Auto X Prize Targets 100 Miles Per Gallon

"We want to make these vehicles available," Foley said. "The American people need to see that fuel efficiency, which usually means smaller, lighter cars, can also be highway safe."

The contest has sparked interest from well-heeled upstarts Telsa Motors and Aptera Motors and home-grown efforts such as Maine Automotive X. Teams from six countries outside of the United States, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Australia and Canada, have expressed interest in competing as well.

While Honda and other mainstream car manufacturers assisted with the contest development, so far none has signed a letter of intent to compete, Foley said.

The prize amounts have not yet been announced, but Foley said the X Prize doesn't run contests for less than $10 million.

In addition to the Ansari X Prize, the foundation is spearheading a $30-million contest, underwritten by Google, to land a privately developed rover on the surface of the moon. It is also offering a $10-million prize to the first team to sequence 100 human genomes in 10 days in an attempt to jump-start quick, affordable gene sequencing for preventative medicine.

The Automotive X Prize has gained the support of a myriad of government and private agencies.

Related Links:

Irene Klotz's blog: Space Diary

The X Prize Foundation

The Automotive X Prize

A list of current contestants