Powered by a 110cc scooter engine, the Spira foam car returns 100 MPG, weighs just 302 Lbs and tops out at 70 MPH. Built using common motorcycle parts, Lon Ballard, the vehicle's inventor, suggests it could use any bike engine you want.

The most noticeable thing about the 10-foot long, five-foot wide Spira is its foam body, reminiscent of one of Erwin Wurm's fat cars but without the commentary on consumerism. That foam endows the Spira with several fantastically unique abilities.

First, you can run it into things without either that thing or you getting hurt. Second, it's unsinkable, meaning the Spira is future-proof, should that future include rising sea levels. Third, it's sexy. Ballard doesn't substantiate this claim with any examples, but we'd imagine the voluptuous curves and lack of sharp edges could benefit dragons immensely.

Ballard claims the Spira's foam construction was inspired by yet another icon of foam construction; Croc sandals. You can easily see this in the fashionable lines and immense functionality.

Ballard intends to enter the Spira in the Automotive X Prize fuel economy race before commencing production in a place he calls "The Detroit of the East," but most people just call it Thailand.

Sprinkled throughout the film were spherical-wheeled Audis and a few other concept cars. Our favorite scene was when Will Smith’s character is calmly driving down the freeway and gets attacked by two robot transporters deciding to pull off some tricky maneuvers by rotating 180 degrees to surround him while continuing to drive forward. After the crazy Steve Jobs drone robots start to attack, Will Smith’s character puts the Audi RSQ into a 360 degree spin, again while driving straight, in an effort to eject the robots from the car. Neat! But what if this wasn’t just movie magic? What if there was a company trying to produce a spherical drive unit today? Where could I find this awesome piece of tech, you ask? Well, a company called AirShip Technologies Group is doing just that, but they’ve upped the nerd quotient even more by using everyone’s favorite future car, the DMC DeLorean of Back to the Future fame.

Built to compete in the highly lucrative Automotive X-Prize, AirShip Technologies Group’s maglev-style, spherical-drive DeLorean will be powered by magnets, dual lithium-ion battery packs, elf dreams and unicorn farts –- essentially allowing it to glide across the ground like a magic carpet. And really, anything powered by "track balls" can't be too bad.

We’ll let AirShip Technologies Group explain details of the concept from their website below:

“AirShip Technologies Group has filed a Letter of Intent to enter the competition for the Progressive Insurance AXP (Automotive X PRIZE). The PI-AXP is a very powerful design, development, construction and ultimately a race to sustain 100 mile/gallon vehicles that meet certain design aspects, tests and endurance as they undergo various road conditions.

Various competitor entries are expected, but none will show the agility of AirShip Technologies Group’s vehicle known as the AirShip. The AirShip ground transport vehicle is designed from the ground up to be powered by electric based track-spheres. Critically developed transit track spheres or “track balls”, shell brakes, suspension systems and guidance software are specified for adaptation to the chassis. For ground transit, all four drive train track spheres have a revolutionary electric base powertrain assembly that incorporates a free moving spherical ball that replaces traditional wheels and tires. The track sphere wheel assembly rotates the spheres by forward, aft and lateral electric motors that can change the direction of travel on demand. The motors fit into circular frame hubs that hold the spheres in place, vastly simplifying the drive system and eliminating the need for fuels that produce Green House Gases (GHGs).

At the Kent State University TRIZCON2008 Problem Solving Event (April 2008) for the Altshuller Institute of TRIZ Studies, the Track Sphere technology design and development was modified and accelerated in order to move AirShip concept vehicle components to a Delorean ATG production car. The experimental workshop in support of the US$10 million Automotive X PRIZE had delegates from Germany, Israel, Ireland, Russia, UK, Korea, Taiwan, and multiple US states. Represented were several members from the industries of electronics, automotive, aerospace, control systems and textile industries, tire industry, universities, private industry and consulting. The X PRIZE will go to the vehicle that can demonstrate 100 miles per gallon or the equivalent in alternative fuels and able to drive at 100 miles/hour, in a production-capable vehicle.

