possible.
The cars feature everything from traditional (if retooled) fuel injection engines to biodiesel, solar and hydrogen cell energy sources. Though some are large and boxy, most aim for an aerodynamic shape, with a few deviating more towards a Jetsons-like egg shape or a long, skinny coffin.
But don't let the amateur engineers give you the wrong impression — these cars are serious, with price tags of up to $100,000.
Last year the team from Laval University in Montreal won the competition with an average of 2,487.5 miles per gallon, their second consecutive win. This year the team still has some work to do. They designed a new car since then, but it wasn't quite ready for competition, so they are putting together last year's model with the same engine and carbon fiber frame and a new electrical system.
houston.culturemap.com»
The inside of the George R. Brown Convention Center had all the trappings of an advanced shop class on Friday, as teams of students sawed, hammered and even taped the final touches on their eco-friendly race cars.
But this isn't your average race, it's the Shell Eco-marathon, and the goal isn't a car that moves around the track the quickest — it's to get it across the finish line using as little energy as possible.
The cars feature everything from traditional (if retooled) fuel injection engines to biodiesel, solar and hydrogen cell energy sources. Though some are large and boxy, most aim for an aerodynamic shape, with a few deviating more towards a Jetsons-like egg shape or a long, skinny coffin.
But don't let the amateur engineers give you the wrong impression — these cars are serious, with price tags of up to $100,000.
Last year the team from Laval University in Montreal won the competition with an average of 2,487.5 miles per gallon, their second consecutive win. This year the team still has some work to do. They designed a new car since then, but it wasn't quite ready for competition, so they are putting together last year's model with the same engine and carbon fiber frame and a new electrical system.
houston.culturemap.com»