A car that offers a mileage of 180 kilometers to a litre of petrol? Yes!
It's neither a pipedream nor a gadget out of a science fiction flick. Garuda, is a car that has been developed by a group of mechanical engineering students from the Rashtriya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, Bangalore.
The super fuel-efficient, aerodynamic car, say the brains behind the project, will address raging issues like oil crisis, rising fuel costs, environmental pollution, and the desperate need for green technologies.
The car is the result of 'Project Garuda-RVCE Supermileage Car,' which was conceptualised by Nishant Sarawagi, the team leader, and seven of his mates: Bharat, Kayaan, Darshan, Jacob, Gautham, Krishna, and Rakshit.
So what are the distinctive features of this fantastic car?
The team worked under the guidance of Dr B Anand, head of the department, mechanical engineering; and Prof R S Kulkarni, department of mechanical engineering, both from the RVCE. The car was unveiled on August 2 by ace car designer Dilip Chhabria.
The fuel efficiency of the Garuda was tested on the NICE corridor and under test conditions it showed a mileage of 180 km per litre. The Garuda prototype is powered by a 97-cc Honda GK 100 engine with a 2 horse-power air-cooled engine.
It features a TAV 2 Torq A-Verter and asymmetric CVT transmission systems and a tubular A1 6063 T6 chassis, 16-inch Moulton recumbent wheels, a twin tie-rod steering system, an intermediate freewheel, a variable jet carburetor, and simple caliper cycle breaks.
The Honda GK 2-HP lawnmower engine was chosen ahead of the Briggs and Statton engine as it was locally available and spares were easier to find, the team said.
The chassis, a tubular A1 6063 T6, which is an aluminum alloy, was selected as it is very lightweight and has a high yield stress. Moreover it was easily available in Bangalore.
Shell glass fibre was used as shell material, with transparent sections made of polycarbonate sheets to provide the best design.
The team also used the intermediate freewheel mechanism using sprocket assemblies from cycles to provide for effective reduction and to prevent compression braking.
A variable jet carburettor salvaged from a TVS motorbike was used to provide better burning efficiency. Simple caliper cycle brakes were also used as they were light weight and provided sufficient braking torque.
A thick aluminum firewall with a wooden lining and a strong section of aluminum tubing was used as a roll cage providing adequate driver safety.
Bharat, one of the team members, expresses the confidence that the team would be able to better its own record in the coming years. He says that with an improved design, they will be able to deliver a car that would be able to achieve a fuel efficiency of a mind-boggling 500 km per litre!
Team leader Nishant says that India has not had any representation at international competitions like SAE Supermileage in the United States, and Shell Eco Marathon in Britain. It was with this in mind that the team decided to come up with this car.
Nishant says that the road to completing this path-breaking project was not really smooth. "It took us around four months to complete the project and we ended up spending nearly Rs 3.5 lakh (Rs 350,000). We got in touch with many mechanics to help us out, but none of them really believed in our project."
Adds Bharat: "The mechanics basically advised us to borrow concepts from other vehicles. . . but we had decided that everything in the car would be novel, our own creation."
While the car was being developed, word of what the team was trying to achieve got around and several companies contacted them, says Nishant. Although the idea was tempting, "we refused these offers as we did not want anybody's banner. Yes, now that the car is complete and there is a lot of curiosity being whipped up about it. We are open to working with manufacturers who might want to use our concept," Nishant adds.
There is also a lot of 'green' value attached to the car, the developers say. "The logic here is simple: lesser the fuel consumption, lesser the emission. We had kept this thought in mind as we live in a world which is becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues," says Nishant.
For these boys, the road does not end here. They have big plans for the future. Nishant and Bharat say that they intend to build on the existing platform and optimize the design apart from achieving a mileage of over 500 kmpl.
They also want to be the first Indian team to compete in the SAE Supermileage and UK Shell Marathon competitions.
The students said that Tantra Infosolutions, CD Adapco, Chameleon Motors, Bimal Auto Agency, Innoversant Solutions also helped them in various ways during the development of the car.
