1,325 MPG Hypermiling Car Piloted by 11-Year-Old Student! (Inhabitat)

**Drew Wilson** · June 23rd, 2011, 03:42 PM

As gas prices continue to skyrocket, the importance of fuel-efficient vehicles can’t be emphasized enough. Luckily, the Cambridge Design Partnership just unveiled a hypermiling concept car that can travel an astonishing 1,325 miles on a single gallon of diesel! While most green vehicles are tested through a series of intense trials, this concept car was put through its paces by an 11 year old Cambridgeshire girl at the annual Mileage Marathon Challenge at Mallory Park.

The vehicle was designed to promote engineering and technology and to educate school and college students about the benefits of eco-friendly vehicle concepts. Test driver Kitty Foster, 11, of Kings School, Ely said of the test drive, “When I told my parents how far this car could go on a gallon of fuel they were absolutely amazed! It wasn’t too hard. The Go system helped me use as little fuel as possible. It monitored the car’s performance, which helped us know when to stop the engine and start coasting.”

“The GPS information made a big difference and added 150 mpg. The whole car was great fun to drive. It’s good to see cars getting more environmentally friendly, and I’m really pleased we’ve done so well in the challenge’.

Cambridge Design Partnership used elements from its own lightweight oxygen concentrator, as well as other in-house technologies, to create the unique car. The oxygen generator system was originially developed to treat injured soldiers, but in the car it is powered by an innovative micro-diesel-engine. The car also features low-friction tires to increase mileage.

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Let me guess, the oil industry would drop a nuclear bomb on this thing if it meant that that would be the only way to keep it from making it into the market.

**w31n3r** · June 23rd, 2011, 10:27 PM

more of a trike than a car, and impracticable for anything other than (perhaps) as a technology demonstrator. what i like about the story is that young kids are being encouraged and apparently understand the need for cost effective and sustainable energy. this is in sharp contrast to the 400HP vehicles we would salivate on when i was 11. bodes well for the future.