Sahimo Hydrogen Vehicle Gets Over 1,300 mpg

Mike writes "Students from Turkey's Sakarya University have unveiled a remarkable attempt at creating Europe's most fuel-efficient vehicle. Dubbed the Sahimo, their pint-sized hydrogen car is cable of eking out an incredible 568 km on 1 liter of fuel (about 1,336 miles per gallon). An aerodynamic carbon-fiber construction keeps the vehicle's weight down to less than 110 kg (243 lbs), and the designers hope to push the Sahimo's performance even further to a full 1,000 km per 1 liter of fuel before participating in the Global Green Challenge in October."

These types of competitions are interesting

[the_humeister]

but I'd rather see a competition that takes regular cars and modifies them to get the most gas mileage. The problem with these uber gas-mileage vehicles is that they're street legal, have no safety equipment, and don't go very fast.

Re:These types of competitions are interesting

[Anonymous Coward]

Anyway its impossible to know what they mean by 1 Litre of hydrogen. That could be 170grams if its liquid hydrogen or upto 12 kilograms if it was presurised. Sounds more like swapping fuel for a pressurised container.

Re:The real question

[Mr_Plattz]

At 110 kilograms, how far will it fly when it gets T-boned by a Hummer?

I'll have to let someone from American answer this. Every other country in the world don't appear to have an obsession with oversized cars to drive to work in.

Ironically, majority of Americans (not the type who would visit Slashdot) wouldn't know that the rest of the world doesn't drive Hummers.

Re:The real question

[EdIII]

Aside from being a bit judgmental, you obviously didn't read the article did you :)

I've seen electric Barbie jeeps that are bigger than that thing. The average Slashdotter could not fit half an ass cheek in that thing. This thing is merely a prototype to demonstrate their technology, and not an attempt at a practical car at all.

Re:Electricity Hydrogen

[MadKeithV]

Electric motors [snip] have 0 risk of exploding

Yeah because lithium-ion batteries are perfectly safe! [wikipedia.org]

Re:The real question

[clarkkent09]

If you are referring to the first column in that table, it's a bogus comparison. Americans drive many more miles per year on average than Europeans, hence more chances to get killed. Second column "Road fatalities per 1 billion vehicle-km" is a better comparison and US figure very much in line with west European averages. An even better comparison would take into account the average speeds involved in the accidents as I bet US average speeds are higher (much wider roads on average and more highway driving as trips are generally over greater distances). Yes, I know about autobahns but still in general I think that's true.

Note: I live in the US and drive a small fuel efficient car so don't mistake me for an SUV lover, I just hate misleading statistics

Re:Electricity Hydrogen

[moniker127]

A lot safer than compressed hydrogen canisters- especially considering that the batteries in electric cars are separated to prevent any sort of massive failure. Worst case scenario one out of 6,300 cells pops, and you have to open it up and replace it.

Re:The real question

[ThePeices]

Im not surprised that you have seen Barbie Jeeps bigger than that car. In America, there are only two sizes of anything available. "Huge", and "way over the top freaking enormous". Heck, even the size of the American model of Human is following that trend.

Re:Yeah just wait...

[fractoid]

OK, if your car is built to race spec then yeah, you'll have a much better chance. There was an F1 driver a few years back who hit a concrete barrier head-on at around 200mph and he escaped with (iirc) broken legs and a lot of bruising. They quoted his actual deceleration distance as being something like 65cm. If you're willing to spend the money, you can make cars very safe indeed - it's just that no private driver is willing to spend that much.

Re:The real question

[Asclepius99]

Wait? It was actually built by Time Lords?

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:110 kilograms

[IrquiM]

The entire car weighs less than an average American.

There - fixed it for you

Re:The real question

[Ex-MislTech]

I think we also have a higher incident of drivers under the influence of something...

We also have a lot of ppl with a total lack of concern for other ppl.

The percentage of abuse of illegal and legal substances here in the US is truly mind boggling.

Most fatality accidents in the US are related to some type of impairment of the driver,
well til the cell phone came along, LOL.

