"Vegetable racing car" unveiled

[Ardius]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8031737.stm

Intriguing...I'm wondering how effective those materials are compared to the standard kinds, especially in the chassis. Can they perform the job as efficiently and safely?

 

[ceiling_fan]

The BBC's Claire Marshall has been looking at the car which is powered by chocolate, steered by carrots and has a bodywork made from potatoes.

Will it have brakes made from rice pudding (like the Zonda)?

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I'm a little disappointed because I was hoping for a racing car shaped like a vegetable.

 

[Freddie]

Now, did I misunderstand something, or is this car actually built of food, or just of waste by-products?

I wouldn't mind a machine built of seemingly useless materials, but IMO one that is built of products that could have been on a dinner plate is possibly as socially irresponsible as it is possible to get. If there are substitutes to using food directly in the manufacturing of a non-edible product, those alternatives should be seriously considered and weighted up against the possible negative public backlash the direct use of food can cause.

 

[Jim Prower]

Doesn't matter, because it's all held together with - you guessed it - Epoxy.

I would be willing to bet much of it's fibrous plant material, stuff Deer would rather eat than you. stuff that gets thrown out the back of a combine harvester.

after watching the vid, I can say that Flax (and recycled CFRP) is the major structural fiber. as well, they seem to not have the right fuel mix, as the damn thing smokes like a 2-stroke.

 

[daan]

They should have got the woman who writes the BBC's football minute-by-minute text pages to report on this. Her name is Caroline Cheese...

 

[TheCracker]

I don't like her.

 

[daan]

I don't like her.

TheCracker and Cheese. A match made in heaven.

 

[FoolKiller]

Now, did I misunderstand something, or is this car actually built of food, or just of waste by-products?

I wouldn't mind a machine built of seemingly useless materials, but IMO one that is built of products that could have been on a dinner plate is possibly as socially irresponsible as it is possible to get. If there are substitutes to using food directly in the manufacturing of a non-edible product, those alternatives should be seriously considered and weighted up against the possible negative public backlash the direct use of food can cause.

All green initiatives risk the potential of being socially irresponsible as fossil fuels are cheap and can help developing countries without creating a huge financial burden. Similarly, using any bio-products for fuel, even non-edible ones, will reduce food supply that could go to developing countries.

For example: meat, milk, corn, and beer have all increased in price because more farmers are switching to growing corn that can be used for ethanol, reducing the supply for beer hops, food corn, and feed for farm animals.

I still haven't forgiven the IRL for indirectly causing my beer prices to go up $1-$2 a six pack. And I am sure there is some socially irresponsible effect too, but they hit me where it hurts the most.


Now if this car's technology catches on my Hershey's prices will go up, and that will be almost as tragic as the beer prices.

 

[Jim Prower]

It's powered on Soy.

Did ANYONE watch the vid? the only thing really odd was the Carrot steering wheel.

 

[FoolKiller]

It's powered on Soy.

Did ANYONE watch the vid? the only thing really odd was the Carrot steering wheel.

I'm at work, so no, but I assumed it was the same car I saw yesterday.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518967,00.html

Chocolate-Powered 150 MPH Race Car Revealed
Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Talk about hot chocolate.

A team of British engineers have designed a car that not only runs on a fuel derived from the tasty treat, but is largely constructed from parts derived from vegetables.

The steering wheel of the open-cockpit car is constructed from carrot fibers, the foam in the seats from soybeans, and the rear view mirrors and body panels produced from the starch of potatoes. Even the brakes are based on cashew nut shells.

The World First Racing team from Warwick University says the car is 95 percent biodegradable and mostly conforms to the regulations of the international Formula 3 racing series. It has a BMW turbodiesel engine that is capable of propelling it to speeds approaching 150 mph and can run on any type biodiesel, but for the purposes of the $200,000 project the designers chose chocolate as the basis of the renewable fuel.

Unfortunately, you won't be seeing it on track anytime soon. Current Formula 3 regulations do not allow the use of biodiesel in competition, even though diesel is widely used in Europe and has become a popular motorsport fuel in recent years. The last three runnings of the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans were won by a turbodiesel Audi.

Until the rules change, maybe the engineers can cheer up by eating some of the leftovers

 

[Sureboss]

Bio-diesel is still a Hydro-Carbon, right? Ergo, does it not produce the similar amount of CO2 as normal diesel engines?

Maybe I need to further my knowledge on Bio-diesels, but I've always been told (or maybe, got told once and been too ignorant to change my view) that as it's a Hydro-Carbon and it's combusted, it will produce CO2...

 

[Eric.]

Bio-diesel is still a Hydro-Carbon, right? Ergo, does it not produce the similar amount of CO2 as normal diesel engines?

Maybe I need to further my knowledge on Bio-diesels, but I've always been told (or maybe, got told once and been too ignorant to change my view) that as it's a Hydro-Carbon and it's combusted, it will produce CO2...

I'm pretty certain that combustion of anything produces C02..

Anyone want to take a guess on how much a gallon of chocolate-derived race fuel costs and how sustainable that is? I don't understand some of these "green" efforts that are not at all practical...

 

[FoolKiller]

Anyone want to take a guess on how much a gallon of chocolate-derived race fuel costs and how sustainable that is? I don't understand some of these "green" efforts that are not at all practical...

In this case, I think it was to simply say that they can and have fun with it at the same time. As it says, any biodiesel will do.

 

[ANFD]

I believe that they said the fuel was made from a waste product created from the processes of making chocolate ... then they refered to it as coco-butter. Coco-butter is a constituant of chocolate. Now if the coco-butter is in fact a "waste" product and otherwise discarded, then this use is not socially irresponsible. :sly

Oh, and I could be wrong, but don't most biodiesels smoke a bit, especially at startup and cold engine temps ?

 

[FoolKiller]

I believe that they said the fuel was made from a waste product created from the processes of making chocolate ... then they refered to it as coco-butter. Coco-butter is a constituant of chocolate. Now if the coco-butter is in fact a "waste" product and otherwise discarded, then this use is not socially irresponsible. :sly

I doubt he was talking about the fuel so much as things like carrots, soybeans, and cashews used to create the building materials for the car itself.

 

[Sureboss]

ANFD, the car can be seen to smoke in the BBC video.