Posted May 6, 2009 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/5277924/Chocolate-powered-racing-car-revealed.html An F3 racer that is apparently made from potatoes, carrots and beans and runs on a mixture of vegetable oil and chocolate. It apparently can reach a speed of 145mph. It uses plant oil-based lubricants to grease its moving parts and boasts a biodiesel engine capable of running on chocolate extracts and vegetable oil. The car's bodywork was made by mixing vegetable fibres with resins and it is the first Formula 3 car built from eco-friendly materials. Quite interesting although the engine sounds terrible. Anyways, it can't compete in tournaments because of fuel regulations. So for something to talk about, should these regulations be lifted? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 Quite interesting although the engine sounds terrible. Who cares about what it sounds like? Get these things on the street already! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 You want formula 3 cars on the streets? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 Quite interesting although the engine sounds terrible. Fuck that, diesel for the win Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 You want formula 3 cars on the streets? No, I want the technology on normal cars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 I would only want this tech on the streets if they start opening up Chocolate Stations. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 I would only want this tech on the streets if they start opening up Chocolate Stations. Some for you, some for me, some for you, some for me... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2009 Haha, lol. I now dream of a world where fuel stations will have chocolate fountains. :p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2009 Hang on, am I understanding this correctly: The car is actually MADE from vegetables?! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 7, 2009 Hang on, am I understanding this correctly: The car is actually MADE from vegetables?! Yea, they used the resin from them. Its a pretty clever idea actually. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 8, 2009 Who cares about what it sounds like? Get these things on the street already! An interesting thing to think about - while vegetable oil would be renewable (to some extent), it isn't actually eco-friendly, so it's not truly an alternative power source as you're still burning the hell outta the carbon in the vegetables! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 8, 2009 The reason I would like this technology to get mainstream is for me to be able to fuel my stomach with chocolate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 8, 2009 An interesting thing to think about - while vegetable oil would be renewable (to some extent), it isn't actually eco-friendly, so it's not truly an alternative power source as you're still burning the hell outta the carbon in the vegetables! But the carbon in the vegetation is carbon that has already been removed from the atomosphere to create biomass, so no additional carbon that was previously trapped in underground reservoirs is being released. It acts a closed carbon cycle. Vegetable and chocolate isn't the best idea for mass produced fuel though. It's far too energy intensive to grow and takes up both land and crops that could be used to feed people. Extremely cool concept car though, just shows that traditional materials aren't necessary at all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 8, 2009 How can veggie resin be made into an engine :/ Surely it wouldn't be strong enough. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2009 An interesting thing to think about - while vegetable oil would be renewable (to some extent), it isn't actually eco-friendly, so it's not truly an alternative power source as you're still burning the hell outta the carbon in the vegetables! There simply isn't the land to grow biofuels. Industrialisation has only got this far because of our huge fossil fuel reserves and if we had to rely on biofuels, how many people would die? Because we can't just magically create new land without chopping down the Amazon, the crops compete with food and arent we going to need 50% more land for food crops by 2050 anyway? It's questionable whether we will have enough land for food in the future, let alone for fuel. I think the whole pension system is expected to crash by the time we retire, so we can expect lots of lols at the end of our lives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2009 There isn't the land to grow biofuels in there current form because it relies on the fermentation of the sugars and starch in plants to create ethanol. Unfortunately the bits of plants that contain these sugars and starch are the bits we eat. However, if we can break down the plant cell walls that make up the massive amounts of straw waste produced from harvesting it will release previously inaccessible sugars with which to create biofuel. There is hope yet for biofuels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
