April 10, 2009
Mater Dei Supermileage Team to compete next week
The Mater Dei Supermileage Team is preparing for another trip to California to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas April 16-18.
Last year, Mater Dei placed first and third in the Internal Combustion category. The team also won the overall competition by obtaining 2,843 miles per gallon, which was a new Eco-marathon Americas record.
This year the team hopes to break its previous record by obtaining 3,000 miles per gallon.
Mater Dei plans to bring two vehicles to the competition, along with 15 students. Once again, Mater Dei is bringing the prototype car that won the previous Shell Eco-marathon Americas.
The team is also bringing their first Urban Concept car. The Urban Concept is a new category at the Shell Eco-marathon. The Urban Concept category involves compiling all the information learned with the prototype into a vehicle that is street legal.
This is a great opportunity for the team to develop a fuel efficient car that someday may actually become the norm of society, according to Jared Jochem, team communications.