April 1, 2009
Cal Poly 'Black Widow' Supermileage Racer
Gunning for Top Spot in '09 Competition
The 2008 College of Engineering
Supermileage Team with the Black Widow
SAN LUIS OBISPO -- Students from Cal Poly's College of Engineering are tuning up the 'Black Widow' supermileage racecar and looking for another first-place win.
Cal Poly will enter its vehicle, the Black Widow, to compete against 51 other high school and university teams from around the world in the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas. This year’s supermileage challenge event takes place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana from April 16 to 18.
In 2008, with a whopping 2,752.3 miles per gallon, Cal Poly’s ‘Supermileage’ car finished second place in the competition. In 2007, Cal Poly's "Black Widow" took first place with an impressive 1,902.7 mpg.
The annual student competition, hosted by Shell oil company, awards cash prizes of up to $5,000 for the most fuel-efficient vehicles. Not only are the 52 student teams looking to break the 1,208 kilometres per litre record set in 2008, they are providing the world a glimpse into the fuels, technologies and transportation of tomorrow.
The 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster contains 52 teams from high schools, universities, technical schools and colleges from North and South America - including Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Click here to read the April 1 San Luis Obispo Tribune story on the 2009 Black Widow
Click here to read about the 2008 Supermileage Finish for Cal Poly
Click here to read more about the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas competition and entrants