HuffPost Innovators Series: The Automotive X PRIZE Finalists (PHOTOS)

In the latest edition of the HuffPost Innovators series (check out previous editions here, here and here), we've compiled some of the most promising eco-friendly cars in the world. And, yes, they are fast. Very fast.

The seven vehicles below are all finalists in the $10 million Progressive Automotive Insurance X PRIZE. The X PRIZE Foundation is a Playa Vista, Calif.-based non-profit that organizes prizes and competitions to drive "radical breakthroughs" in technology and innovation. (The foundation recently challenged innovators to help solve the Gulf oil spill.)

The requirements? Each car must exceed a 100 mile-per-gallon fuel efficiency standard and can be fueled by any energy type, including gasoline, hydrogen or grid electricity The competition was held in several stages, including a lab-based series of tests and on-track stage. Judges evaluated each car on aspects like cost, fuel efficiency and design.

After eliminating all but seven of the 111 entrants, on September 16 in Washington, D.C. the X PRIZE Foundation will anoint one winner in the "mainstream class," which will receive $5 million, and the remaining funds will be split between the two winners of the alternative class of vehicles.

Which car is the most innovative? Check them out and vote for your favorite below.

(We are still looking for submissions to HuffPost's Innovators Series! To submit an innovative entrepreneur, startup or established company, click "ADD A SLIDE" below and upload a short description and picture of the founder or business leader you'd like to nominate. Note: Please skip the marketing jargon and keep your descriptions short. If your story is compelling, a HuffPost staffer will contact you to learn more about your story.)

 

Know an innovative start-up, entrepreneur or an established company that's changing the way we think about business? Tell us how you're innovating! Let us hear from you!

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Aptera

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Aptera (Playa, CA) Founder: Steve Fambro Vehicle Name: 2e Fuel Type: Electric Powertrain: BEV Class: Alternative (Side‐by‐Side) Aptera believes they've built a do-it-all electric car: their "2e" is slim and small, but strong and dominant. The car has a dent-resistant body that is three times stronger than steel, and it is capable of going from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds and reaching a top speed of 90 miles per hour. Steve Fambro is founder of Aptera, which launched in 2000 and is one of the fastest growing alternative energy companies in the U.S., and the company has secured funding from Idealab founder Bill Gross, among others. Fambro is determined to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and believes that creating vehicles that use 10 times less energy than the average car is the first of many crucial steps.

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Aptera (Playa, CA)
Founder: Steve Fambro
Vehicle Name: 2e
Fuel Type: Electric
Powertrain: BEV
Class: Alternative (Side‐by‐Side)


Aptera believes they've built a do-it-all electric car: their "2e" is slim and small, but strong and dominant. The car has a dent-resistant body that is three times stronger than steel, and it is capable of going from zero to 60 in under 10 seconds and reaching a top speed of 90 miles per hour. Steve Fambro is founder of Aptera, which launched in 2000 and is one of the fastest growing alternative energy companies in the U.S., and the company has secured funding from Idealab founder Bill Gross, among others.

Fambro is determined to reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and believes that creating vehicles that use 10 times less energy than the average car is the first of many crucial steps.

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Comments

[Argento1966]

11:26 AM on 09/17/2010

What about this guy? He drove Canada to Mexico averaging 119 mpg in a car that he built TWENTY YEARS AGO!!!!
http://www.mnn.com/transportation/cars/stories/canada-to-mexico-on-one-tank-of-gas

[dukeitout]

11:07 PM on 09/14/2010

Those cars are cute, but they're not going to revolutionize anything. Too small. Are you kidding me?

[saus]

06:09 PM on 09/14/2010

Hmm, could put a blade on them and sell them for mowing yards.

[Sean777]

05:58 PM on 09/14/2010

There is nothing like a fuel efficient SUV or a full size sedan; but why GM or Ford, are not making clean diesel engines? The Europeans car makers like Audi and Volkswagen offer that technology as it is a lot more cost effective and safer than lithium batteries still American car makers are behind, there is more demand for fuel efficient clean diesel cars as the Average American commute a lot more miles than an electric car can handle.

[SolarPowerGuy]

01:31 PM on 09/14/2010

Why is everyone here so excited about the RaceAbout? Just because it has four wheels?

[maybealittlecommonsense]

12:57 PM on 09/14/2010

I'd much rather ride a motorcycle than one of these small death traps.

http://www.superpoop.com/071510/smart-car-pros-and-cons.jpg

[SolarPowerGuy]

01:33 PM on 09/14/2010

Half a dozen of one, six of the other. Ever witness a motorcycle accident? I've seen two. Scary.

