Cedarville's "Shark" Car Heading to Michigan

Cedarville University mechanical engineering students will debut their new “shark” car June 7-8 at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Supermileage competition.

In the SAE Supermileage competition, cars compete to travel the farthest on one gallon of gas. The SAE competition will be held in Marshall, Michigan. Cedarville University competed in this event in 1991 through 2010 and is returning to the competition this year.

The new car, named Karcharías (Greek word for “shark”), was designed by four seniors from the class of 2017 and constructed by four seniors from the class of 2018, along with help from a team of underclassmen. 

“Since I began advising this team in 1993, Cedarville has produced high-quality Supermileage vehicles featured on the covers of SAE Momentum Magazine, the Ohio ENGINEER and the cover of Shell’s Eco-marathon 2018 Global Rules,” noted Dr. Larry Zavodney, senior professor of mechanical engineering and team advisor. “Shell featured our Urban Concept Car at the Detroit Auto Show in 2015 to promote moving the Shell Eco-marathon Americas from Houston to Detroit.”

“Shell also invited us to bring our prototype Eco-marathon car to Jay Leno’s Garage to film a 30-second commercial for national viewing,” continued Zavodney. “Racing with SAE, we have placed first, second and third through the years, and with Shell’s Eco-marathon, we have placed as high as second in the Urban Concept division and fourth place in the Prototype division.”

In addition to the upcoming competition in June, Cedarville University mechanical engineering students placed sixth in the annual Shell Eco-marathon competition at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California April 19-22.

The Shell Eco-marathon is an annual competition sponsored by Shell, in which participants build special vehicles to achieve the highest possible fuel efficiency. The Eco-marathon is held around the world with events in Europe, the Americas and Asia.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 3,963 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and leading student satisfaction ratings. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.