The science of the Track Sphere hyper-efficient transit drive system and integrated frame and hub, enables the driver to maneuver all four spheres for better handling and steering control while moving the AirShip in a 180-degree motion on center for reverse from a stationary position. Enter the AirShip with the ability to exploit electric power that has a long life expectancy as an efficient, quiet and powerful energy source alternative. Those off-the-shelf electric power sources currently under consideration for vehicle propulsion are Bio-Diesel, Fuel Cell, and Lithium-ion Battery Packs; plus Solar Fabric Photovoltaic's for supplemental vehicle electronics.

AirShipTG’s design is focused on aerodynamics of speed and light weight manufacturing. The exterior car body is made of composites, stainless steel or aluminum. AirShip’s lightweight composite frame structure is similar to those found in race cars and jet aircraft; yet this one weighs a scant 250 pounds and can support 2,200 pounds gross weight.
Using an Open Technology Innovation approach developed from work in the Open Source Software industry, we are modifying the AirShip Use Case for ground transit only in order to make the Automotive X-Prize 100 miles per gallon (or equivalent in alternative fuels or electricity) and the 100 miles per hour vehicle qualifying requirements.

We all love our automobiles, but this initiative is designed to reduce green house gases for the world! In fact, our cars even take on our personalities or visa versa; they get us from home to work and from work to home. However, the automobile is facing a dilemma as it is at the intersection of two world problems – that of oil dependency and climate change due to green house gases. That’s why we are doing what we can to make a difference by competing in the Automotive X PRIZE where our team will compete beside worldwide teams to create hyper-efficient vehicles. The AirShip’s energy source is electricity which also produces electricity via a solar cell fabric which greatly miniaturizes the solar cells of the past so that the solar fabric serves as the outer skin of the vehicle.”

[via: AirShip Technologies]

First, 80 MPG for a Fox-body Mustang is like 300 MPG for a Geo Metro. We haven't taken the effort to run the equations, but we're pretty sure there just isn't that much energy in a gallon to begin with, much less all of the losses from various frictions and combustion inefficiencies.

The car is to be entered in the Progressive Automotive X Prize challenge and if Doug's claims turn out to be valid, we plan on turning in our engineering card, that's all we're saying. Check out the video on YouTube and see what you think for yourselves. [Ecomodder]

In addition to the hybrid, an all-electric model is also being developed. A drivable prototype should be ready by September.

In addition to performance and economy, Hybrid Technologies is working hard to ensure the new supercar will be comfortable and driver-friendly. Movable aerodynamic aids will be capable of transitioning from low-drag to high-down force, improving both handling and economy. The company wouldn't release specific power numbers, but when asked if they could challenge a vehicle like the Corvette, Cerven responded, "way out of the ballpark—it's gonna be wild."

By now, you're probably thinking that this all sounds too good to be true. Trust us, we are too. With vehicles like the Fisker Karma and Tesla roadster topping out at 120 and 130mph respectively, Hybrid Technologies would need to bring a significant level of innovation to this vehicle in order to compete with gasoline-powered supercars. Expect to find out whether or not all this is hot air during the X Prize competition "some time in 2009." [via Popular Mechanics]

Motive believes that the transportation sector needs to undergo a rapid evolutionary change in order to maintain current standards of living while reducing our energy needs dramatically. In order to achieve this, a shift is required toward low volume high-tech manufacturing techniques. This will enable us rapid evolution of individualized vehicles that use a fraction of the energy required by today's automobiles and public transportation vehicles. The Automotive X-Prize will help to push the boundaries of what is perceived not only as possible, but also as probable. Motive's intent in entering the X-Prize is to demonstrate our capabilities in the fields of automotive design and engineering. Motive believes in the need for innovation and sustainability and is thus committed to developing and using ecologically sensitive materials and manufacturing methods.

