Under the guidance of teacher Bill Donohue, the group built the car in time to enter it in the 2009 Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) competition.

Last Wednesday the students and Mr Donohue competed in the event at the Queanbeyan Race Track against nine other schools from across the region. Their vehicle was adjudged second best overall and was voted most innovative, best designed and most fuel efficient.

They were ecstatic.

The students received backing from a number of local groups and organisations.

The Greens party liked the project so much they donated money for the purchase of a safety harness.

Glen from Yass mufflers has been a wealth of knowledge and has provided parts and advice for the exhaust system.

Luff Motors has provided financial support, while John from MA Steel has donated steel for the construction of the chassis. FAW Hardware kindly donated materials, as did Barry Davis from Buzz Electrics.

Dave Cooke from the Bike Superstore in Mitchell ACT has been a fantastic supporter of the project.

International sponsor Jim Donovan from America’s Max Torque Clutches has donated machine shop time to source and modify other transmission parts not available in Australia. Jim has given us excellent service and the team heaps of advice on building a competitive super kilometre fuel efficient car.

When a contingent of students in a small country town knuckle down, they can create a car so fuel efficient it would take just 23 litres of petrol to drive from Yass to Brisbane.

Perhaps their design could inspire the release of more fuel efficient cars?