Formula Three Car – Racing Green Technology.

Did you ever wonder what a car powered by chocolate and wine, and made from carrot tops, old aircraft panels, and old drinks bottles would turn out like?  Well, here it is!

The £500,000 car, which will take part in its first competitive Formula Three Race at the iconic Brands Hatch Circuit in Kent, runs on fuel derived from chocolate waste and wine dregs.  The vehicle was built by engineers at Warwick University as part of a project designed to push green technology to its limits.

The car’s 2-litre BMW diesel engine and chassis was salvaged from a scrap vehicle and more than half of the body panels are from materials destined for landfill, such as old carbon fibre aircraft materials.  The Formula Three car produces 230bhp, and weighs 550kg (including the driver).

A Scottish company that turns fibres from carrot waste into fishing rods and other products produced the car’s steering wheel. The Project Leader at the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Kerry Kirwan says “For some reason the steering wheel came out purple.  We think some beetroot might have got into it”.  The wheels, tyres and cockpit are built to standard Formula Three specifications to comply with race safety regulations.

The recycled car can accelerate faster than a conventional Formula Three Racing car, reaching 60mph from a standing start in 2.5 seconds, and reaches a top speed of 170mph.

The engineers at Brands Hatch hope to push the car to 150mph, which in test drives already achieved a top speed of 150mph.  At race speed, the Formula Three car manages a fuel efficiency of 35 miles per gallon.

Aaron Steele, 20, will race the car at Brands Hatch on 17^th October, and has already put the car through its paces at the Goodwood racing course in West Sussex after being completed three months ago. Kirwan also commented “We’re now happy that the car’s ready to go in for the race and not come last”.

So, start saving up all of your old carrot tops and wine dregs, and get making!!  But if you are not the creative type, lease one of our green cars from £145.42 per month.