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| This Formula 3 car looks pretty tasty |
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Imagine a car powered by chocolate, steered by carrots, that has bodywork made from potatoes, and can still do 125mph around corners.
That's just what researchers at the University of Warwick have come up with; and their Formula 3 racing car is now ready to drive.
With the viability of motor racing currently questioned, a team based in the University's Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre decided to look at the problem.
The result is a competitive racing car using environmentally sustainable components, to show the Industry just how much is possible using current environmentally sustainable technologies.
The car meets all the Formula 3 racing standards except for its biodiesel engine which is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. Formula 3 cars currently cannot use biodiesel.
Dr Kerry Kirwan from the research team said: "Components made from plants form the mainstay of the car's make up.
"(These include) a race specification steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables, a flax fibre and soybean oil foam racing seat, a woven flax fibre bib, plant oil based lubricants and a biodiesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil.
"It also incorporates a radiator coated in a ground-breaking emission destroying catalyst. "
Project Manager, James Meredith, said "The WorldFirst project dispels the myth that performance needs to be compromised when developing the sustainable motor vehicles of the future." |
