Dr. Kerry Kirwan and student Ben Wood from the Warwick Manufacturing Group (Warwick University’s department which provides solutions to industry) should be hailed as motoring gods. They have designed a fun, fast and (moderately) good looking one seater racing car
This means that we no longer have to think about filling our fuel tanks with chip fat, or even hydrogen to be green – the Eco-One is fuelled by a cocktail of fermented wheat and sugar beet.
The bodywork is made from hemp and rapeseed oil, its tyres are made using potato starch and its brake pads are made from cashew nut shells.
Dr. Kirwan designed the Eco-One, while Ben Wood put it together. Construction took around two months and cost £20,000.
Ben Wood comments: “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.”
The car is propelled by a Triumph Daytona motorbike engine and will do 0-62mph in less than four seconds, before going on to its 150mph top speed. Tasty.