“An Inter-disciplinary Approach to the Development of a Low-consumption Prototype for the European Shell Eco-marathon

The paper describes the design, the test and the optimization of a prototype for the European Shell Eco-Marathon (SEM) competition. The design step includes the definition of vehicle shape, materials, structure, tires, power-train and control with an inter-disciplinary approach. The test phase was performed both numerically and experimentally. The vehicle, named Carla 2012 has been build at the DII (Department of Innovation Engineering) at Università Del Salento and tested on the facilities available at the Nardò Technical Center and was able to satisfy all the specifics of SEM regulation in 2012 edition. The optimization step is aimed at defining an innovative powertrain and an high-efficiency race strategy in order to achieve 3000 km with the equivalent of 1 liter of gasoline.