Eight kids from DeLaSalle high school have brought shame to the Chevy Volt before it's even been released. Using a crashed 2000 Lola racecar, 21 batteries, and a lightweight plastic body, the students engineered an electric vehicle rated at the equivalent to 452 miles per gallon. The Prius looks like an Abrams tank in light of their work.
Steve Rees, a former architect and car racer, mentored the students through designing, constructing and tweaking the sleek one-seater. His charges faced financial challenges as well as aesthetic ones. Namely, he says, they had to be convinced that basing the design on the 1984 Monte Carlo would be a bad idea.
Thankfully, after a semester's worth of coursework explaining the nuances of aerodynamics, electrical engineering and basic mechanical work, the kids were won over to the idea that more efficient designs were better suited to their goal of supreme efficiency.
Rees located the discarded Indy car base from a dealer in St. Louis. It was trashed after IndyCar driver Jimmy Vasser did this to it. They stripped out the engine, filled the compartment with a motor and 21 batteries, and they replaced the racing breaks with lightweight models. But finding a durable and aerodynamic body proved tricky for the students and mentors. After tinkering with several materials -- including Spandex and material used for wedding veils -- the kids settled on heat-shrunk plastic stretched over a wire cage.
"It's literally a 3M product used to shrink wrap onto a cheap storm window," Rees says. And the plastic was strong enough to survive test drives, so they stuck with it. "The great thing is that you can see through it. It's just so much more exciting for people to see what's underneath," he adds.
Another key component to the team's success was tire maker Bridgestone taking an interest. The company gave the DeLaSalle students extremely low-drag tires and efficient wheels which improved efficiency greatly. The final product was a transparent, open-cockpit, slippery auto primed for efficiency testing.
Bridgestone opened its famed Proving Grounds, a 7.7-mile course in rural Texas, to the students, where they cruised around the track at 42 mph, impressing Bridgestone's engineers. Following their success, the tire company showed off the see-through wonder at the Indianapolis 500, where race fans fawned over the kids' work. "Over a hundred thousand people saw it," Rees says. "It was the belle of the ball."
Here's video of the car on the test track:
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Nice article Ben. I am not a grammer expert but last I checked just pushing F7 on your keyboard for a spell check doesn't fix the fact you misspelled brakes. In the article Ben states "they replaced the racing breaks with lightweight models". It is brakes!!! My point is made.
- gymmbo
I am amazed and so proud of these young students... as the taller gentleman says, "don't be affraid to step outside of yourself" his teacher confirming, "6 months ago, he wanted to be a basketball player and now he wants to be an engineer". This speaks volumes to the positive effect such a program has on our youth.
I'm a father of 4 - ages 32, 24, 21 & 7 (newly acquired step son) and if you ask me, I'd tell you that the biggest and most important and most difficult of all parenting tasks is motivating them to WANT to do something productive with their time. It's so easy in this "gotta have it right now" internet society to plop down in front of a computer screen and blow off a few hours before you even realize it. And to see these kids REALLY making a difference is quite inspiring. This is indeed a great story that we should ALL take to heart and share with our kids. These kids, apparently underprivilaged, attending an urban school that deals with exactly that... are not only "getting by", but instead... making national headlines and likely shaping our technological future.
I've found that it's a common trait for teen agers today to want to simply "get by" and settle for average grades. And this observation is a genuine concerned shared by 98% of my adult parental peers I know regarding their kids respectively. And it's a trait that I'm not too terribly proud to admit that is shared by ALL my kids despite mom & dad's CONSTANT pleas to 'aim higher' and not to accept mediocrity. But the allure of the internet and EASE of passing time I find it too much of a temptation for these habitually lazy teen-people to pass up. So to see these underprivilaged and socially challenged kids rise up and above and past that temptation is most inspiring
And rest assured... if any one of these kids' resumes came across the desk of any employer for a job application... they'll definately be hired! BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! Keep up the good work. You make us all proud to be Americans!
