Race Car Made from Bio Materials
 Over the years, we’ve witnessed the evolution of more environment-friendly technologies and materials in production vehicles. Often enough, breakthroughs start with suppliers or independent efforts that are uninhibited enough to explore anything that’s possible, even if it doesn’t lead to commercial viability. But sometimes, of course, even the wackiest things do. This is why these explorations are important.
Universities are a great source of innovation as bright young minds not yet subjected to the perceived limitations of real life feel free to explore all possibilities. Such is the case with WMG students at the University of Warwick in England. Here, students have come up with an environmentally-conscious race car that takes the use of bio materials to a new level. How? By using tires made from potatoes, brake pads manufactured from cashew nut shells, and a bodyshell made from hemp. Power for the 125 mph race car is supplied by biofuel and bio-lubricants are also used.
“We already have the shell, brake pads, fuel, and tires sorted,” says engineering doctorate student and project manager Ben Wood, who shares that his aim is to create a race car that’s 95 percent biodegradable or recyclable. He points out that the chassis is made from recyclable steel for strength and all plastic components can be made from plants.
What’s the importance of all this? “If we can build a high-performance car that can virtually be grown from seed,” says Wood, “just imagine what’s possible for the average family car.”
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