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Automotive X PRIZE Announces Addition of Automotive Entrepreneur in Multimillion Dollar Competition for 100 MPGe Vehicles

AXP Team at Frankfurt Auto Show, Seeking to Expand International Competitors

The Automotive X PRIZE (AXP), a competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, super-efficient vehicles to help break our addiction to oil and stem the effects of climate change, announced Thursday that automotive entrepreneur Malcolm Bricklin and his company, Visionary Vehicles, have officially joined the list of 36 teams who have signed a letter of intent to compete, once the prize is officially funded and launched.

This announcement comes as AXP Executive Director Don Foley and Senior Director Cristin Lindsay make their way to the Frankfurt Auto Show, where another AXP contender, Loremo, will be showcased.

**NOTE TO REPORTERS: To arrange an interview with Don Foley or Cristin Lindsay while at the Frankfurt Auto Show, please contact +1 805 367 6728 or +1 805 367 6034.**

The international competition, in which qualified teams will compete head to head, aims to dramatically increase consumer access to ultra-efficient, clean, affordable and desirable vehicles. The current list of 36 teams includes diverse groups from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and Switzerland. More than 300 additional teams have inquired about joining and are actively considering entry.

Malcolm Bricklin is recognized as one of the automobile industry's leading entrepreneurs, innovators and visionaries. He was the founder and Chief Executive of Subaru of America, Bricklin Vehicle Corporation, International Automobile Importers, Yugo America and now Visionary Vehicles. He has 40 years of experience in designing, engineering, manufacturing, remanufacturing, importing and marketing automobiles and is known throughout the industry as one of the most original and imaginative automobile executives in history.

"The great thing about the Automotive X PRIZE is that we all win, no matter who wins. Any developments made through the competition will serve to drive the industry forward," noted Bricklin.

The independent and technology-neutral AXP competition is open to teams from around the world to prove they can design, build and bring to market 100 MPG or equivalent fuel economy vehicles that people want to buy. Industry experts will scrutinize team plans. Those that qualify will race their vehicles in rigorous cross-country stages that combine speed, distance, urban driving and overall performance. The winners will be the vehicles that exceed 100 MPG equivalent, fall under strict emissions caps and finish in the fastest time.

"We are thrilled with the wide variety of teams and technologies from around the world that have expressed an interest in joining the competition," said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, CEO and Chairman, X PRIZE Foundation. "We are confident that the Automotive X PRIZE will motivate and bring visibility to a range of non-traditional solutions from both traditional and non-traditional players. The time for incremental change is over. We need radical breakthroughs to stem the consumption of fossil fuels."

The competition is expected to travel through multiple cities while broadcast to a global audience in 2009 and 2010, building consumer demand for vehicles in the competition and demonstrating many practical, clean and affordable vehicle options. Cities involved in the competition route have not yet been chosen.

The following 36 teams have signed a letter of intent signaling their intent to apply for the AXP competition:

--  Aptera Motors - California, USA
--  AirShip Technologies Group
--  Commuter Cars Corp. - Washington, USA
--  Cornell University - New York, USA
--  DEHyds - Washington, USA
--  Delta Motorsport - Northants, UK
--  Desert Fuel - Arizona, USA
--  Disruptech - California, USA
--  Dragonfly Technology LTD - Northhampton, UK
--  Fuel Vapor Technologies - British Columbia, Canada
--  GreenIt! - Oregon, USA
--  Greenhouse 2000 Inc.
--  Herf Duo - Berlin, Germany
--  HyKinesys - California, USA
--  Kinetic Vehicles - Oregon, USA
--  Kuttner Doran Inventions - Virginia, USA
--  Loremo AG - Munich, Germany
--  Maine Automotive X - Maine, USA
--  MDI, Inc. & Zero Pollution Motors LLC - New York, USA
--  Michigan Vision - Michigan, USA
--  MotoTron Corporation - Wisconsin, USA
--  Phoenix Motorcars - California, USA
--  Prometheus Systems, LLC - Arizona, USA
--  Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc. - Oregon, USA
--  Psycho-Active - Georgia, USA
--  Red Light Racing (RLR)
--  Roane Inventions - Texas, USA
--  Society for Sustainable Mobility - California, USA
--  Spirit One - Alberta, Canada
--  Steam Fluid Drive System
--  Tesla Motors - California, USA
--  Valentin Technologies - Wisconsin, USA
--  Velozzi - California, USA
--  Visionary Vehicles, New York, USA
--  X Tracer - Winterthur, Switzerland
--  ZAP Motors - California, USA
    

ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION

The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. On October 4, 2004, the X PRIZE Foundation captured world headlines when Mojave Aerospace Ventures, led by legendary aircraft designer Burt Rutan and Microsoft Co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle to space twice in two weeks to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since expanded its mission beyond space exploration to offer new prizes for breakthroughs in the areas of life improvement, equity of opportunity and sustainability. In October of 2006, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for genomics, which will reward the first private effort to map 100 human genomes in 10 days ushering in a new era of personalized preventative medicine. For more information please visit www.xprize.org or email press@xprize.org.

For more information about the AXP, please visit auto.xprize.org or email autoprize@xprize.org.