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Progressive Automotive X Prize winner earmarked for production

The two-wheeled E-Tracer 7009, developed by Peraves for Swiss team X-Tracer, will soon be headed into production under the name MonoTracer MTE-150.

Suzanne Ashe
Suzanne Ashe has been covering technology, gadgets, video games, and cars for several years. In addition to writing features and reviews for magazines and Web sites, she has contributed to daily newspapers.
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Suzanne Ashe

Looking a little bit like the light cycles from Tron, but without the glowy bits, the E-Tracer 7009 placed in the top three of the Progressive Automotive X Prize competition in 2010.

Now the two-wheeled, two-seater has been renamed the MonoTracer MTE-150 and is headed to production, according to Auto Blog Green.

The MonoTracer MTE-150 has a Kevlar cabin and runs on a third-generation 150 kW (200 horsepower) drivetrain from AC Propulsion in California.

While the X Prize competitors were challenged to create a vehicle that could reach 100 mpge (miles per gallon equivalent), the MonoTracer could see about 350 mpge.

To explain, Roger Riedener, CEO of Peraves Switzerland, has posted introductory videos about the electric MonoTtracer MTE-150 on YouTube.