Automotive X Prize Rules

By Eric Boyd on December 23, 2007 8:52 PM | Permalink

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Automotive X Prize

For those curious what this whole site is about, I thought I would make a summary page - the short version of the Automotive X Prize Rules. In fact, the rules are currently not set. What we have is the Draft Rules and Competition Guidelines Revision Topics, dense documents. The Automotive X Prize is a complicated beast, but here's the short version:

A staged race (think Tour de France) across America, to be held in 2010.
All competitors must achieve 100 MPG equivalent, with CO2 (equivalent) emissions <200 g/mile
Two classes of vehicles: Mainstream and Alternative
Mainstream class cars must have 4 wheels and seat 4 adults
Alternative class cars may have any number of wheels, and will be divided into two sub-classes: (i) 2 seats, side-by-side and (i) everything else
Race stages are not yet defined, but will include some city driving, some highway driving, and at least one stage so long it will require a refueling enroute
Some stages will be "scoring" while others are "show" stages and will not count towards victory
All teams will be required to submit a business plan showing "production capable" status: the car must be able to be made (according to the detailed plan) "at a price the market is likely to bear"
Vehicles must be safe - their rules spell out a number of criteria and some tests that all vehicles must pass

The goal of the Automotive X Prize is not to have another meaningless "efficiency contest", like the Shell Eco Marathon, or the World Solar Challenge, or SAE Supermileage, which have spawned lots of interesting vehicles that no one can (or would) buy. The Automotive X Prize wants its contestants (and especially its winners) to actually produce and sell cars to the public - and the rules are designed around this goal.

If you are familiar with the draft rules, read on for a quick summary of their "Revision Topics".

Race timeline: they are moving the final race to "no sooner than Q2 2010"
They may lower the 100 MPH top speed requirement, but add in other performance tests, such as a 45-65 MPH test
They are dividing the Alternative Class into two segments, only one of which will require side-by-side seating. The prize money for alternative class will be divided amongst the two segments - further diluting the 1/3 share of the Auto X Prize dedicated to the money for Alternative Class
They address the "electric advantage" (electricity has 100% availability), but they do not intend to change the draft rules on this count
They are considering a change to the GHG emissions requirement, but like how it currently requires more of electric cars - that aspect is unlikely to change
AC will be allowed to be off for scoring sections of the race
On-vehicle solar panels (and other similar energy sources) will not count towards the mileage, i.e. that energy is "free"
Human power (pedals, etc) will be permitted - but they seem to dismiss this as a major possibility. Can this be effectively exploited? (my intuition says no)