kerbe
07-31-2010, 04:50 PM
The TW4XP team has been terrific about keeping news flowing -- this is their latest update:
Race Results
Although the final event, the “Combined Performance and Efficiency” race (winner-take-all) happened a few days ago, we still feel like we’re racing. Official results have yet to be released, so nobody can say for sure what penalties are for each team. And the unpenalized finish times were THAT close! Although there is a potential winner, the results are not final. So we wait for the race to end…
Friendships
Over the course of the competition, we became close friends with nearly every team in the garage (as well as the X PRIZE staff) – moving quickly from competitors to co-conspirators, sharing parts, tools and suggestions for fixes/repairs throughout the garage. Each team felt extreme loss when their friends were knocked out: to work so hard and risk so much – putting financial stability and marriages at risk -- to make their dream a reality and bring their vehicle to MIS and show the world that it is possible to build a safe, fun, 100+ MPGe vehicle.
Teams in the Final Race
Teams were required before the combined race to repeat the vehicle dynamic safety tests that they performed during knockout, as well as complete the 100-mile range test while meeting the full efficiency requirements. Several teams were unable to perform these events successfully for maddeningly frustrating reasons. By the final race, our class – the alternative side-by-side -- was the only one with more than one team (Mainstream had two entries from Edison2, and Alternative Tandem had two entries from X-Tracer). While we still had five! Li-ion Motor's Wave II, Zap Alias, Aptera 2e, the Finnish RaceAbout as well as ProjectTW4XP.
Quote from the autoblog.xprize.org/axp/
(not official, but an xprize.org webblog):
Keep in mind that the winners are yet to be determined. Teams still need to complete Validation testing- which carries 50% of the weight in determining who takes home the prize money, before checks can be awarded this September.
Team Li-Ion finished first by a narrow 0.179 seconds! RaceAbout placed second and TW4XP third by 11 minutes, 36.9 seconds. ZAP completed 48 laps and Aptera completed 18 laps. Both experienced mechanical issues that forced them off the track before completing the test.
There were a few penalties assessed for speed violations:
· Team Li-ion received 1 penalty for driving under 45 mph
· RaceAbout received 2 penalties for exceeding 70 mph
· TW4XP had 4 penalties for being under 45 mph
Mileage numbers are proving impressive given the stress of this real world challenge on the contenders. For those who completed the race, Team Li-Ion achieved a respectable 125 MPGe and RaceAbout achieved 100 MPGe. Though placing third, TW4XP achieved a remarkable 138.9 MPGe.
After Race Party
Team Illuminati, an X PRIZE contender in the mainstream class that is also from Illinois has invited us to a party this Sunday along with several other teams in the Illinois area! I think, we will share a lot of stories about the competition, the rules, the race and it will be a great evening.
Voting
The new voting for the “most practical” vehicle in the competition is open till August 16th. YOU ARE ABLE TO VOTE ONCE A DAY. We would love to have your support.
Vote here:
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/fan-favorites
More News
If you want to follow us and you haven’t found it yet, please look at our team site:
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams/tw4xp
There you can follow our daily Facebook news without signing up for Facebook, read our blog entries, etc…
Efficiency and Fun
We are really happy with the results: We have raced 100 miles at high speeds with an electric car and we have achieved about 140 mpg! The independent X-PRIZE organization proved what we already knew: that Project TW4XP is absolutely capable for much more than the daily mission and that it’s fun to drive it!
Thank you for your support, the emails and good wishes. Your feedback gives us a smile every day!
Greetings from Team TW4XP
Pictures in high resolution:
http://www.tw4xp.com/deutsch/fahrzeug/galerie+7+-+final+stage/galerie+7+-+final+stage.html
More pictures from the whole Final Stage:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/electric-vehicles/sets/72157624412219065/
I appreciate the fact that English isn't their first language -- all their releases and updates are in German and English -- yet our "friends" can't even manage the occasional fart...
Race Results
Although the final event, the “Combined Performance and Efficiency” race (winner-take-all) happened a few days ago, we still feel like we’re racing. Official results have yet to be released, so nobody can say for sure what penalties are for each team. And the unpenalized finish times were THAT close! Although there is a potential winner, the results are not final. So we wait for the race to end…
Friendships
Over the course of the competition, we became close friends with nearly every team in the garage (as well as the X PRIZE staff) – moving quickly from competitors to co-conspirators, sharing parts, tools and suggestions for fixes/repairs throughout the garage. Each team felt extreme loss when their friends were knocked out: to work so hard and risk so much – putting financial stability and marriages at risk -- to make their dream a reality and bring their vehicle to MIS and show the world that it is possible to build a safe, fun, 100+ MPGe vehicle.
Teams in the Final Race
Teams were required before the combined race to repeat the vehicle dynamic safety tests that they performed during knockout, as well as complete the 100-mile range test while meeting the full efficiency requirements. Several teams were unable to perform these events successfully for maddeningly frustrating reasons. By the final race, our class – the alternative side-by-side -- was the only one with more than one team (Mainstream had two entries from Edison2, and Alternative Tandem had two entries from X-Tracer). While we still had five! Li-ion Motor's Wave II, Zap Alias, Aptera 2e, the Finnish RaceAbout as well as ProjectTW4XP.
Quote from the autoblog.xprize.org/axp/
(not official, but an xprize.org webblog):
Keep in mind that the winners are yet to be determined. Teams still need to complete Validation testing- which carries 50% of the weight in determining who takes home the prize money, before checks can be awarded this September.
Team Li-Ion finished first by a narrow 0.179 seconds! RaceAbout placed second and TW4XP third by 11 minutes, 36.9 seconds. ZAP completed 48 laps and Aptera completed 18 laps. Both experienced mechanical issues that forced them off the track before completing the test.
There were a few penalties assessed for speed violations:
· Team Li-ion received 1 penalty for driving under 45 mph
· RaceAbout received 2 penalties for exceeding 70 mph
· TW4XP had 4 penalties for being under 45 mph
Mileage numbers are proving impressive given the stress of this real world challenge on the contenders. For those who completed the race, Team Li-Ion achieved a respectable 125 MPGe and RaceAbout achieved 100 MPGe. Though placing third, TW4XP achieved a remarkable 138.9 MPGe.
After Race Party
Team Illuminati, an X PRIZE contender in the mainstream class that is also from Illinois has invited us to a party this Sunday along with several other teams in the Illinois area! I think, we will share a lot of stories about the competition, the rules, the race and it will be a great evening.
Voting
The new voting for the “most practical” vehicle in the competition is open till August 16th. YOU ARE ABLE TO VOTE ONCE A DAY. We would love to have your support.
Vote here:
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/fan-favorites
More News
If you want to follow us and you haven’t found it yet, please look at our team site:
http://www.progressiveautoxprize.org/teams/tw4xp
There you can follow our daily Facebook news without signing up for Facebook, read our blog entries, etc…
Efficiency and Fun
We are really happy with the results: We have raced 100 miles at high speeds with an electric car and we have achieved about 140 mpg! The independent X-PRIZE organization proved what we already knew: that Project TW4XP is absolutely capable for much more than the daily mission and that it’s fun to drive it!
Thank you for your support, the emails and good wishes. Your feedback gives us a smile every day!
Greetings from Team TW4XP
Pictures in high resolution:
http://www.tw4xp.com/deutsch/fahrzeug/galerie+7+-+final+stage/galerie+7+-+final+stage.html
More pictures from the whole Final Stage:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/electric-vehicles/sets/72157624412219065/
I appreciate the fact that English isn't their first language -- all their releases and updates are in German and English -- yet our "friends" can't even manage the occasional fart...