Powered by stale wine and waste chocolate, steered by carrots, the world’s first Formula 3 bio-racing car was unveiled by researchers at the University of Warwick

A steering wheel made from carrots and potatoes, a flax fibre and soybean foam racing seat, a bio-diesel engine that runs on waste chocolate, old wine or vegetable oil, plant-based lubricants and a radiator that converts ozone back into oxygen… in short, a competitive green’ racing car that even cleans up as it goes along!

In a world increasingly concerned with climate change, it comes as no surprise that motor racing is being criticised as the epitome of gas-guzzling excess. So, designers at the University of Warwick wanted to show the industry just what can be achieved using modern sustainable technologies.

‘Many would not have believed that a competitive, environmentally-friendly Formula 3 car could be produced, but we have proved otherwise,’ say the team.

Despite being made out of vegetables, this does not mean the car performs like one. It has a top speed of 135 miles per hour, can go from 0 to 60 in 2.5 seconds and the engine is turbo charged to give it even more torque.

‘If you are going to wholeheartedly embrace the green is great’ ethos, you need a strategy that stretches throughout the chain, from the raw materials to the final disposal of the car,’ team member Steve Maggs explains. ‘We set out to clearly demonstrate that automotive environmentalism can and should be about the whole package.’

‘We don’t know why the steering wheel has turned out purple… there must be some beetroot in there too’ Senior researcher Kerry Kirwan

Project manager, James Meredith, also stressed how important it had been for his team to produce a working example of a truly green race-worthy car. ‘This project expels the myth that performance must be compromised when developing the sustainable motor vehicles of the future,’ he says.

Contact: the International Manufacturing
Centre at the University of Warwick,
Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL
Website: www2.warwick.ac.uk

The first sustainable Formula 3 bio-racing car
Photo: © University of Warwick