Could you do 10,000 miles to a gallon? A spoonful of petrol goes a very long way in these fuel-sipping wacky racers

Price: build your own

Top speed: 50mph

Weight: 70kg

Engine: Honda GX160

MPG: 3,000 plus

“I hope you don’t suffer from claustrophobia,” smiles Fred. He’s an engineer working with Shell and is over from France as part of the preparations for its annual fuel eco-marathon. I’m lying two inches off the Tarmac on what looks like a modified surfboard with three spindly wheels. Fred and another mechanic have strapped me on to it and are now lowering the carapace of the car’s body over me. Imagine a flimsy plastic coffin with portholes, or maybe a 6ft cigar tube. Once it’s bolted into position, Fred grins through the tiny window at me and gives me the thumbs up. I can’t move my head, feet, arms or shoulders. All I can do is swivel my eyeballs and hook my index fingers around the fiddly handlebar controls which rest on my chest. Actually, I think I do suffer from claustrophobia…

The Shell Eco-marathon is a global competition that challenges students to create the most fuel-efficient cars imaginable. Anything is allowed. All the teams have to do is complete a 10-mile course using as little petrol as possible. The final is being held today at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and is free if you want to turn up and see how the 177 teams do. It’s an amazing sight and will look like a bizarre, slow-motion version of the Wacky Races crossed with The Great Egg Race of the 70s.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Where’s the next petrol station?: on the track with the Shell Eco-marathon prototype. Photograph: Ed Robinson

To say these vehicles are “cars” really does stretch the notion of what you think a car is. They don’t have doors, boots, radios, suspension, aircon or anything that in any way makes them a pleasure to drive. You need two people to get you in and out of them. But what they do have are some of the highest mpg figures ever seen. The cars are the fuel camels of the motoring world. They take the tiniest sip of petrol and then cover inconceivable distances. The current record, set more than a decade ago by a Swiss team in the Pac-Car II, did the equivalent of 12,665 miles to a single gallon.

The car I’m in won’t achieve anything like that – it’ll do a rather shabby 3,000mpg. It’s a test car from Shell built to give the impression of what can be achieved. This car weighs 70kg, many of the competition models come in around 50kg. It’s powered by a Honda GX160 – one of the world’s most reliable engines and one that you will be familiar with from your lawnmower or strimmer. The car has Shimano bike brakes and carbon-fibre wheels.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Let’s roll: the Shell protoype parked up. Technology it uses could one day feature in the car you drive. Photograph: Ed Robinson

But it’s only when you see the petrol tank that its range really comes home to you – it is only 250ml, the size of a large glass of wine. But as Norman, another engineer, points out, the car will only use a tiny fraction of that. “We reckon on about 1 tsp per 10 miles,” he says. The idea is that technology developed here trickles down from the lab, to the garage, to the track and, finally, to us on the road. “Things like aero, frictionless wheels, ceramic brakes, electromagnetism…” says Norman, before adding that a couple of years ago a team built their car with a 3D printer.

I pull the throttle trigger and off I go. It’s noisy, bumpy, and unexpectedly quick. This car would do 50mph if you had nerves of steel. I manage about 27mph. Fred told me to “accelerate hard then coast”. I finish my lap and they free me from my eco box. It’s inspiring, incredible really. But one big question remains unanswered: why would a petrol company sponsor an event that’s all about fuel abstinence?

For more information, go to shell.co.uk/makethefuturelive

Car crazy in Coventry

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Lair of the big cats: vintage Jaguars take part in Coventry Motofest last year

If you prefer your car thrills of the more high-octane variety, you’d do well to head to the Coventry Motofest weekend on 3 and 4 June. It’s set to be the biggest and best festival yet with a thrilling programme of four- and two-wheeled action set to roll out across the unique Coventry ring-road sprint circuit.



The highlights for 2017 include Power Maxed Racing Team’s BTTC car driven by celebrity chef Paul Hollywood, Timo Makinen’s 1965 Monte Carlo Rally winning Mini Cooper S, the Jaguar XJ9 Le Mans car and XJ13, Jaguar Owners Club and Aston Martin Owners Club vehicles all taking to the circuit over the two days of the festival.

There will also be more than 1,000 cars and bikes on display at the two-day festival dedicated to Coventry’s motoring heritage. There will be a range of automotive activities taking place from pop-up and demonstration events to static displays and fringe events at Motofest. And, best of all, it’s totally free! For more information, head to coventrymotofest.com

Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166