UI Students Design Car that Could Reach 100 Mpg

You think a car averaging 40 miles per gallon is fuel efficient? Think again.

A team of University of Illinois students has designed a car that could reach 100 miles per gallon.

The (Champaign-Urbana) News-Gazette reports the students will present their car in an international competition sponsored by the oil giant Shell in Houston starting Thursday.

The car seats two people and uses a hydrogen fuel cell. Its carbon-fiber chassis weighs less than 70 pounds.

The team developed the car with a $56,000 budget. They have received support from the university's College of Engineering and several corporations.

The vehicle will have to complete six miles at a minimum average speed of 15 miles per hour around downtown Houston as part of the competition.