Automotive X Prize

Automotive X Prize

The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE (PIAXP or AXP) was a set of competitions, programs and events, from the X Prize Foundation to "inspire a new generation of super-efficient vehicles that help break America's addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change." Progressive Insurance was the title sponsor of the prize, the centerpiece of which is the Competition Division, within which a $10 million dollar purse was divided between the winners of three competitions.

The essence of each competition is to design, build and race super-efficient vehicles that achieve 100 MPGe (2.35 liter/100 kilometer) efficiency, produce less than 200 grams/mile well-to-wheel CO₂ equivalent emissions, and could be manufactured for the mass market. Within the Competition Division, there are two vehicle classes: Mainstream and Alternative. The mainstream class has a prize of $5 million. The alternate class has two separate prizes of $2.5 million, one for side-by-side seating and one for tandem seating.

The PIAXP has an Educational Program, funded by a $3.5 million grant from the United States Department of Energy, to engage students and the public in learning about advanced vehicle technologies, energy efficiency, climate change, alternative fuels, and the science, technology, engineering, and math behind efficient vehicle development.

The winners of the competition were announced on 16 September 2010.

• Team Edison2 won the $5 million Mainstream competition with its four-passenger Very Light Car, obtaining 102.5 MPGe or just below 69 MPG running on E85 fuel.
• Team Li-Ion Motors won the $2.5 million Alternative Side-by-Side competition with their aerodynamic Wave-II electric vehicle achieving 187 MPGe.
• Team X-Tracer Switzerland won the $2.5 million Alternative Tandem competition with their 205.3 MPGe faired electric motorcycle.