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Futuristic prototypes - which are streamlined vehicles where the primary design consideration is reducing drag and maximizing efficiency
Urban Concept vehicles - which are built to more conventional 4-wheel roadworthy criteria (new to the Americas event in 2009)
Either conventional fuels (such as diesel, gasoline and LPG), or alternative fuels (such as solar, electric, hydrogen, bio-fuels and GTL) can be used to power vehicles.

The goal of the project is not to break speed records or be the first to finish; it is to consume as little fuel as possible over a set distance.

The Shell Eco-Marathon® started as the 'Shell Mileage Marathon' in 1939 after an argument between employees of Shell Oil Company’s research laboratory in Wood River, Illinois, as to whose car gave the better fuel mileage. From the outset in Wood River, the rules were as simple as the concept: to see which vehicle could go the farthest distance on the least amount of fuel.

As simple as the first event was, the engineering and creativity that went into those first vehicles demonstrated the ingenuity and imagination possible.

The Shell Eco-marathon® is a trail-blazing educational project for students - unique in concept and rich in practical experience.

It integrates practical development and a competitive challenge with the values behind sustainable development, respect for a diversity of individuals, energy control and environmental protection.

The teams work year round on a real technical project, with the obligation to produce demonstrable results at the final event. Vehicle design and construction can be integrated into the school curriculum, often involving several academic disciplines. These include: drafting, technology, engineering, mathematics, physics, computer science, computer-aided design (CAD), management, marketing and communications.

The search for sponsors for each participating team to participate in technical or financial partnerships is also an excellent opportunity to introduce students to the real business world, both through their efforts to market and communicate their projects, and through the contacts they make with external firms.

The aim of the Shell Eco-marathon® is to inspire young designers and engineers from around the world to develop new approaches of sustainable mobility.

It is a major educational project, in which students work together to explore potential solutions to both current and future transport and energy challenges.

The objectives are:

To encourage and foster innovation and ideas about fuel-efficiency and the future of modern transport
To help technical institutions
To secure talent for their professional technical courses
To promote technical careers among young people all over the world
Shell is committed to using its understanding of energy to help tackle the issues surrounding efficient energy use and environmental concerns linked to fossil fuel use, alternative energies and current patterns of consumption.