It costs only Rs 65 for this car to cover 1,852 km

IIT-BHU students make the cheapest electric car in the world

Imagine a car that could travel a distance of 1,852 km at a cost equivalent to a litre of petrol (assuming the price of petrol is Rs 65 a litre).

A group of students of the Indian Institute of Technology-Banaras Hindu University (IIT-B) has given shape to an electric car, which, they claim, is the cheapest in the world, so far. According to them, the new car, Alterno, can cover a distance of eight km at less than Rs 1.

The Alterno, with 285-cm length, 100-cm width and 80-cm height, can attain a maximum speed of 35 km an hour.

Rajeev Sangal, director, IIT-BHU, inaugurated the new car. Mechanical engineering students of the third-year batch Ankit, Kanishk, Vivek, Aaditya, Ranjeet, Prateek and Kunal were in the team that made the car. Team coordinator Jevi Tirki said, "The car weights only 80 kg. The body is made of fibreglass, while aluminium has also been used."

According to him, the three-wheeler car can accommodate only one passenger.

Tirki said, "Alterno uses a 12-volt battery that produces 10 Ampere current. The project has been completed with a cost of about Rs 70,000."

The students want to take the car to the coming Eco Car Marathon at Manila, the capital of Philippines. The students are planning to make a hydrogen gas-powered car.

  The Alterno runs on aerodynamic principle and does not contain any suspension system. Sangal said this was the first time that such a technique had been used to develop a car. He said by introducing some changes, the car could be commercially manufactured.