Formula 3 racing car made of vegetables
The automobile industry is focusing on environment friendly development of cars. Also the racing industry is working in this issue. Richard Branson wants to concur the World with bio fuel via Formula 1. Another initiative comes from the Brits with the development of a formula 3 racing car made of potatoes, carrots and soya beans.
The WorldFirst F3 racing car developed by the Warwick Manufacturing Group. The goal was: ‘…WIMRC conceived a project intended to prove to the industry that it is possible to build a competitive racing car using environmentally sustainable components through the use of the latest research outputs. '.
The wing mirrors and parts of the front wing and other parts were made from potatoes. The material is called "PotatoPak" and is a water resistant starch packaging material which is 100% derived from potatoes. This is 100% biodegradable material and the hope is that this material will be used in manufacturing in the future.
The radiator coated with a BASF (PremAir) ozone-destruction catalyst that destroys harmful, ground level ozone already in the air. The radiator becomes a "Smog Eater". The steering wheel is made of a carrot based polymer called “Curranâ€.
The negative part of this story is that food is used to manufacture materials. This leads to an even bigger demand of food and soya production.
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