Eco One in pole position for 'green' race
25th July 2007[/align]
With tyres made from potatoes and capable of reaching 150mph, the Eco One is a real "high spud" racer. The sports car has been built by university experts in a bid to dispel popular perceptions that "green" motoring means dull little electric runarounds or filling your fuel tank with chip fat. The one-seater racing car - called Eco One - also boasts a body made from hemp and rape seed oil, and brake pads fashioned from ground down cashew nut shells. It runs on fuel made from fermented wheat and sugarbeat. But despite its unusual construction, for its size the car has as much pulling power as a Ferrari Enzo, not to mention that impressive top speed.
The academics at Warwick University behind the project hope cars made in such a way will one day be a regular sight on Grand Prix circuits and that their ideas will also be adopted by the mass automotive industry. Eco One was designed by Dr Kerry Kirwan, a researcher at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the university's academic department which provides solutions to industry, and built by student Ben Wood over two months at a cost of £20,000. Dubbed the "greenest race car in the world", Eco One does 0-62mph in under four seconds and has an engine from a Triumph Daytona motorcycle. Interest in the car is such that it has been invited to go on display at the National Science Museum in London at the end of August.
Mr Wood, 23, said: "Almost everything on the car can be made from plants. All the plastic components can be made from plants and although the chassis has to be made from steel for strength, steel is a very recyclable material. If we can build a high-performance car that can virtually be grown from seed, just imagine what's possible for the average family car." Mr Wood, of Bishop Stortford, Hertfordshire, who is studying for his engineering doctorate at Warwick University, added: "I'm very excited and very satisfied, helping the environment is an important issue and is the whole point of the project."
Zoe Howard, head of communications for WMG, said: "The car demonstrates that not all eco cars have to be small and electric - they can be high performance too. We have been speaking to various people within the motor sports industry. There are a number of potential collaborators who seem keen on developing the technology further. The motor sports industry knows it's got to be greener, that is why we are working on these ideas. The concept is transferable into cars for the race track or the motorway. We researched the most technologically advanced sustainable materials available, and then used them wherever possible during construction. The main message is how cutting-edge technology is making high performance eco-friendly cars a reality, helping dispel the myth that 'green cars are slow and sluggish."
Eco One's steering wheel, seat and electrics are made from conventional materials. It has not been raced competitively because, the designers say, it's "in a class of its own" and ineligible to do so. They are now working on their next prototype which will be based on a Formula Ford car and therefore be able to compete. They hope eventually to produce a car that is 95 per cent biodegradable.
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excellent - I want a go...
