Navistar was the presenting sponsor at this weekend's American LeMans Series (ALMS) race in Elkhart Lake, Wis., with its eStar all-electric truck on display at the event.

"Sponsoring the exciting American LeMans Series is a great opportunity to showcase the eStar all-electric truck," said Mark Aubry, eStar's vice president, sales and marketing. "As a racing series, the American LeMans Series has been a leader in its adoption and support of 'green' and technology enhanced vehicles."

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in conjunction with Society of Automotive Engineers International declared that the American Le Mans Series, with all cars now racing several different types of alternative fuels, was the only race series to meet its criteria for green racing. It led to the creation of a Green Challenge award and trophy for both a prototype and Grand Touring class team that demonstrated the best overall performance, fuel efficiency and environmental impact during the race. The DOE is also working together with Navistar by administering a $39.2 million grant funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to develop and deploy eStar electric trucks.

The eStar all-electric truck was designed from the ground up to be battery-powered. Its lithium-ion battery system allows the eStar truck to travel up to 100 miles per charge. The eStar can be fully recharged in about six to eight hours or the quick-change cassette-type battery can be swapped out in less than 20 minutes.

More info: www.navistar.com