TIME Best Inventions 2006

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MORGAN LOK

TRANSPORTATION INVENTIONS

E-MAIL

Easy Rider
Here's a secret: you don't really need funky alternative fuels or an electric motor to trim your energy consumption on the road. Sometimes all it takes is a little ingenuity. A team of Canadian engineering students won the annual Supermileage race in Michigan with its 80-lb. carbon-fiber Mark V, which can travel 3,145 miles on a single gallon of gas. That's thanks to details like a curved underbody, an ultra-fuel-efficient 54-cc engine and a driver who understands why the turtle beat the hare. The catch? You have to drive lying down, and the windows don't open.

Inventor: University of British Columbia Supermileage Team
Availability: Prototype only
To learn more visit supermileage.ca

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