Re:110 kilograms

[Timmmm]

No because the weight-mileage relationship is likely to be highly non-linear.

Re:this thing, motorcycles, and safety

[smash]

As a sports bike rider, i say: you're probably wrong.

• It has more frontal area than a bike, hence it is more likely to be seen.
• It is not a bike, so there is not the "fuck that guy, he's on a bike and split past me" stigma (not so prevalent in europe so i hear, but rampant here in australia where drivers are (even more) fuckwits
• Cars can turn better than bikes.
• Cars can stop better than bikes.
• Carbon fibre monocoque likely offers significantly more impact and abrasion protection than leather and/or textile motorcycle protective gear
• human influence: cars are easier and more intuitive to control than bikes (increased traction, less tendency to wheelie/stoppie/highside, and they steer the way you turn the wheel. not countersteering...

Besides, its a prototype. Production variants will likely compromise the economy for the safety/practicality aspects (having luggage capacity, passenger space, etc).

Re:The real question

[YeeHaW_Jelte]

"If you are referring to the first column in that table, it's a bogus comparison. Americans drive many more miles per year on average than Europeans, hence more chances to get killed."
So maybe that's what you're doing wrong? You have a high degree of urban sprawl and hence you have to drive too much to get your daily routine done?
Moreover, I can't find any statistics on average distance travelled so I wouldn't assume that easily that americans drive more or that the difference is significant anyway.

"An even better comparison would take into account the average speeds involved in the accidents as I bet US average speeds are higher (much wider roads on average and more highway driving as trips are generally over greater distances). Yes, I know about autobahns but still in general I think that's true."

I'll take your bet and double it. Most countries in the EU have either an 120 or a 130 km/h speed limit on freeways thats 75 or 80 mph for non-metrics. Judging from this map: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limits_in_the_United_States [wikipedia.org], the speed limit is on average lower in the US than in the EU.

Secondly, traffic fatalities differ wildly from country to country in the EU, as they would probably from state to state in the US if we had the figures available.

Re:The real question

[Malc]

Have you been to the UK? 60mph allowed on two-way roads narrower than 4m, with no shoulder (perhaps overhanging hedgerows or stone walls right at the edge of the road)? Having driven in both countries, I can tell you that CA is easier. The UK's fatalities per billion kms is far lower than the US's. How does CA compare with the US average?

Re:The real question

[MyLongNickName]

Moreover, I can't find any statistics on average distance travelled so I wouldn't assume that easily that americans drive more or that the difference is significant anyway.

Well, a little bit of math on the existing table would help you out. In the United States we have over twice (2.37x) the fatalities per inhabitant as Germany. Yet, we only have 21 percent more fatalities per KM driven.

So, yes, I would think we drive a hell of a lot more miles. Close to double.

Re:The real question

[PhilJC]

I don't think the US Military is the big problem, it's the driving on public roads that will get you frowned upon.

Not a problem in the UK - Just apply for a driving licence for that category of vehicle (Cat: H if I remember right - it sthe same as the JCB licence). Have to be 21 to drive anything larger that 3500kg but if you can find a small tank you can get a licence at 17.

Farmer near me used to drive his Sherman M4 and Scorpion through the town all the time.. police didn't bat an eyelid.

Pointless

[2obvious4u]

They need to change the rules on these efficiency challenges. This vehicle [inhabitat.com] and this vehicle [inhabitat.com] are completely impractical.

The rules need to be:
1)Must carry more than one occupant in a seated position.
2)Must maintain an average speed of at least 30 mph.

Re:The real question

[maxume]

The average speed limit for the miles actually driven is a lot more interesting than the average speed limit for the roads.

Re:this thing, motorcycles, and safety

[FesterDaFelcher]

Why is it that you "people" have to always dig for something to criticize in an American's post? Where did he EVER mention a monster truck? Where did he EVER get close to talking about large vehicles? He mentions a MOTORCYCLE.

Either I got trolled, or you are just looking for the situation where you can make yourself feel good by bashing Americans.

And for a post with two simple rhetorical questions to get +5 Insightful... What the fuck is wrong with the mods?