Pictures: Cool Cars devise by Students to absorb Fuel

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Louisiana Tech University's Roadster

Photograph by Harley Soltes, National Geographic

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

Styled to look like a hot rod of the past and to sip fuel like a car from the future, Louisiana Tech University's Roadster took home one of two grand prizes in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas.

The team from Ruston, Louisiana, achieved 647 miles per gallon (275 kilometers per liter) in the student competition for  design of high-efficiency vehicles. Louisiana Tech won the $5,000 top award for "urban concept” vehicles—cars that meet the safety requirements to be driven on city streets—plus an additional $1,000 award for design in the April 16-17 contest in Houston.