A chocolate fuelled F3?
With an increasing trend throughout the world to “go green”, many people have been making conscious efforts to cut back on their carbon footprints, recycle more, and conserve energy. And now this even extends to motorsports.
The WorldFirst F3 race car is setting the pace for a future in sustainable racing. The Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre has created the first F3 racer using internal combustion engines and an environmentally conscious exterior.
Dr. Kerry Kirwin of the University of Warwick in the UK is the mind behind the project. The team looked at every component of a current F3 race car to see what other and more sustainable options were available.
This revolutionary development comes at a crucial time in motorsports and environmental history. The increasing impact on consumers, companies, and sponsors from the global economic downturn has cause the automobile industry to re-evaluate costs. The goal is to maximize the return in investment while becoming more environmentally friendly and maintaining high performance quality.
The WorldFirst F3 project is the WIMRC’s response to this crisis, and was designed to prove to the motorsport industry that it is possible to manufacture a competitive and environmentally sustainable car.
The body of the vehicle is made from potatoes and soy products, the steering wheel is made of carrots, and best of all – the engine is powered by fuel that contains chocolate! In the past, one of the downsides of the environmental movement in the automotive industry was that ‘green’ cars didn’t go as fast as diesel and gasoline powered racers. This car corners tracks at speeds from 125-135 mph, exceeding expectations and beliefs.
So how exactly does chocolate fuel a car?
From a technological point of view the engine isn’t anything too outlandish. The engine is a standard diesel one that derives power from fuel composed of chocolate and animal fats i.e. vegetable oils. The engine has been refined to run off bio-fuels and as long as the fuel contains combustible energy the diesel engine, which uses heat instead of a spark to start the combustion process, is capable of making do with this foreign fuel.
Diesel engines run on much hotter temperatures than gasoline powered engines, so when the chocolate/ animal fat fuel mixture makes its way into the engine, the inherent energy is used to power the cylinders. But you won’t see this car out on the track in an F3 race as the diesel engine does not comply with F3 Standards.
Project manager James Meredith explains the goal was to create “the first Formula Three racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable materials, putting the world first by effectively managing the planet’s resources.”
The car itself is also made from environmentally friendly materials. It is lubricated by plant oils instead of the standard fossil fuel based oils. Its main components are made from recycled carbon fibre, which is the same material standard F3 cars are made from. The steering wheel is made of recycled resin and carrot pulp while the cockpit seat is made of woven flax fibre. The racer’s wing mirrors are made of resistant potato starch and the side pods are made from recycled plastic bottles.
The car is also capable of cleaning the air while it drives with an emission-destroying catalyst.
The sustainable car has the F3 stamp of approval from drivers and crew staff, all of whom were surprised the car could actually drive, and drive fast at that. Because of the high speeds the car travels, standard issue F3 tyres had to be used as a safety precaution. It can accelerate to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds thanks to the help of a turbo charger, and is faster than most super cars.
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