This is the Eco One, a one-seater sports car that is green in more ways that you would imagine. Not only does it run on wheat and sugar beets at 150 mph, going from 0 to 62 mph in less than four seconds, but the bill of materials looks like a salad: potatoes, cashew nut shells, rape seed oil and hemp. Check the complete recipe in the big side photo after the jump.
The $41,000 car sports car, built by student Ben King from a design by Dr Kerry Kirwan, a researcher at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, uses an engine from a Triumph Daytona motorbike. He built the Eco One in two months. “If we can build a high-performance car that can virtually be grown from seed, just imagine what is possible for the average family car,” he said.
Eco One is 95 percent biodegradable or recyclable, although its steering-wheel, seat and electrics comprise conventional materials. All of the plastic components were made from plants, while the chassis is made from steel, an easily reusable metal.
The makers claim that there are people interested in developing the technology for motor racing. “We have been speaking to various-people within the motor sports industry,” claimed a spokeswoman for the Warwick Manufacturing Group. “The motor sports industry knows it’s got to be greener. And the concept is transferable into cars for the race track or the motorway.”
If you’re in London over the summer, the car will be on show at the National Science Museum from August 28-30. [Daily Mail]
