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Sunday September 2, 2007

Eco-friendly racing car

Eurofile
By CHOI TUCK WO


Hail Eco One, the race car with the greenest of credentials. The body is created from hemp and rapeseed oil and tyres are made from potato starch.

GREEN cars are fast gaining popularity in Britain, given the tax incentives and cost effectiveness.

There’s even an official league table for various categories and models, with the cleanest vehicle exempt from road tax.

In fact, those with electric cars already benefit from free parking as well as exemption from road tax and congestion charge.

Eco-speedster: Wood test-driving the Eco One. The brainchild of researchers from Warwick University, this racing car is destined for the Grand Prix circuit and the automotive industry. — Picture courtesy of Warwick Manufacturing Group

Then again, the performance of environment-friendly cars is often subject to debate; critics have branded them as slow and sluggish.

Thanks to cutting-edge technology, a green car can be lean and mean too, notching an amazing speed of 240kph!

Hail Eco One, touted as the world’s greenest race car made from potatoes, cashew nut shells, hemp and rapeseed oil and other plants.

Indeed, the recipe for the eco-speedster can turn one literally green with envy.

The tyres are made from potato starch for improved fuel economy, brake pads from ground cashew shells and brake oil from plants.

What’s more, the body is created from hemp and rapeseed oil. And it runs on fuel derived from fermented sugar beet.

Yet the car’s greenest of credentials don’t hold it back on the tracks – it packs a powerful performance too.

Plant fibres

Conceived by researchers from Warwick University, the racing car is destined for the Grand Prix circuit and the automotive industry.

It was designed by Dr Kerry Kirwan, a bio-materials expert at Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), the university’s academic department, and built by student Ben Wood.

“Our concept is simple - create a high-performance racing car that had a conscience,” said Dr Kirwan.

He said they researched the most technologically-advanced sustainable materials available and used them whenever possible during construction.

And it doesn’t stop there. The group has planned, over the next three years, to remake all plastic parts from plant fibres, convert the engine to bio-diesel and study alternative materials for the chassis.

Eco One is 95% biodegradable or recyclable although its steering wheel, seat and electric components comprise conventional materials.

Except for the chassis, which had to be made from steel, a recyclable material, all the plastic components could be produced from plants.

“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,” said Wood.

WMG’s head of communication Zoe Howard said Eco One showed that not all green cars have to be small and electric.

She said they had spoken to the motor sports industry, which seemed keen on developing the technology.

“There’s nothing in our technology that cannot be transferred into cars for the race track or the motorway,” she said.

Howard said their next project was to develop a Formula Ford race car, a smaller version of Formula One, by next year.

By then, Eco One will get to race competitively as there’s really nothing it can compete against at the moment.

Exciting ride

Undoubtedly, the greatest challenges facing conventional cars are the pricing, green technology and comfort for the general public.

Thus, the key message is how the latest technology can ensure the mass production of high-performance, eco-friendly cars become a reality.

There’s little doubt Eco One has given major car manufacturers worldwide an “extra push” to get them going down that road.

With the government’s focus on less polluting cars and the need to tackle climate change, the project will certainly spawn the development of conventional models.

After all, a high-performing green car at an affordable price will prove far too irresistible.

Indeed, the world is watching Eco One with bated breath. And yes, an exciting ride seems to be looming ahead.

Choi Tuck Woo is Editor, European Union Bureau, based in London

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