Last Auto Reviews Blog: Meet the Ecocustom, a project for Shell's EcoMarathon

Meet the Ecocustom, a project for Shell's EcoMarathon

Every year, Shell organizes an EcoMarathon, where the aim is to run a vehicle as far as possible on a single liter of gasoline. While the first target in 1977 was 680 km (something like 1634 mpg), recent winning vehicles could (at least theoretically) drive from Paris to Beijing on about a gallon of gasoline. The next EcoMarathon will be held in Nogaro, France.

One of the teams, made up of students from the Universitat Politècnica de València, Spain, contacted us to showcase their entry: the EcoCustom. The most evident innovation is how "conventional-looking" the car is, but last year they still managed a test result of 385 km on a single liter (925 mpg). The team expects to surpass the 500 km/l figure for the next competition, to keep CO₂ emissions at minimum.

What are they using? The base engine is a 4-stroke Honda GX 35 on an aluminium frame (or titanium if budget allows it) with synthetic fabric body. It's got lightweight rims, double circuit brakes, transmission, steering, electrics, telemetry and high-speed bearings. Good luck!

Gallery: EcoCustom contender for Shell's EcoMarathon