One of Jules Verne's most popular works will come to life next year, with a decidedly modern twist.

In April, as many as 30 teams will set out from Paris on a race around the world, each aiming to cover 25,000 miles and make it back to the French capital within 80 days—which means covering about 320 miles a day. And they have to do it without burning any fossil fuels.

The "80 Day Race" obviously is inspired by Verne's 1873 novel Around the World in 80 Days, in which protagonist Phileas Fogg bets he can circumnavigate the globe in record time, thanks to new technologies like the steam engine.

"New technology allowed [Fogg] to do something really radical," says race co-founder Frank Manders. "We are currently now in exactly the same situation." Electric and fuel cell vehicles are within striking range of internal combustion engine-powered vehicles when it comes to efficiency, range, and cost. An international competition to improve the technology is just what's needed, he says.

The race will head east out of the City of Light. The exact route hasn't been decided yet—political realities in Russia and the Middle East make things tricky—but after crossing the Pacific to the northwest US or Canada, teams will head south through Mexico and Central America. Then southward into South America—as far as Brazil or Argentina—before crossing the Atlantic to North Africa or southern Europe. From there it's a dash back to Paris. Teams will stop in about 15 "host cities" along the way but are otherwise free to set their own itinerary.

For the first iteration of the race, Manders says teams will compete only on land. The race will organize ocean crossings that are as sustainable as possible, possibly using flights burning biofuels (currently commercial aviation's great hope for cutting emissions). That's for practical reasons, Manders says: The kind of high-speed sailboat teams would want to use could make the whole shebang prohibitively expensive (take note, Larry Ellison).

80 Day Race

If the 80-Day Race catches on, Manders says water crossings would eventually be included, maybe with electric motorboats or even planes. (The solar-powered Solar Impulse 2 comes to mind, but its slow speed and need for perfect weather conditions make it a poor choice for a race. Maybe Chip Yates will have figured out mid-air recharging of electric aircraft by then.)

Race organizers wanted to keep the rule book as short as possible, Manders says, to encourage a wide range of ideas (take note, Bernie Ecclestone). First, no combustion engines allowed. That means no hybrids, no plug-in electrics, and no gas-powered range extending motors like those available for the BMW i3 and Chevy Volt. Electric power, fuel cells, a combo of the two or anything else are all okay. And there's no limit on how many vehicles, or types of vehicles, a team can use.

Second rule: All vehicles must be road-legal. This is a race on public roads, after all. That means teams are welcome to hop in a Tesla Model S, Renault Zoe, Nissan Leaf, or any other fully electric ride. Teams are encouraged to develop their own vehicles, as long as those prototypes are street-legal.

There is a general appeal to a lot of people to do something outrageous, something that really defines your life. Frank Manders, General Director

There will also be rules governing how much rest competitors get per day, to keep everyone sane and safe, Manders says. Teams are supposed to obey local traffic laws, and race stewards can assign penalties in the event of a "gross violation."

Manders says he's already in talks with 15 teams, and hopes that number will reach 30 by race time. "You have a group of people that really likes big challenges," he says. "There is a general appeal to a lot of people to do something outrageous, something that really defines your life."

One of those teams is Storm Eindhoven, a group of 29 students at Eindhoven University of Technology, basically the Netherlands' MIT. They have no interest in pooling together their spare cash for a Chevy Spark EV. They're building their own electric ride, and it's a motorcycle. The world's first all-electric touring motorcycle, in fact.

The bike will deliver 28.5 kWh of energy—more than the new Nissan Leaf's 24 kWh—when fully loaded with batteries. The team hasn't built the thing yet, but says simulations show its range will be a whopping 236 miles. That's Tesla territory.

STORM

Storm, which has been working on this since September 2014, decided on two wheels in part because "it's one of the most attractive means of transport," says team manager Texas van Leeuwenstein. But it's also a good choice for a race that will run through cities—cities with traffic. While the competitors in the Tesla will be stuck in stop and go congestion, the Dutch students will be lane-splitting their way to victory.

The downside of a motorcycle is that it's not as comfortable as a car for riding 300 miles a day. That's why the team opted to make a touring model, and it's working on the suspension and other elements to make it less tiring for long distance rides. The battery design is modular, so a rider can remove batteries in the upper half and make the bike less top heavy and more agile for riding on rough roads or through traffic.

And while Storm has plenty of work left to do—including building and testing the bike—and will have plenty of competition, the team is confident about the race, van Leeuwenstein says. "We're quite ready for it."

Phileas Fogg would be proud.