How Does 6,786 Miles Per Gallon Sound?

That is what happened in Europe during a contest to build a vehicle that can go the furthest on a tank of fuel. And it was Ethanol to boot! It was however 2,300 miles less than last years winner!

(Cnet)The vehicle averaged an astounding 2,885 kilometers per liter, or approximately 6,786 miles per gallon, according to an announcement released Sunday by race officials.

While the car did not break last year's record of 9,023 mpg, it was significant in that it was an ethanol-powered vehicle. Hydrogen-powered vehicles, which were predicted to win early on in the race, became runners-up.

The ESSTIN-Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy team, also from France, took second place with their hydrogen-powered vehicle, which traveled at 6,548 mpg. France's Polytech Nantes-La Joliverie took third place, with 6,421 mpg. Another hydrogen-powered car, entered by the German Hochschule Offenburg team, came in at No. 4 with 6,148 mpg.

This year's Shell Eco-marathon took place on the Nogaro circuit in southwest France. More than 3,000 students, representing 250 European educational institutions, participated in the event. Eight teams managed to break the 4,704 mpg barrier.

It's time to put that technology to use!