This is great learning and practice experience for budding engineers, I think. They don't get mired into this as they advance year to year. About 14 years ago my friend was on a hybrid engineering team in his senior year.
> This is great learning and practice experience
> for budding engineers, ...
Exactly. It's "Soap Box Derby" for undergrads. Level
playing field - common key components - modest room for
innovation and risk-taking.
If it were an "unlimited" MPG competition, too many teams
would be tempted to develop designs that either wouldn't
work, or wouldn't get done before they graduate.
Consider DARPA's autonomous vehicle challenge - despite
the big $$ prize, none of the entrants even finished the
course this year. Many failed at or shortly past the Start
line, and many didn't even show up. Failure is a learning
experience too, but it's a good deal less motivating.