High School Students Design Zero-Emission Electric Car

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - A new electric car can get more than 300 miles per gallon. That's three, zero, zero.

But this car wasn't created by forward-thinking manufacturers in Japan, Detroit or Germany. It's the brainchild of students from DeLaSalle Education Center, a high school in Kansas City, Mo. for students who need an alternative to the traditional system.

They took part in the school's Automobile Design Studio, which is aimed at fostering outside-the-box thinking in a real-world setting.

Their car produces zero emissions, a feat it achieved on Bridgestone's Texas Proving Grounds. Thinking big, the students have applied to Guinness World Records for approval of their achievement, according to a school website .

The students' electric car consists of a chassis from the 2000 Lola Indy, an ultra light-weight aerodynamic body and Bridgestone Ecopia EP100 tires, and a high-end electric propulsion system specially designed for the vehicle.

The students on the project, who include Kelvin Duley, Zack Knighten, Mario Ramirez and Natalie Fenaroli, were assisted by technocrats from Bridgestone Americas' Technical Center in Akron, Ohio.

With a test run showing the vehicle got around 300 mpg, the students are looking for a suitable automaker who can turn the project into a full-scale commercial entity, reported Nitrobahn.com .

Electric cars are fairly common, and are made by some of the world's top manufacturers, including BMW, Mercedes, Ford and Nissan.

Electric car are powered by an electric motor instead of a gasoline engine and they get energy from a controller that regulates the power level as determined by the driver's acceleration. The cars use energy stored in rechargeable batteries, which are recharged by common household electricity, reported hybridcars.com .