Lightweight Hungarian three-seater gets 117mpg in the city!
Hungary is not generally known as a hotbed of automotive development, although Audi does have a factory there that builds many of its engines. A new prototype vehicle from the former Soviet block state, though, provides a very interesting look at some possible future transportation.
The Antro Solo combines some of the best ideas from legendary race car designers like Colin Chapman and Gordon Murray with concepts from solar racers, mopeds and Priuses. Living up to Chapman's mantra of "adding lightness" the Solo weighs a mere 600 lbs thanks to a composite construction. Clever packaging with two passenger seats on either side of a central driver's throne a la Murray's Mclaren F1 are blended with diesel-electric hybrid powertrain. The battery gets some range extension from roof top solar cells and pedals for the passengers. Antro is targeting an $18,000 sticker and 117mpg city/157mpg highway specs. With those kinds of numbers, this could be an X-Prize winner. Unfortunately, the carbon fiber body alone is likely to cost more than $18k and, at 600lbs, passing any kinds of safety standards anywhere in the world is going to be nearly impossible.
[Source: AutoFiends]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
tankd0g 1:55PM (6/19/2008)
While I appreciate the technology that went into this, people are building these things in their back yards. Getting 100+mpg is not hard to do when you don't adhere to any safety regulations. If they could make it as safe as even the abysmal Chevy Aveo, then I'd be impressed.
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Henry Reed 2:09PM (6/19/2008)
The body of the car looks great, but i wouldn't be surprised if it got knocked around in a mild wind storm.
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Henry Reed 3:17PM (6/19/2008)
sounds great, but whats going to happen if there's a mild wind storm? i'd rather have my car be on the road than save money on gas
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Stringfellow Hawk 2:36PM (6/19/2008)
Just make it into a three wheeler and bypass all those safety requirements. Cant be anymore dangerous than riding a motorcycle.
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Michael 2:37PM (6/19/2008)
What that means, then, is automakers must focus intensely on not so much walking range electric vehicles but instead on ways to meet all necessary safety requirements and registration regulations necessary without adding an unreasonable amount of weight. I know I'm stating the obvious, but seriously, the rest of the work is pretty much already done.
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dwf 2:47PM (6/19/2008)
You have crawl in and out of it? No Thanks!
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Woodenbee 3:41PM (6/19/2008)
Your absolutely right Stringfellow, it boggles the mind that people aren't exploiting that wonderful quirk of law, it's so sad that the first commenter's are always somebodies dithering granny worrying about safety, let the buyer's decide whats safe, all those twits driving road whales because they think they'll be safer are sadly misinformed anyway!
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tankd0g 4:05PM (6/19/2008)
Actually it is worse than riding a motorcycle because you don't generally wear a helmet inside these contraptions.
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me2 4:52PM (6/19/2008)
This is a really interesting post and comments.
Weight is the enemy of fuel economy and performance.
A car's goal is simple: transport one or more human beings in a safe manner. Right now the lightest compact production car I know of is the Honda Civic at 2600 pounds. Lest anyone think that is heavy, its the same weight as the lightest non racing Porsche 911 ever made.
Halving the weight of a car nearly doubles its fuel economy is stop and go traffic. Its also great for performance. Just compare the 1/4 mile times of an Ariel Atom (sub 1500 pounds) to almost any supercar. The Ariel wins hands down.
So how are builders going to lop 1000 pounds off the modern car and keep it safe ? If you ask me, this is the route to performance and fuel efficiency, more so than hybrid drive trains and such.
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goehring 5:44PM (6/19/2008)
Weight is not as important for cars with regen.
The more efficient the regen, the less important weight is.
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me2 6:15PM (6/19/2008)
"Weight is not as important for cars with regen.
The more efficient the regen, the less important weight is."
You are right. Though right now effective regen, ie the kind that would replace a lot of the braking in stop and go traffic isn't practical because of battery charge-discharge cycle limitations.
Weight also isn't that important for steady state driving fuel efficiency either. It affects rolling resistance, but that is about it.
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meme 6:52PM (6/19/2008)
Agreed completely, Sam. There's absolutely no way they'll hit that price point with current technology. Or come even close, for that matter. Or be even reasonably safe with that ultralight, low-slung body.
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jake 7:52PM (6/19/2008)
Cost and safety seems to be what is detering these "hyper cars" from working. But it is another interesting way to look at the problem, it does seem pretty stupid to carry around thousands of pounds of metal just to transport (most of the time) one person. Of course not many mainstream car makers are looking at composite materials as a way to increase efficiency mostly because of cost with a lot being development costs too.
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motorman 11:28AM (6/20/2008)
if the US would get rid of the safety rules that add weight to american cars that were put ther to protect the stupid drivers we could have some light weight cars that get great MPG just like we had years ago when nobody wanted them
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John Swansey 10:21PM (6/21/2008)
All of these safty systems are just raising the cost of the car and yet just as many people are getting killed every day the older cars were safter being built stronger with a good frame . now they just crumble up and crush like a beer can IF the unity body is so safe tghen why are the trains using the same meathod ???? The frame takes the shock and the coshings inside take the jolt out . Put enough air bags inside and blow the damm thing up and crush the people
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John 10:20PM (6/21/2008)
I saw more recks with b ig cars than while driving the old VW that I had at the time driving to CAlif. and back to TExas they were just as safe our other cars unless hit by a truck but show me one of our other s would not survive if hit by a truck
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MSB 11:34PM (6/21/2008)
Perhaps this may be an ignorant question, but how would you drive this thing in the dark??
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ilyrpz143ilyenz 2:33PM (6/23/2008)
I want mine with a full body sun roof so I can get my tan while driving!!!!
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Rick Badman 11:49PM (6/21/2008)
I still believe stacked flywheels are the best way to go. They might allow a standard car to be powered electrically for over 500 miles nonstop.
If I were building a "conventional" car that would achieve over 100 miles per gallon, I would use plasma igniters that would produce such a hot burst of energy that they could burn water as fuel too. I would also make the car a hybrid so that the engine could run at a constant speed. Flywheels would store excess energy and also be respun at home so that a driver could travel on the energy stored kinetially in the flywheels for hundreds of miles. The range of the vehicle might exceed 1200 miles and it would be safe.
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Samantha 12:00AM (6/22/2008)
Just curious as to what happens if there's a strong rain? I mean really.... Couldn't a car this light be easily floating downstream especially in the situation MO and some of the states are in? And what happens if you slide on ice in that car...
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