Mind you, I'm not against motorcycles, I'm just saying that your assessment of a motorcycle's safety compared to a small car is rather biased.

[maybealittlecommonsense]

01:39 PM on 09/14/2010

Well - I'd NEVER get a tiny car to haul my family in. I'm saying if I decided to use a death trap for my personal transport, I'd rather ride a motorcycle. Much more fun.

[Sean777]

06:02 PM on 09/14/2010

Both are death rides for a commuter. Bikes are good just for fun not for everyday commute.

[dadw5boys]

12:41 PM on 09/14/2010

So they plan on leasing the vechiles now so they can maintain control over the Technology that has been around for centuries !

Are they afraid people will buy one take it home copy the technology and go into the car business ?

[DallasMike]

12:36 PM on 09/14/2010

All I see is 4 death traps.

[CyberPunk]

12:12 PM on 09/14/2010

Great stuff..A vision of a future?

[omobob]

11:58 AM on 09/14/2010

Emphasis on two passenger or single occupant electric vehicles is a wonderful and fanciful relief valve for those who believe that personal transportation is the vision of the future. Where is the high speed rail? Where is the East and West Coast corridors’ bullet trains to carry people and cargo? Ideologically, electric vehicles are nothing more than substitutes for gas guzzlers. They still have to get rid of rubber tires and batteries. They cant be rated as pollution free. Time to look beyond passenger vehicles. Europe has trains that run at a 150 mph on magnets. What would you expect when Detroit is running the game. Remember just 3 years ago GM wanted Hummer to be their flagship vehicle. The Hummer?

[dadw5boys]

12:38 PM on 09/14/2010

Hummers were made for wars. Wars make profits.

[dohnjeer]

11:56 AM on 09/14/2010

What about Flying Car?
http://www.extravaganzi.com/the-transition-terrafugia-flying-car-production-start-by-end-of-year/

[ABQ-Mike]

11:53 AM on 09/14/2010

Why I like my 1964 Chevy Impala 2 door hardtop over these things (or any modern hybrids for that matter)...

1. Maintenance: Anyone can do basic maintenance on this simple and uncomplicated car in their home driveway with a few basic hand tools and parts are very inexpensive.
2. Safety: In the event of a collision with any of the above vehicles, I would have a tremendous advantage by virtue of sheer weight and mass.
3. Comfort: Nothing like being able to stretch out on a long trip with plenty of room to move around.
4. Style and good looks: Goes without saying. The above vehicles are pretty ugly and the hybrids on the road resemble dead slugs or road kill.
5. Convenience: I can take up to six grown adults anywhere in comfort and style.
6. Longevity: My car is over 45 years old and I've owned and maintained it inexpensively for over 35 years. The vehicles above will burn themselves out in 5 years or less and turn to junk.
7. "Green": It makes more sense from an environmental perspective to buy one good car, maintain it and keep it for 35 years, than to buy another newly manufactured car every 2 or 3 years as many do considering the very high environmental price of the manufacturing process.
8. Convenience: No annoying smog tests and no seatbelt requirement. I can use a seatbelt, or not, as I wish. Not as the state tells me.

[ProCynic]

10:02 AM on 09/14/2010

None, none at all, will see any kind of production that matters, and that is sad.

Regarding ZAP: Zero Air Pollution? Really? Sorry, unless it can tell if the electricity is coming from non-coal/gas/petro source, you can't claim it. Remember, electric vehicles only shift the tailpipe from the vehicle to the generator.

[omobob]

11:50 AM on 09/14/2010

Battery disposal and tires still need to be recycled or trasheed. One reason the EPA does not rate any electric vehicle as pollution free.

[Stilts9]

09:54 AM on 09/14/2010

What's the matter with golf carts with a plastic shell and large bumpers?

[CyberPunk]

12:14 PM on 09/14/2010

Not too safe or pretty...we can do better!

[Stilts9]

12:25 PM on 09/14/2010

Plastic shells could be made to look like anything you want, and if we're all going 20 mph in urban areas you are automatically safe with good bumpers.

[dadw5boys]

12:39 PM on 09/14/2010

Can do and should do ?

Big problems need small steps .

[audadvnc]

09:42 AM on 09/14/2010

Only 2 of the 7 vehicles shown are even automobiles - the others were either 2- or 3-wheeled motorcycles with fairings.

[CyberPunk]

12:06 PM on 09/14/2010

Ever see the first Morgans ?

[CyberPunk]

12:10 PM on 09/14/2010

Reliants were also three wheelers, as were Messerschmitts, Isettas and probably many others...