  
 Developed in the late 1980's by now renown efficiency genius Amory Lovins (of the Rocky Mountain Institute), the Hyper Car still stands as the world's most user friendly, efficient automobile. Click images to enlarge.
The Hyper Car gets a staggering 93 miles to the gallon -- out of the box, representing a paradigm shift, which can be applied to all other forms of powered transit: air, train, boat, bus, freight-liner, sports car, van, SUV and so on. The Hyper Car dramatically improves upon traditional fuel efficiency standards by addressing three design fundamentals: body weight, aerodynamics, and engine efficiency.
Body Weight
Discovery #1: Today's Vehicles are Heavier than need be.
By replacing the time-honored steel & iron chassis, aluminum "shells," and titanium components of a car with a more advanced material, the Hyper Car instantly becomes 2 to 3 times lighter than traditional automobiles. Metals are ... heavy... and in fact, the average car burns more than 90% of its fuel just to move itself (not the passengers). The Hyper Car design model replaces our heavy metal chassis, frame and components with a fiber material similar to a super-strong tennis racket. This "carbon-graphite" blend reduces the car's overall weight, offers increased tensile strength, and lessens overall vehicle wear and tear. Other benefits include: leaner suspension, improved braking, longer lived tires, and less demand on the engine. On the manufacturing side - the graphite chassis & skin concept is less energy-intensive to produce, and the exterior materials can be dyed rather than painted, eliminating the toxicities associated with today's spray painting practices.
Bottom Line: Your average 30 mile to-the-gallon-American-car now gets over 55 miles to the gallon...
Aerodynamics
Discovery #2: Aerodynamics -- over, Under and Around the vehicle -- essential.
Take a look at today's cars and trucks -- the amount of "drag" created by the angle of the front bumper, hood and windshield is astounding! Some of these vehicles are literally walls on wheels; steep flat surfaces careening into the wind... The Hyper Car smooths those body contours with attention to air flow. It also addresses the windbreaks under your feet. The Hyper Car adds a fitted, single sheath apron over underside components (such as axles and open air mechanicals), greatly reducing wind resistance from underneath the vehicle. It can also boast half moon wheel covers on its sides, dramatically reducing pockets of trapped air within wheel wells. A vehicle equipped with all of these improvements will substantially eliminate wind resistance, and increase its efficiency from 5 - 50%.
Bottom Line: Your 55 mile-to-the-gallon Hyper Car now gets more than 70 miles to the gallon...
Engine Efficiency
Discovery #3: You are familiar with this one - regenerative braking.
The hybrid gas/electric concept is based entirely upon this innovation. By capturing the energy expended during braking, storing it in a battery and then using that energy to co-power the engine at the appropriate time -- fuel efficiency increases yet again, another 10 to 25 miles per gallon.
Bottom Line: Your 70 plus mile-to-the-gallon Hyper Car now averages 93 miles per gallon. Bravo.
The Good News
The Hyper Car introduces a simple 1-2-3 paradigm shift to modern thinking. Certainly the engineers at our world-leading auto companies are interested in efficiency. . . Efficient automobiles benefit the consumer and the environment; once more, these benefits compliment and compound each other. . .
The more weight you eliminate, the smaller an engine you'll need, the longer your breaks will last, the better your fuel efficiency. By utilizing ultra-lightweight carbon-fibers, the Hyper Car improves crash safety, reduces its weight by a factor of 2 to 3, and increases its MPGs. By making aerodynamics a holistic consideration the Hyper Car glides through the air with less wind resistance, and further increases its MPGs. By taking advantage of regenerative braking technology, the hybrid engine can be relied on to power itself via battery at times, again reducing the demand for gasoline or other fuels. . .
The Hyper Car design template delivers what consumers value most: better performance, enhanced safety and smart economics. The Hyper Car is affordable, manufacturable on a local level, and requires no concessions on comfort. The concept offers us: less money at the pump, less pollution out of the tail pipe, an exhilarating driving experience, improved safety, less vehicle maintenance, and a living example of what today's technologies are capable of. The Hyper Car invites us to make Americans more environmentally sustainable by making our transportation intelligent, consumer-centric, and less reliant on polluting sources of energy.
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To learn more about the Hyper Car, see our links below.
Also below -- check out the ground breaking book "Natural Capitalism," view related links, and green your electricity (if you have not already done so) . . .
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