Remember how excited you and I got when we first heard of 'budget airlines'-a no frills, basic service offering a travel by air to the destination of our choice. Imagine how good life would be if we were to have our own personal 'budget car'-a bunch of students from RV College of engineering, Bangalore have created a car 'Garuda', which is a step towards that dream. Conceptualized and built over two years, at first glance looks like a sophisticated banana boat with its smooth black fiberglass contours, a clearance of a few inches from the ground, and a single driver seated armed with one of those Formula 1 helmets. With a steering system salvaged from a go-karting 'dabba', 16" Bontrager wheels, a 100 cc Honda engine ripped off a lawn mover (which works on Kerosene as well), and a chassis shell made out of an extremely lightweight alloy of aluminum, the Garuda clocks up to about 85 km an hour, weighs 55 kg, and its elongated design eliminates the need of a shock absorber. It is the first vehicle to represent India in the UK Shell Eco Marathon and the SAE SuperMileage. Future plans? Clocking up 500 km/litre, accommodating two or more passengers, and approaching tech companies who want to encourage carpooling and energy efficient transportation. Any takers?
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