Collegiate Times

Tech associate professor of industrial systems engineering Bill Green poses with the original Avion, which broke the world record in 1986 for fuel economy. In 2008, Green and his original partner, Craig Henderson, fashioned another record-breaking Avion model, shown below

In 1979, two college friends decided to design and build a lightweight sports car -- the Avion -- and in 1986, set the Guinness World Record in fuel economy, averaging 103.7 miles per gallon.

Bill Green, now an industrial design associate professor at Virginia Tech, and Craig Henderson, current owner of Bullfrog Boats in Bellingham, Wash., entered the Avion into the "Three Flags Econo Rally," a race from Mexico to Canada. After their car set the world record it was featured at the World Fair in Vancouver.

Fast-forward 22 years. On Oct. 11, Henderson and Green once again set the world record for fuel economy, this time averaging 113.1 miles per gallon in a new race from the Canadian border to the Oregon border.

"It was a personal goal of ours to restore our car and break the old world record," Henderson said.

The redesigned and improved Avion has new parts from a Smart Car, including an engine and six-gallon fuel tank, Green said.

"The Avion weighs about half of a VW and is streamlined," Green said. "It's 42 inches high and very smooth. It looks a lot like a lotus -- it's pointier. There is a lot of room inside and a large trunk."

While at Western Washington University, Henderson had hopes to become a biology professor.

"After going through programs and classes something else caught my eye -- The engineering department and Vehicle Research Institute," Henderson said.

Green, an industrial design major, was also drawn to the Vehicle Research Institute.

"During my time there we built three or four cars," Henderson said. "That was like training and background for this."

After graduating, Henderson became an engineer but found the work less than inspiring.

As a senior thesis project, Green designed the Avion sports car. "Mike Seal was our professor and was a car builder, and built a number of high mileage cars," Green said.

Green and Henderson decided to build a car themselves that could potentially be manufactured and sold to the public.

"Craig and I like cars a lot and I have some pretty crazy ones, but we wanted to build a fun car that also gets great mileage," Green said. "It was designed to be practical and not an experimental car. If people were interested we would love to produce them."

The two finished building the car in 1984, and entered the contest that put them in the Guinness Book of World Records. The original Avion sports car cost between $20,000 and $25,000.

After their recent world record, the two have already begun to design and build a new car. The new car will be participating in Progressive's Automotive X PRIZE competition, Henderson said. The two might also enter the Avion.

"This new car will have the opportunity to get better fuel economy, and be more comfortable," Henderson said. "The new car should be in testing around the spring time."

Teams whose cars are able to attain 100 miles per gallon and can meet market needs for cost, safety, size and performance will have a chance to win a share of the $10 million purse. So far, 120 teams have signed letters of intent for the competition.