Racing Car Rolls on Potato Tyres

Researchers at the University of Warwick have developed a racing car that is perhaps as tasty as it is fast. The environmentally friendly vehicle, the brainchild of the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), a research think tank and solution provider based at the university, has tyres made from potatoes and brake pads from cashew nut shells. The car also runs on bio fuels and bio lubricants.

The racer was originally designed with a top speed of 125mph, but following ‘tweaking’ by project manager Ben Wood it is now capable of speeds as high as 150mpg, provided there is a straight road and a tailwind available.

“Almost everything on the car can be made out of biodegradable or recyclable materials,” said Mr Wood. “All the plastic components can be made from plants and, although the chassis has to be made from steel for strength, steel is a very recyclable material.” He added that he was aiming to produce a racing car that is 95 per cent biodegradable or recyclable.

While the tyres used on the car naturally lend themselves to recycling through the process of shredding into small chips, it is not known whether WMG intend to capitalise on this delicious solution to the perennial problem on tyre dumps and landfill.