Add goverment mandated saftey equipment and insurance to cover lawsuits and it will cost about 44k k not to mention Union labor
Please DO NOT share any of the specs with anyone. Pleases sign NO CONTRACTS. Whoever has the rights to your magnificent achievement should have everyone involved benefiting from this MEGA DOLLAR idea. Take your time. Their is going to be big money. The first offers you get will seem astounding, BUT DON'T GO FOR SOMETHING NOW WHEN THE REAL BIG MONEY WILL COME. You are going to say "Wow", I can have a new car, or a home tomorrow" but give it six months to a year and you will be set for life with millions if not billions. Don't let the big corporations screw you. We are all tired of them making megabucks off the lower income average man. If anyone pressures you or threatens you, get the FBI involved right away to protect yourselves. If you need any advise, please contact me. I want all of you to enjoy the good life. I have no other interest than to guide you to a deal that will set you, your family and even your friends up with all you need to go into business yourselves, get the education they all want and have everyone rewarded positively. DO NOT DO ANYTHING FOR AT LEAST SIX MONTHS. You will always feel good about what you have accomplished if you don't get the wheel barrow full of money but instead the basketball arena full of money. I want all of you to feel good about sharing your specs on the huge achievement and not be that inventor who sold off his rights, went through what he thought was a lot of money and now lives on welfare, while the corporation he dealt with has made billions. Research your rights to ownership portion s for the individuals and mentors involved and what right the school has to this invention. Even if the school has all the rights now, those involved need to be richly rewarded and the money spent by the school used in the best possible way. Not knowing the situation, the county, state and maybe the federal Department of Education will try to claim rights. Protect yourselves by discerning ownership as fast as possible but make no deals until enough time has passed to get what you surely deserve. Even a tire company that helped you out, and I asume with no contract to rights, will probably make you feel you owe them something, But YOU DO NOT. When you get your money, you can do something nice for them, but don't let them make you feel like you have to give them a contract to your rights. As I said, I am retired, free to talk with you, have some good connections and ideas but financial gain is not my aim. If possible, I would like to see you all own your own companies and have the right and the money to do any project you could dream of, buy a basketball team instead of play on one and truely have a life devoid of any worries financially. I have always believed that a man without financial worries is totally free to do the best brain storming and invent the best products or paint the best artwork. Too few great artists, inventors, political geniuses and architectural could have dones are living a hard existence because they did not have the opportunity you have: TO DO YOUR THING NOT WORRYING ABOUT MONEY. JUST PURELY LIVING LIFE FULLY AND BRINGING YOUR TALENTS TO A PLACE THEY CAN BE USEFUL AND ACKNOWLEDGED, WITH THE FUNDS TO CREATE ANYTHING YOU DREAM OF. Companies and research and homes and cars and computers all take income. Even small start up companies need so much more funding than you men could imagine, So don't go for the bronze or silver, when the gold can be deservidly yours. Even if you don't call me or email me, please read over this a few times and let it sink in, because we all want to see the average man with the great idea or the doggedness to create something become the next big corporation or scientist or basketball player or mayor or Harvard graduate. It would make me feel so great if you can take this advise to another level even if I never here from you. And if I do I will give you hinest advise like I give my family and every friend I have in life, because that is the way it should be and the life you can live, free of ever having to lie about anything, free of having to be a yes man to climb the latter of success and free to choose WHAT YOU WANT TO DO. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. FREE TO DO WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY, WHETHER IT IS TO VAGABOND AROUND THE WORLD OR CREATE SOMETHING WITH NO LIMITATIONS ON YOUR TIME, NO SUPERIOR TELLING YOU WHAT TO DO, NO MONEY RESTRAINTS TO KEEP YOU ALWAYS WORRYING AND NOTHING TO KEEP YOU FROM CONCENTRATION AND YOU BEST WORK ON WHAT "MAKES YOU SATISFIED" AND WHAT "MAKES YOU HAPPIEST IN LIFE". That is the key to life and everything flows from it. What makes you happy, makes you a better person, a more liked person a more dedicated person in your work. Stay brave and give things time to sort out without being undercut by someone who has gained access to the specifications for YOUR car. DON"T SIGN UNTIL IT'S TIME just like the wine. If you choose to call me, feel free to do so at any time, I will always be available to you. My number is (858) 531-3930. I am leary about putting my numb er here but even if I would have to change it, it would all be worth it if you men would heed my advise and make the best deal possible. My email is dondarragh@hotmail.com but I prefer a call as I receive 50 emails a day and wouldn't want to mistaken delete it because I don't recognize the message, so please mention the car or your school or that you are the mentor for recognition. Sincerely Yours From One Life Experienced Man to a Great Mentor and some Great young Men about to be very Experienced in Life, Don P.S. Forgive not editing this message as I have a Journalism Degree but not the time now to do it and I don't want you to miss the boat because advise came too late.
I really am proud of theses kids and the teachers that helped them. If anyone sees this from that school, please do not let a car company buy the rights to it and then stuff it away like they did back in the 60's and 70's. Keep all aspects of this car within the school and make anyone who wants to get involved do the right thing and produce and develpo it soon. Don't let car companies take full control of it you will never see it again.
Buy a Lamborghini, remove the engine, put in super conducting wire and electric motor, change the 6 speed to a CVT, cover it with the heat shrink wrap with PV cells woven into it. Oh yeah,.. add some batteries, and regenerative brakes.
Now... do a total cost estimate for the revamped Lambo. Guessing around 2 million dollars.
Research and development is great, but until it reaches "practical," it is simply just an experiment.
This article is great. It truly is. This stuff needs to be done. But... when they crash test the "shrink wrap on wire" frame, it fails to be practical.
That is awesome. Need more of this everywhere. Doesn't need to be cars or "green" just young people getting positive push to do productive good things.
Next time you make an electric car
use a four seater frame with a roll
cage and a trunk; if you can manage
a range of atleast 300 miles with an
efficiency of 100miles/24 Kwh charge
carrying four students and four
golf bags -- everyone will be
blown away even if your top speed
is only 65 mph.
Congratulations guys(and gals?) good work! This is a very innovative concept well put together!...
not to make this a racial matter but I see black and white minds collaborating on this project...just think what mankind could invent if this type of collaboration was executed in all areas of life, without prejudice.
Congratulations guys(and gals?) good work! This is a very innovative concept well put together!...
not to make this a racial matter but I see black and white minds collaborating on this project...just think what mankind could invent if this type of collaboration was executed in all areas of life, without prejudice.
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