The record was beaten during an international competition Pisaralla pisimmalle, which was held for the 40th time in the Finnish town Nokia - Lodz University of Technology spokeswoman Ewa Chojnacka told PAP on Thursday.

The car was built over the last two years by the team Iron Warriors of the Student Club of Automotive Enthusiasts, at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Lodz University of Technology. In addition to students of the faculties of mechanical and electrical engineering, team members are also chemists, computer scientists and architects, and their vehicle, named EcoArrow 2.1, starts in the petrol prototypes category.

The three-wheeled car built by Łódź students as an aerodynamic, streamlined shape and is exceptionally lightweight. The driver drives in the lying position, and instead of a steering wheel has sticks on both sides of the body.

One of the EcoArrow designers Patryk Lewczuk told PAP before this year\'s Shell Eco-Marathon that the whole body is a self-supporting structure made of carbon and aramid fibre. The vehicle has a Honda combustion engine, but which has been heavily modified by students. They removed the original carburettor and installed electronic injection, computer and sensors.

"The success of our design lies in the fact that we have minimized rolling resistance and air resistance, generated while driving, and the engine has advanced start-stop system so that the car accelerates, the engine turns off and while driving the car really moves without power, it drifts" - said Lewczuk.

Next year Łódź students plan to break the barrier of 1,000 kilometres travelled on litre of fuel. Iron Warriors also will start again in Shell Eco-Marathon, which will be held in May 2016 in London.

Shell Eco-marathon is an annual competition of teams of young engineers who build eco cars. The aim of the competition is to travel the longest possible distance on the least amount of fuel.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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