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Toyota’s petrol-electric Prius has won China’s first “clean” vehicle rally.
The Prius, driven by Japan’s Kunihiko Takemoto and navigated by China’s Wang
Hui, won the sixth annual Michelin Challenge Bibendum – held in Shanghai in mid
October.
The Prius – one of the few volume-production vehicles in the 150-vehicle
field – finished ahead of prototype fuel-cell vehicles.
Half the field consisted of electric vehicles (battery or fuel-cell powered)
and a significant number of internal combustion engines used biofuels: 38 cars,
20 two-wheel vehicles, one truck and 15 buses.
Global sales of Prius passed 280,000 in September, representing a huge saving
in greenhouse gas emissions.
Michelin established the Challenge Bibendum in 1998 to allow manufacturers’
research into “clean” vehicles to be assessed in real operating conditions.
The year 1998 was the one hundredth anniversary of the famed Bibendum
“Michelin Man” symbol.
“The 2004 Challenge Bibendum in Shanghai is a fantastic opportunity for
automobile manufacturers, as well as technology developers, energy suppliers and
researchers, to demonstrate the performance, safety and comfort of high-tech
vehicles,” said Edouard Michelin, Michelin Group managing partner.
The rules for the three-day 2004 Challenge Bibendum rally were organised with
the cooperation of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile).
The l event concluded with an international symposium on sustainable
mobility.
Toyota’s Prius has fuel economy of 4.4 litres /100km (tested to ADR 81/01
under controlled factory conditions). It requires no special training to drive,
uses regular unleaded fuel and has 456 litres of boot space. There is no need
for external charging of its batteries.
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