The 2 initial renders below depict our BEHEV - Battery Exchange Hybrid Electric Vehicle that combines the appeal of a sports car with everyday versatility. The sporty 2+2 shooting brake is framed within a layered structure giving it muscular forms and proportions. Keep an eye on Motive for future developments.

* Four passenger, full size vehicle
* BEHEV tm - Battery Exchange Hybrid Electric Vehicle
* Modular composite/aluminium/steel chassis structure
* Lightweight bio-composite RIM body panels
* FWD multi-speed quickshift transaxle
* Regenerative braking, traction control
* High-performance ICE generator
* 1800lbs

[Source; Motive Industries]

The qualified entrants will compete for the giant wad of all-Progressive supplied cash in a variety of real world challenges in the categories of speed, distance, traffic, terrain, and weather. Everybody and his brother is in on this one — The US House and Senate have already approved NTSB, DOT, DOE backing with the DOE tossing $3.5 million in grant money into the fold for education of youth and consumers.; The Sierra Club and NRDC support grassroots efforts; Individuals like Al Gore, Dean Kamen (who will be entering and sits on the Automotive X Prize Board), the Governator, and many more are putting their voices behind the effort.

There are already 64 pledged entrants from 22 countries and 10 US states from private, college, and even high school groups. Four examples of which were present at the show, The Venture 1, the first look at the MDI Air Car, a Ale from France, and the "Hybrid Attack" - a diesel electric hybrid built by a team from the West Philly High School. The applications will begin being accepted starting in two months, so if you want a shot at 10 million bucks, you better start filling out the paperwork now. Find out all the nitty gritty details at ProgressiveXPrize.org.

Automotive X PRIZE to Showcase Innovation at 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit

WHAT/ The Automotive X PRIZE, an international, multi-million dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles, has announced plans to participate in this year's North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) during its Press Preview and Industry Days, January 13-18. The independent and technology-neutral Automotive X PRIZE competition is open to teams from around the world who can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG equivalent vehicles that people want to buy, and that meet market needs for price, size, capability, safety and performance.

Once the competition officially launches - in early 2008 - a thorough qualification process will assess safety, cost, features and business plans to ensure that only production-capable, real cars compete. Those who qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stage races that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. To date, more than 50 teams from seven countries have signed a Letter of Intent—including Tesla, Visionary Vehicles, Aptera, ZAP, Loremo and Cornell University— to compete for a share of the multi-million dollar prize purse and global publicity.

Several teams will join Automotive X PRIZE in their booth at this year's NAIAS. The Automotive X PRIZE stage races are expected to travel through multiple cities from coast to coast in 2009 and 2010. Winning vehicles will be those that finish in the fastest time while achieving at least 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy and strict emissions caps.

WHO: Don Foley, Automotive X PRIZE Executive Director Neal Anderson, Cristin Lindsay and John Shore, Automotive X PRIZE Senior Directors Gale Banks, President, Gale Banks Engineering and Automotive X PRIZE Advisor Letter of Intent Team Members, to be announced shortly. NOTE: A detailed listing of Letter of Intent team members and other show attendees will be released by AXP in the coming weeks.

ABOUT THE AUTOMOTIVE X PRIZE: The Automotive X PRIZE is a project of the X PRIZE Foundation, which creates and manages prizes that drive innovators to solve the world's greatest challenges. The X PRIZE Foundation first captured world headlines in 2004, when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Automotive X PRIZE is being designed with the generous help of world-class experts, advisors and organizations who represent a broad and diverse group of interests and share the organization's concerns and goals. For more detail, see our advisors, supporters, and blog at http://auto.xprize.org.

