How far can a car go with one liter of gasoline? Generally, most cars can travel around 20 kilometers. However, a racing car developed by a group of undergraduates in Hunan University can go farther with very little extra.

After developing an energy efficient racing car which can go 300 kilometers with one liter of gasoline last year, the upgraded version was launched this year. Now, that one liter will take it 500 kilometers.

On Oct 12, at Xiaoxiang Eagle Motorcade’s new car release party in Hunan University, this cool dark cigar-like chariot impressed everyone. It is a car researched and developed by 30 undergraduates who worked hard on it for one year, and who will take part in the 8th Honda (China) Energy Efficient Competitive Championship Contest, with one liter gasoline pushing the limits for an energy efficient racing car. If they stand out in the competition, it will go to the Philippines next January to compete in the Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2015.

On Oct 12, a team member debugs this cool black chariot. [Photo by Lu Xia, Li Zhuo]