DTAFast S40 ECU Helps UMH’s Dátil 26 Secure Second Place at Shell Eco-marathon 2026

1,829 kilometres from a single litre of ethanol.

That is the remarkable efficiency achieved by Dátil 26, the prototype internal combustion vehicle developed by the team from Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH), which secured second place in the Prototype Internal Combustion Engine category at the 2026 Shell Eco-marathon Europe and Africa.

Held at Silesia Ring in Poland from 24–28 June, the event brought together teams competing to push the limits of energy efficiency. For the UMH team, Dátil 26 delivered an outstanding result of 1,829 km/l of ethanol, finishing just around 20 km/l behind the winning entry.

That equates to approximately 0.0547 litres per 100 kilometres, or just 54.7 ml of fuel to travel 100 km. In conventional fuel-economy terms, the result is equivalent to approximately 5,167 mpg Imperial.

Precision engine control for maximum efficiency

At the heart of Dátil 26's engine management system is a DTAFast S40 ECU, providing the precise control required to extract maximum efficiency from the vehicle's internal combustion powertrain.

Shell Eco-marathon is a very different challenge from conventional motorsport. Rather than chasing outright speed or lap time, teams are tasked with travelling as far as possible using the smallest possible amount of energy.

That makes engine management strategy absolutely critical.

Every aspect of combustion needs to be carefully controlled and optimised, with fuel delivery, ignition and engine operation all contributing to the vehicle's overall efficiency. The S40 ECU provides the UMH team with the control platform needed to manage the engine with the precision demanded by this type of competition.

For Dátil 26, the ECU is an integral part of a highly developed efficiency-focused powertrain, helping the UMH team turn careful engineering and optimisation into an exceptional real-world result.

A DTAFast S40 ECU in an extreme efficiency application

The Dátil 26 project demonstrates the versatility of the DTAFast ECU platform. While DTAFast ECUs are widely used in motorsport applications where performance, reliability and fast engine control are essential, the same technology can also be applied to an entirely different engineering challenge: achieving extraordinary fuel efficiency.

In the Shell Eco-marathon environment, the emphasis is on extracting the maximum distance from every millilitre of fuel. That demands an ECU capable of delivering consistent and repeatable engine control under carefully managed operating conditions.

The UMH team's second-place finish provides an impressive demonstration of what can be achieved when advanced vehicle engineering is combined with precise electronic engine management.

1,829 km/l – an exceptional result

Dátil 26's 1,829 km/l result places the UMH team among the very best internal combustion prototypes competing at Shell Eco-marathon Europe and Africa 2026.

Finishing only around 20 km/l behind the winning entry makes the achievement even more notable, particularly in a competition where tiny differences in efficiency can separate the top positions.

For DTAFast, the result is also a great example of the S40 ECU being used beyond traditional performance-oriented motorsport. Whether the objective is maximum power, drivability, reliability or, as in the case of Dátil 26, maximum distance from every drop of fuel, precise engine control remains fundamental.

DTAFast is proud to see its S40 ECU playing a part in such an innovative and technically demanding project.

Find out more

Learn more about the Dátil 26 project and the UMH team's Shell Eco-marathon result:

• UMH official article
• Shell Eco-marathon results
• Radio Elche / Cadena SER