History
The Cal Poly Supermileage team originated in the late 80's and competed into the early 90's until several members graduated and funding started to dwindle. In 1989, under the leadership of Dr. Iannce, they obtained a team best of 951 miles per gallon in a car they nicknamed "Cricket."
In the fall 2004 a group of friends (Jason Kempenaar, Josh Kempenaar, David Ulrich, and Nick Wilde) were looking for club to join, but SAE teams did not fit. David showed the group the cricket and they all decided to reform a team to build a new supermileage car. In the summer of 2005, David Ulrich and Jason Kempenaar flew to Michigan to observe the 2005 SAE Supermileage contest.
During the 2005-2006 school year, under team lead Jason Kempenaar, the team built a brand new supermileage vehicle, finishing about a week before they had to travel to Michigan for the SAE Supermileage contest. At the supermileage contest the team had a few minor problems, but managed to take 6th place with 861 mpg.
During the 2006-2007 school year, under team lead Tom Heckel, the team upgraded the '06 car to compete in the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Americas. Upgrades made in the '06-'07 year include a Honda engine with electronically controlled ignition, low rolling resistance eco-marathon tires, lightened front steering and rear wheel mounts, and redundant braking system. At the Shell Eco-marthon, the team took first place with 1902 mpg and took home $21,600 in prize money.
In the '07-'08 school year, under team lead David Ulrich, the team again put up impressive numbers at the Shell Eco-marathon, setting the current team record of 2,752 mpg. The team just barely scraped in under the top spot, and ended up finishing in second place.
In the '08-'09 school year, under team lead Denny Truong, the team faired extremely well even though adverse track conditions caused every team's mileage to drop dramatically. The team again secured the second place spot with 2,358 mpg.
In the '09-'10 school year, under team lead Verent Chan, most of the team's attention was given to designing and building their new vehicle to compete in the Urban Concept division. The prototype will still compete, but the Urban Concept vehicle was the team's primary focus. This section will be updated with details about the results from the Eco-marathon Americas 2010 as they become available!
