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X Prize winners, finalists: A 100 mpg mandate (photos)

For Automotive X Prize, scientists from around the world show that a 100 mpg challenge can be met and still provide safety to highway drivers.

Candace Lombardi
In a software-driven world, it's easy to forget about the nuts and bolts. Whether it's cars, robots, personal gadgetry or industrial machines, Candace Lombardi examines the moving parts that keep our world rotating. A journalist who divides her time between the United States and the United Kingdom, Lombardi has written about technology for the sites of The New York Times, CNET, USA Today, MSN, ZDNet, Silicon.com, and GameSpot. She is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not a current employee of CNET.
Candace Lombardi
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1 of 8 Edison2

Very Light Car No. 98

Very Light Car No. 98 by the team Edison2 will receive $5 million for winning the mainstream, four-seater category of the Automotive X Prize sponsored by Progressive Insurance. The aerodynamic car has a combustion engine running on E85, an ethanol-gas blend, and has a total efficiency of 102.5 MPGe.

Automotive X Prize speakers heaped praise on winners and finalists alike at today's awards ceremony at the Historical Society in Washington, D.C. The challenge set for this particular prize from the famed X Prize Foundation was to design and build a car with a fuel economy of 100 MPGe, a new acronym for a vehicle that gets "miles per gallon or energy equivalent."

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2 of 8 Edison2

Very Light Car

An early version of the Very Light Car by Edison2 being tested at the Carolina Center for Automotive Research.
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3 of 8 X Prize Foundation

Wave II

Team Li-ion from North Carolina led by Ron Cerven won the side-by-side two-seater category, and $2.5 million, for its Wave II built by Li-ion Motors. The Wave II all-electric car has a lithium ion battery, a 170-mile range, and a top speed of 80 mph. It can go 0 to 60 mph in 12 seconds, and includes common amenities like air conditioning, power windows, and GPS.
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4 of 8 Peraves

E-Tracer 7002

The E-Tracer 7002 by team X-Tracer from Switzerland will get $2.5 million for winning the tandem two-seater (seating one behind the other) category. The all-electric cabin motorcycle built by Peraves has a total efficiency of 187.6 MPGe, a top speed of 150 mph, a 150 mile-range, and can go 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds.
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5 of 8 Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences

Electric RaceAbout

Team RaceAbout, led by Sami Ruotsalainen, placed just O.179 seconds behind the winner of the side-by-side two-seater category for its Electric RaceAbout, made by team of experts affiliated with the Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.
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6 of 8 Aptera

Aptera 2e

The Aptera 2e, from team Aptera led by Marques McCammon, was a finalist in the side-by-side two-seater category. The vehicle has a top speed of 90 mph and includes among its key sponsors battery maker A123 systems, and Pratt & Miller Engineering.
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7 of 8 TW4XP

TW4XP

Team TW4XP of Germany led by Martin Möscheid, a finalist for its side-by-side two-seater, is shown here being taken for a test drive in Chicago. The TW4XP is based on the Twike, a light-electric vehicle made in Germany by Fine Mobile.
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8 of 8 ZAP

Alias

Team ZAP of the automaker of the same name was led by Gary Starr. It was a finalist for its Alias plug-in electric car that meets highway legal standards as an enclosed motorcycle. A production version of the car will sell for under $35,000.

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