More than 100 futuristic vehicles built by students from Asia and the Middle East are competing this weekend on the streets of Philippine capital of Manila in a race for fuel efficiency.

In a nation that has had more than its share of woe over the past year, with difficult recovery efforts continuing in the central provinces after Super Typhoon Haiyan, Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2014 offered a chance to celebrate youth potential for innovation, engineering, and problem-solving.

“I want to tell you that you have the most powerful automobiles in the world,” said Ramon Jimenez, secretary of tourism for the Philippines, at the opening ceremony Friday. “No machine is more powerful than something that brings us to the future.

“We only have