Garuda-01.jpg
Garuda-02.jpg
Garuda-03.jpg
Garuda-04.jpg
Garuda-05.jpg
Garuda-06.jpg
Infotech Enterprises Limited
Plot No.110/A & 110/B, (Behind Cyber Park),
Sy.No.68, Keonics Electronic City, Phase-I, Hosur Road,
Bangalore - 560 100, India
The super fuel-efficient, aerodynamic car, say the brains behind the project, will address raging issues like oil crisis, rising fuel costs, environmental pollution, and the desperate need for green technologies.
The car is the result of 'Project Garuda-RVCE Supermileage Car,' which was conceptualised by Nishant Sarawagi, the team leader, and seven of his mates: Bharat, Kayaan, Darshan, Jacob, Gautham, Krishna, and Rakshit.
So what are the distinctive features of this fantastic car?
The team worked under the guidance of Dr B Anand, head of the department, mechanical engineering; and Prof R S Kulkarni, department of mechanical engineering, both from the RVCE. The car was unveiled on August 2 by ace car designer Dilip Chhabria.
The fuel efficiency of the Garuda was tested on the NICE corridor and under test conditions it showed a mileage of 180 km per litre. The Garuda prototype is powered by a 97-cc Honda GK 100 engine with a 2 horse-power air-cooled engine.
It features a TAV 2 Torq A-Verter and asymmetric CVT transmission systems and a tubular A1 6063 T6 chassis, 16-inch Moulton recumbent wheels, a twin tie-rod steering system, an intermediate freewheel, a variable jet carburetor, and simple caliper cycle breaks.
The Honda GK 2-HP lawnmower engine was chosen ahead of the Briggs and Statton engine as it was locally available and spares were easier to find, the team said.
The chassis, a tubular A1 6063 T6, which is an aluminum alloy, was selected as it is very lightweight and has a high yield stress. Moreover it was easily available in Bangalore.
Shell glass fibre was used as shell material, with transparent sections made of polycarbonate sheets to provide the best design.
The team also used the intermediate freewheel mechanism using sprocket assemblies from cycles to provide for effective reduction and to prevent compression braking.
A variable jet carburettor salvaged from a TVS motorbike was used to provide better burning efficiency. Simple caliper cycle brakes were also used as they were light weight and provided sufficient braking torque.
A thick aluminum firewall with a wooden lining and a strong section of aluminum tubing was used as a roll cage providing adequate driver safety.
Bharat, one of the team members, expresses the confidence that the team would be able to better its own record in the coming years. He says that with an improved design, they will be able to deliver a car that would be able to achieve a fuel efficiency of a mind-boggling 500 km per litre!
Team leader Nishant says that India has not had any representation at international competitions like SAE Supermileage in the United States, and Shell Eco Marathon in Britain. It was with this in mind that the team decided to come up with this car.
Nishant says that the road to completing this path-breaking project was not really smooth. "It took us around four months to complete the project and we ended up spending nearly Rs 3.5 lakh (Rs 350,000). We got in touch with many mechanics to help us out, but none of them really believed in our project."
Adds Bharat: "The mechanics basically advised us to borrow concepts from other vehicles. . . but we had decided that everything in the car would be novel, our own creation."
While the car was being developed, word of what the team was trying to achieve got around and several companies contacted them, says Nishant. Although the idea was tempting, "we refused these offers as we did not want anybody's banner. Yes, now that the car is complete and there is a lot of curiosity being whipped up about it. We are open to working with manufacturers who might want to use our concept," Nishant adds.
There is also a lot of 'green' value attached to the car, the developers say. "The logic here is simple: lesser the fuel consumption, lesser the emission. We had kept this thought in mind as we live in a world which is becoming increasingly aware of environmental issues," says Nishant.
For these boys, the road does not end here. They have big plans for the future. Nishant and Bharat say that they intend to build on the existing platform and optimize the design apart from achieving a mileage of over 500 kmpl.
They also want to be the first Indian team to compete in the SAE Supermileage and UK Shell Marathon competitions.
The students said that Tantra Infosolutions, CD Adapco, Chameleon Motors, Bimal Auto Agency, Innoversant Solutions also helped them in various ways during the development of the car.
Garuda-01.jpg
Garuda-02.jpg
Garuda-03.jpg
Garuda-04.jpg
Garuda-05.jpg
Garuda-06.jpg
Infotech Enterprises Limited
Plot No.110/A & 110/B, (Behind Cyber Park),
Sy.No.68, Keonics Electronic City, Phase-I, Hosur Road,
Bangalore - 560 100, India
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