CONTENDERS To date, more than 50 teams representing 7 countries have signed letters of intent to compete. The list includes established carmakers (Tesla, Visionary Vehicles), universities (Cornell University) Michigan-based contenders (Michigan Vision), entrepreneurs and established engineers. AirShip Technologies Group, Lake Oswego, OR ° Alpha-Core/Poulsen Hybrid, Bridgeport, CT* ° Aptera Motors, Carlsbad California ° Avion Car Company, Bellingham WA ° Brilliant Automotive, Fairfield, IA ° Commuter Cars Corp, Spokane, WA ° Cornell University, Ithaca, NY ° DEHyds, Tenino, WA ° Delta Motorsport, Northamptonshire, UK °

Desert Fuel, Phoenix,AZ ° Disruptech, Newhall, CA ° Team Dragonfly, Northampton, UK ° Electric Truck Inc, Greenwich, CT ° Energy Highway, Pleasanton, CA ° FuelVapor Technologies, Maple Ridge, BC ° GreenIt!, Portland, OR ° HerfDuo, Berlin, Germany ° HyKinesys, Rolling Hills Estate,CA ° ICEwave,

Terre Haute, IN ° Illuminati, Virden, IL ° Kinetic Vehicles, Creswell, OR ° Kuttner Doran Innovations, Charlottesville, VA* ° Loremo, Munich, Germany ° Lydell Industries, Frewsburg, NY ° Maine Automotive X, Camden, ME ° MDI, Inc. and Zero Pollution Motors, LLC, New Paltz, NY* ° Michigan Vision, Ann Arbor, MI * ° Motive Industries, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ° MotoTron Disrupt, Oshkosh, WI ° West Philly Hybrid X Team, Philadelphia PA ° Phoenix Motorcars, Ontario, CA* ° Physics Lab of Lake Havasu, Lake Havasu, AZ* ° Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc., Portland, OR ° Prometheus Systems, Flagstaff, AZ ° Psycho-Active, Moore, SC* ° RaceAbout Association, Helsinki Finland ° Red Light Racing (RLR), Callaway, MA ° Kernel™-AXP, Beverly Hills CA ° Spirit One, Alberta CA ° T3 Motion, Costa Mesa CA ° Team Global-E, Mandeville, LA ° Tilting Vehicle Australia, Kilburn, Australia* ° TriTrack,Austin, TX ° Team Twike IV, Germany ° Tesla Motors, San Carlos, CA ° Valentin Technologies, Elm Grove, WI* ° Velozzi, Beverly Hills CA* ° Visionary Vehicle, NY, NY* ° X Tracer Team Switzerland, Winterthur, Switzerland ° ZAP, Santa Rosa, CA *teams marked with an asterisk will be available to the media during the Detroit Auto Show.
[Source: X-PRIZE]

X-Prize began as a somewhat farfetched competition to build space-bound aircrafts, but it has since evolved into many sub-categories, one being an automotive grouping that requires clean, efficient and most importantly, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 mpg. The actual X-Prize Automotive competition pits each vehicle through rigorous tests evaluation all aspects of the vehicle.

Pictured above is Aptera, what us gamblers would call the "lock" for the prize. Aptera is a $30,000 electric plug-in and plug-in hybrid capable for 300 mpg. [Click On Detroit]

Press Release:

SANTA MONICA, Calif., August 1, 2007 —The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP), a competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles to help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change, announced today that over 30 teams have signed a letter of intent to compete once the prize is officially funded and launched.

The international competition, in which qualified teams will compete head to head, aims to dramatically increase consumer access to ultra-efficient, clean, affordable and desirable vehicles. The 30 plus teams include diverse groups from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. More than 300 additional teams have inquired about joining and are actively considering entry.

"We are thrilled with the wide variety of teams and technologies from around the world that have expressed an interest in joining the competition," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, CEO and Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation. "We are confident that the Automotive X PRIZE will motivate and bring visibility to a range of non-traditional solutions from both traditional and non-traditional players. The time for incremental change is over. We need radical breakthroughs to stem the consumption of fossil fuels. An X PRIZE can help make this happen."

The independent and technology-neutral AXP competition is open to teams from around the world to prove they can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or equivalent fuel economy vehicles that people want to buy. Industry experts will scrutinize team plans. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stages that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed 100 MPG equivalent, fall under strict emissions caps and finish in the fastest time.

