Car goes 1,530 km on 1 liter of fuel

On a single liter of gasoline, it ran from Seoul to Pusan, then returned.

The Megatronic team, a student research group at the Chonbuk University Engineering Department for fuel-efficient automobiles, took the top prize at the First Econo-Marathon Competition, sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, at the Olympic Park.

The Econo-Marathon Competition honors automobiles that are able to run the longest on the least amount of fuel. The one-person vehicle, the MS-100, built by the Megatronic team, traveled 1,530 kilometers on a single liter of gasoline.

The Megatronic team won the top prize for its low fuel-consuming automobile while setting a domestic record. The previous domestic record of 300 kilometers was shattered with a new distance five times greater.

At the competition of 40 participants, second place went to the Association of Graduate Students Nationwide with the distance of 608 kilometers.

Third place was garnered by the Kumho Engineering team with 490 kilometers.

The fuel-consumption of the average automobile is 10-15 kilometers per a liter of gasoline.

The vehicle built by the Megatronic team was 252 centimeters long, 88 centimeters wide and 35 kilograms in weight. Being built light, it carried a 97cc motorcycle engine.

With their victory, the team secured a place at the International Econo-Marathon, the Honda Eco-power Competition slated for next year in Japan. However, their records fall far short of the world record. Early this year, a French team built a vehicle that ran 3,151 kilometers on a single liter of gasoline, a distance from Korea to Vietnam.

"We are more joyous, as the project involved thirty of us spending long nights for the past month," team captain Chun said. "It is our hope that through these competitions, people might become more aware of fuel-efficient environmentally friendly vehicles even as the technology for these vehicles improves."

Kim Kwang-Oh kokim@donga.com