Heading to Houston on a mission

West Lafayette, Ind. (WLFI) - Purdue's Solar Racing Team has high hopes heading into the 2010 Eco-Marathon.

The team wants to pave the way for future solar travel. Their car looks like something out of a futuristic sci-fi movie, but it could actually be the future of the way we drive.

The team named their vehicle "Pulsar."

Pulsar will be headed to Houston, Texas in late March for the 2010 Shell Eco-Marathon. The marathon isn't your typical race; distance traveled is more important than speed.

"It really has nothing to do with speed, in kind of the essence of the race," said Purdue Solar President Ted Pesyna. "It is who can get the most equivalent miles per gallon. What they basically do for solar, for instance, is they take the energy in a gallon of gas and they take how much energy you used and convert that to a miles per gallon equivalent."

Purdue Solar has done well in recent years. In 2008 the group scored first place, topping more than 2,800 miles per gallon.

The team wasn't satisfied, however. They headed back to the shop, intent on reaching even loftier goals a year later.

"Brought it back after some, I would say major, improvements with efficiency and all that, and almost topped the 5,000 mile per gallon mark," said Pesyna.

Though the team has high hopes for the Pulsar's chances in the 2010 race, they are already looking toward 2011. Their newest venture is the Celeritas, a solar powered car anyone can drive. They hope it will provide the basis for a new way of commuting.

To find out more about the Eco-Marathon, Purdue Solar Racing and the Celeritas model, click here .