Ford’s Model-T was an affordable option for middle-class drivers when it was created in 1908. Another affordable automotive option, in the form of green technology, budded in Saluki country and is nearly ready to bloom.

Ten students from the senior design program in the College of Engineering are creating a prototype motor producing nearly double the torque of a V-8 engine for a car with solar panels on the sides.

Tod Policondriotes, an assistant scientist in the college, said the design features the motor in the wheel rather than under the hood, eliminating much of the friction slowing other cars down.

“It’s pretty much instant torque,” said Policondriotes, who designed the motor.

He said the motor, which contains nearly all American-made materials, is more energy efficient than conventional motors, adding 20 to 30 miles to a 35 mile per gallon vehicle. Policondriotes said it could be retrofitted into any car for about $5,000.

“We could make virtually any vehicle a hybrid,” he said.

Policondriotes said one other technology company, Protean Electric, designed a motor located in the wheel for Ford last year. He said Protean’s motor, which is only compatible with hybrid cars, contains less powerful, yet more expensive magnets.

Policondriotes said he hopes a manufacturing plant, which would need a budget of about $10 million, will be built once the prototype is completed and tested. He said two private investors want to fund the plant, and he will be recruiting more when the prototype is finished.

“There’s a plan behind all of this,” Policondriotes said. “And now the plan is coming to life.”

He said the project will be completed and tested before the end of the year.

Policondriotes said the students are also creating a computer interface to synchronize with the motor, which has the ability to correct driving hazards.

“If you skid on ice or snow, the computer can realign your tires for you because it measures the momentum of the car and knows when something isn’t right,” he said.

Policondriotes said combining interfaces, GPS and and motors in the wheel could eventually lead to cars driving themselves.

Policondriotes said the design, inspired by high gas prices after the 2007 recession, has been six years in the making. He said his friend Paul Smith, owner of the Smith Motor Inc. used car dealership, gave him the idea.

“This thing will take off,” Smith said. “I’m 100 percent behind it, and the students have been great.”

Smith said he and Policondriotes funded the $7,000 project out of pocket. Smith said he also donated a 2000 Mitsubishi Galant from his dealership.

“We just had it sitting around, so I figured why not?” he said.

Kendell Edwards, a leader of the project, said the group averages 10 hours of work per week outside of class since the project began last semester. He said the class gives him hands-on work experience, unlike most of his other courses.

“We get the chance to do real-life work, which is really cool,” said Edwards, a senior from Carbondale studying electrical engineering.

He said the students, who will be credited if the motor is patented, were offered multiple project options for their senior assignment. Edwards said the motor was a no-brainer.

“I’ve always been interested in renewable energy, so this was perfect,” he said.

Marissa Novel can be reached at [email protected], on Twitter @marissanovelDE or at 536-3311 ext. 268.