What has three wheels, a top speed of 25 miles per hour, a fuel-efficiency rating of 4,548 miles per gallon, and runs on solar panels?

The Pulsar, of course, Purdue University’s winning entry to the Shell Eco-Marathon for the second year in a row. The marathon, which started at a Shell research lab in 1939, is the result of scientists placing bets on whose vehicle could get the best mpg rating. Eventually the competition went viral.

The winner, so far, has been the environment, as teams of high school and college students compete to deliver a fuel-efficient vehicle that will take America off the foreign oil treadmill that has, for six decades, been promising a lighter carbon footprint while delivering the exact opposite. In fact, the Shell Eco-Marathon generates less carbon dioxide than a world-class runner reaching speeds of 15 miles per hour.

The Pulsar, which saw its first incarnation in 1991, won the Shell Eco-Marathon solar division in 2008 with a fuel efficiency rating of 2,861.8 miles per gallon. The newest rating is a more than 60 percent improvement over that – in a mere two years, no less.

For Purdue students, competing against 65 other high school and college teams from eight countries, the receipt of not only the top award in the solar-powered category, but also the 2010 People's Choice Award, is confirmation that the time and energy expended hasn’t been wasted.

The Pulsar itself, which looks so futuristic one expects it might fly rather than simply drive, is made up of a large, aerodynamically curved “hood” layered with 300 watts of solar panels, two wheels at the front, and a bubble dome near the rear of the hood capping a driver’s pod.

Weighing a mere 170 pounds, most of it in the carbon fiber body construction, this year’s Pulsar version is the eighth – and still clearly a winner in spite of modifications to the motor, suspension, steering and braking systems. The Purdue team also added real-time performance monitoring in 2009.

This year’s competition, held in Fontana, California, saw teams running 10.5 miles on a dedicated racetrack using Shell fuels and lubricants in their vehicles. In 2006, Shell, a global energy company vested in the oil and gas industry, won the Petroleum Economist Awards for Best Youth Education project.

Shell’s sponsoring of technology that is in direct contravention to its operations and profit base is not surprising if one accepts the premise (and the promise) that the company is dedicated to sustainable development to offset the impacts of its operations. In spite of that, it would be ironic if one of the world’s largest gasoline suppliers developed a car designed to run on a minimal amount of gas.

Shell also sponsors similar marathons in Europe and Asia. In Europe, the marathon will be held at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz track in Germany from May 6 to 7. In Asia, the event is scheduled for July 8-10 at the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.