15 min of fame in 1986

[Bezor]

October 27, 2008, 3:27 pm
Home-Built Car Averages 113 Miles a Gallon
By Nick Kurczewski



Craig Henderson and the Avion.

"We thought we were going to be rich and famous," said Craig Henderson, co-creator of the Avion, a streamlined coupe that averaged 103.7 miles a gallon — in 1986.

"Oh, we were famous," Mr. Henderson added, with a chuckle. "For about two weeks!"

More than two decades later, Mr. Henderson and the Avion have been granted another shot at fame and fortune. On Oct. 11, he drove an updated version of the Avion through Washington state — a total of 263 miles and he said the car averaged 113.1 miles a gallon.

He said he believed he could have done even better had two accidents around Seattle not clogged traffic.

While speaking on the phone from his home in Bellingham, Wash., a few days after the drive, Mr. Henderson was in high spirits. He pointed out that there was no technical trickery or special driving techniques (such as coasting in neutral) used during the drive. He said the mileage was achieved with a small diesel engine and a very lightweight body. "Anybody can hop into the Avion, keep it at a steady 60 miles per hour and get better than 100 miles per gallon," he said.

But Mr. Henderson has more experience than most people. In 1986, he and his friend Bill Green, who co-designed the Avion, earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by averaging 103.7 miles per gallon in the home-built Avion driving up the West Coast from Mexico to Canada.

After an initial flurry of media interest, Mr. Henderson said nothing came of the project. In an era of cheap gas, there were simply no takers when it came to financing the Avion beyond the prototype phase.

Mr. Green moved to Virginia, where he teaches industrial design at Virginia Tech. Mr. Henderson remained in Washington and is the owner of Bullfrog Boats, a boat-building company based in Bellingham. And while no investors came knocking with an armload of cash, the fiberglass-bodied Avion was not relegated to a garage.

"We drove it around and had fun with it," said Mr. Henderson, who would swap engines into the Avion to make the car sportier or more economical, depending on his mood; a diesel engine from Mr. Henderson's Volkswagen pickup was used in 1986 for the record run.

"We had a great deal of competence through ignorance," he joked, playing down the Avion's early development. However, the car's slippery shape and fuel efficiency were no accident. Wind-tunnel testing at the University of Washington proved that the Avion's body has a very impressive 0.26 coefficient of drag (the same as the Toyota Prius).

Two years ago, as gas prices crept higher, Mr. Henderson and Mr. Green decided the time was right to restore the Avion and unveil it a second time.

The Avion looks much as it did in 1986, though even now it remains wildly futuristic-looking. Two gullwing-style doors swing up and out from the body when opened; the doors also inspired the car's name, which is French for "airplane." Inside, there is room for two adults, and a surprising 14 cubic feet of luggage space.

The current engine is a 3-cylinder diesel taken from a Smart Fortwo. The engine is mounted behind the passenger compartment and feeds power to the rear wheels via a 6-speed semi-automatic transmission. To increase fuel economy (and improve handling), weight has been kept to a minimum. The Avion weighs only around 1,500 pounds, roughly half the weight of most compact family cars.

Underneath the bullet-shaped body are lightweight carbon-fiber reinforcements, a center aluminum monocoque and a steel space frame attached at either end. It's nothing terribly high tech, though Mr. Henderson is not willing to give away every design detail. "I've got to have some sort of secret sauce to sell this thing," he said.

Next year, the Avion will participate in the Progressive Automotive X Prize Competition, which has a prize of $10 million.

An improved version of the Avion is already under way. The chassis and bodywork are being retooled, though no decision has been made regarding the final engine choice for the next model. With a hybrid engine — not to mention a larger budget — Mr. Henderson said that fuel economy of "over 200 miles per gallon" could be possible with the next version.

"Everybody loves the car. It's so fun to drive," he said. "People pull out their cellphones and take pictures of you. Seventy-year-old ladies give you the thumbs-up."

[Otto Puzzell]

Not a bad looking car, either. It's got a bit a Pete Brock look to it.

[@re]

Arrgh. There goes one of my puzzles stored for future use

[Ray B.]

Not a bad looking car indeed, but I see it's got those doors than open in a really weird way, and there must be a hundred puzzles here with that kind of doors.

So, can anyone explain: is there any benefit in that way to open your car's doors, or is it just showing off?

[@re]

The very obvious benefit is that you don't have to worry about slamming your door into the car next to yours. I've got two coupés with quite long doors, and that can be a nightmare in tight parking spots.

Plus, it's showing off.