Seen a salad do 150 mph? Check out the Eco One
by Jonathon Ramsey on Jul 31st 2007 at 10:04PM 
Faced with a bucket full of potatoes, cashew shells, hemp, rapeseed oil, wheat, and sugar beet, most of us would try and find some pigs to feed. If your name were Ben Wood, however, you'd snag that bucket, shells and all, add 20,000 British pounds sterling and make a car called the Eco One Speedster.
Designed by a researcher at Warwick University's Manufacturing Group, the department that works with industry, the car took Wood two months to build. The tires are partly made with potato starch, which creates less friction on the road. The brake pads are made from cashew shells blended into a resin, which means brake dust that doesn't hurt the environment. The body is fashioned from hemp and rapeseed oil. It's powered by a Triumph Daytona engine, which was not made from fruits or legumes, but steel. Yet that engine runs on fermented wheat and sugar beet, and still gets to 60 in under 4 and is good all the way up to 150 mph.
The car is 95% biodegradable or recyclable, that last 5% comprising things like its steering wheel, seat and electrics. It is nearly the ultimate expression of what can be done with food -- and we say "nearly" because it still has some plastic components that Ben says could be made from organic items. Ultimately, the aim is to race the car and convert many of its applications to motorsport. In the mean time, for those of you England-way, the car will be on show at the National Science Museum in London from August 28-30.
[Source: Daily Mail]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
GearGuy 10:35AM (8/03/2007)
Wouldn't tires with less friction be less than optimal if you were trying to "race the car and convert many of its applications to motorsport."???
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Spike 10:31PM (7/31/2007)
The vehicle resembles the Formula SAE race cars that universities around the world develop for the various competitions put on by SAE. It would be nice to know how much of an improvement it is over standard formula racer in regards to recyclable content. Most of these cars are quite bare anyways, metal frame and engine that can be easily recycled. However, any improvements with composite materials and resins is most welcome. Working long hours with these materials is not a very pleasant task.
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Rob 10:32PM (7/31/2007)
Hey you guys should start a site for just this kind of news... maybe call it autoblog yellow, no green.
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Fuzzmanmatt 10:49PM (7/31/2007)
so... It's bringing technologies together that have already been proven in the market? Ethanol fuel, synthetic oil, organic brake pads, it's all stuff that I've used on my cars. Almost all premium brake pads are made using cashews as a base. It provides a good contact surface, less noise, less dust, and it lasts a long time.
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el_crampo 10:58PM (7/31/2007)
It's about frickin' time I saw a car that contains rape seed.
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Kash 11:00PM (7/31/2007)
Spike beat me to the FSAE comment.
I'm currently on my school's FSAE team and I would much rather build something new and original like that.
SAE should start a ECO Formula SAE competition. I'll be bringing this subject up at our next meeting for sure.
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magitekkn 12:37AM (8/01/2007)
As an FSAE team alum (go gt motorsports!) I agree 100% with the previous comments. But I would dare say that given this car's British roots, it more resembles a Formula Student racer. (Pedantic? Check.)
As for the ECO FSAE tilt, I think the FSAE's response would most likely be: "we have the endurance race, where MPG is an important factor, so there's your eco event, next!"
All this said, if you're in college, I highly recommend getting involved with your local Formula SAE/Student team. Don't have one? Start one. Already graduated and you happen to work in a field that could help out a team (financially or technically)? Then lobby your company to donate time/materials to either your alma mater or a local team. FSAE was one of the best experiences of my college education, wish I could have been involved for more years.
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Allen 12:52AM (8/01/2007)
LOL tater tires and nut brakes
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Rob 1:19AM (8/01/2007)
Less friction with the road? How the HELL is that a good quality for a racecar?!?!?!?! That means slower acceleration, less cornering, and weaker brakes! WTF. That is just dumb, IMHO.
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Mark 4:33AM (8/01/2007)
I'm hoping they mean less rolling resistange rather than less friction, if not then yes, not idea for a race car