RaceAbout Registered Team in the Automotive X PRIZE

16.04.2009

RaceAbout Association today announced its acceptance into the multimillion dollar Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, an international competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles to offer more consumer choices.

RaceAbout Association officially submitted its registration application on February 27th, 2009 an important step towards ensuring that it is at the starting line when the competition kicks off next year. Final confirmation of the team's Registered Team status is pending their signature of a Master Team Agreement (MTA) upon its upcoming release.

RaceAbout Association is an alumni organization at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences with a purpose to maintain RaceAbout prototype vehicle and support Automotive Engineering education. The association's Progressive Automotive X PRIZE team consists of students and faculty advisors of several disciplines from Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences and Institute of Design at Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

RaceAbout Association plans to participate in the competition with their Electric-RaceAbout (E-RA) vehicle. Electric-RaceAbout is 2 seat battery electric vehicle under development at Automotive Engineering laboratory at Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences.

More than 100 teams submitted applications before registration closed on February 28. Those accepted, as RaceAbout Association has been, become a Registered Team and move one step closer to competing for their share of the $10 million prize purse, funded by Progressive. Next, Registered Teams will undergo Design Judging based on a detailed Data Submission providing information on vehicle features, production capability, safety, and business plans. Those that pass Design Judging become Competing Teams and move into the performance testing phase with competition events that will begin as early as May 2010.

Winners will come in two classes - Mainstream and Alternative - and cash prizes will be awarded to those that can design and build production-capable, 100 MPGe (miles per gallon energy equivalent) vehicles that people will want to buy and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance. Winners will be announced in 2010.

- We congratulate RaceAbout Association on its commitment to developing super fuel efficient vehicles, noted Julie Zona, Director of Team Development and Relations for the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE. - While there's still much to be accomplished before reaching that starting line, we're pleased to see that they have taken this important step in the process.

More Information

RaceAbout Association
Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE
Progressive
Degree Programme in Automotive and Transport Engineering