"In just a short time, we have seen a tremendous enthusiasm for the Automotive X PRIZE," said Donald J. Foley, executive director of the AXP. "We believe this enthusiasm reflects the strong interest among the car-driving public for new options of super-efficient vehicles. It is clear energy legislation in Congress will fall far short of encouraging the type of breakthroughs that are needed to provide a new generation of ultra-efficient vehicles. We have designed AXP to be a technology-neutral competition to help provide this new generation of vehicles, and we are pleased that the fairness of our competition guidelines has been ratified by the interest among a wide variety of teams and technologies."

The competition is expected to travel through multiple cities while broadcast to a global audience in 2009 and 2010, building consumer demand for vehicles in the competition and demonstrating many practical, clean and affordable vehicle options. Cities involved in the competition route have not yet been chosen.

Reflecting the nature of the non-partisan effort, two leading members of Congress on energy issues, Senators Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), have expressed their support for the AXP.

The AXP has also received support and encouragement from several government agencies that will help the privately-funded organization conduct the competition and test vehicle compliance, including the U.S. Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory; the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway, Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Highway Administration (FHA); the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ); and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

In addition, non-governmental organizations supporting the AXP include the National Resources Defense Council, Union of Concerned Scientists, the Apollo Alliance, the Consumer Federation of America, Global Green USA, CALSTART and Greenpeace among others.

The AXP has recently finalized a supporting sponsorship from Adobe. Other early AXP sponsors and donors include Idealab, Ray Sidney of Big George Ventures, the Elbaz Foundation, and the Jack D. Hidary Foundation.

Once fundraising for the prize purse and administration is complete, the AXP will officially launch. "We are seeking assistance from major foundations, corporations and philanthropic individuals to help bring about this revolution in transportation," Diamandis said. "Visionary individuals and organizations have risen to this type of challenge before by backing the Ansari X PRIZE for personal spaceflight, and the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics. We're confident we can build a financial base for this competition as well, and expect one or more heroes to rise to this challenge."

The following 30 teams have signed a letter of intent signaling their intent to apply for the AXP competition:

* Aptera Motors - California, USA
* Commuter Cars Corp. - Washington, USA
* Cornell University - New York, USA
* DEHyds - Washington, USA
* Delta Motorsport - Northants, UK
* Desert Fuel - Arizona, USA
* Disruptech - California, USA
* Dragonfly Technology LTD - Northhampton, UK
* Fuel Vapor Technologies - British Columbia, Canada
* GreenIt! - Oregon, USA
* Herf Duo - Berlin, Germany
* HyKinesys - California, USA
* Kinetic Vehicles - Oregon, USA
* Kuttner Doran Inventions - Virginia, USA
* Loremo AG - Munich, Germany
* Maine Automotive X - Maine, USA
* MDI, Inc. & Zero Pollution Motors LLC - New York, USA
* Michigan Vision - Michigan, USA
* MotoTron Corporation - Wisconsin, USA
* Phoenix Motorcars - California, USA
* Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc. - Oregon, USA
* Prometheus Systems, LLC - Arizona, USA
* Psycho-Active - Georgia, USA
* Roane Inventions - Texas, USA
* Society for Sustainable Mobility - California, USA
* Spirit One - Alberta, Canada
* Valentin Technologies - Wisconsin, USA
* Tesla Motors - California, USA
* Velozzi - California, USA
* X Tracer - Winterthur, Switzerland
* ZAP Motors - California, USA

ABOUT THE AUTOMOTIVE X PRIZE

The goal of the Automotive X PRIZE (AXP) is to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles that help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change. The multi-million dollar AXP purse will be awarded to the teams that win a stage race for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 miles per gallon equivalent fuel economy. For more information please visit auto.xprize.org or email autoprize@xprize.org.

ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION

The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space exploration to offer new prizes for breakthroughs in the life sciences, energy and the environment, education and global entrepreneurship. In October of 2006, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for genomics, which will reward the first private effort to map 100 human genomes in 10 days ushering in a new era of personalized preventative medicine. For more information please visit www.xprize.org or email press@xprize.org