Electric Co-op Today

They didn’t see their $5 million X PRIZE dream come true, but for the team at Illuminati Motor Works, there’s satisfaction in a job well done—and in honoring those in the winner’s circle.

Jen Danzinger and Kevin Smith brought their electric car Seven to Washington, D.C., for the announcement of the X PRIZE winners. (Photo By: Michael W. Kahn)

Illuminati founder Kevin Smith and his wife, Jen Danzinger, belong to Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, Auburn, Ill. Danzinger works for the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives in Springfield, where she is a graphic designer. She fills the same shoes—as well as Internet liaison—at Illuminati.

ECT.coop first caught up with Illuminati in May, when the team was hard at work on “Seven,” the electric car they began building in 2007. The goal was to take it all the way to the top of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE, a competition aimed at spurring ingenuity to create the vehicles of tomorrow.

Seven survived the “Shakedown Stage” in April, and returned to the Michigan International Speedway in June, where it got the equivalent of 119.8 miles per gallon in tests simulating city, urban and highway driving, and 182 mpg in the range test. But the transmission gave out on the zero-to-60 test, and that was that.

Still, it was a great ride—one that brought Smith, Danzinger and several other Illuminati team members to the nation’s capital for the Sept. 16 announcement of the winners.

PROUDLY IN D.C.

“It’s a big honor to be invited here,” Danzinger told ECT.coop. “Not all of the teams are able to display their cars here. And when the X PRIZE asks us to do something we always try to meet their needs.”

Seven was on display outside the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. It made the more than 800 mile journey from the team’s Divernon, Ill., headquarters on a flatbed truck.

What? They didn’t drive it?

“Given that, at best, this has a little over a 200-mile range—and we’ve not done an off-track range test yet—that would be quite an experience having to stop at RV parks here and there to charge it,” Danzinger said. “Granted, it’s only about four hours to charge [at 220 volts]. But it would’ve been a much longer trip.” And, as Smith noted, “If there were any problems, it’s a long way from home.”

Down the road, the plan is to perform a range test in Illinois. As for the transmission issue that knocked Seven out of the contest, Danzinger said that has been addressed.

“The clutch has been removed. It’s a direct drive system,” she said. “Now, zero-to-60 is ten seconds.” Read more

Tags: Electric Vehicles, Innovations