Posted 03.08.2010 at 5:20 pm
15 Comments
Coffee-powered Car I'll see your electric vehicle and raise you in fuel inefficiency!
Bang Goes the Theory/Daily Mail
Readers feeling jittery on their second or third cuppa might giggle at the concept of the Carpuccino, but few car owners will. The wacky UK invention comes in the form of a converted 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco that downs about 56 espressos per mile, the Daily Mail reports. That should only cost about 25 to 50 times the cost of running a car on gas.
The concept came out of the BBC1 science program called "Bang Goes the Theory," and will go on a 210-mile drive between Manchester and London that consumes about 11,760 espressos. But coffee aficionados shouldn't scream just yet -- the fuel comes from waste coffee grounds provided by a branch of Costa Coffee.
Carpuccino Go: How the Carpuccino runs Bang Goes the Theory/Daily Mail
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Cars, Jeremy Hsu, automobiles, bang goes the theory, biofuels, carpuccino, coffee, coffee grounds, coffee-powered, gassificationThis clearly won't win awards for greenest machine anytime soon, if ever. But as with many bizarre concepts, it's all in the name of science education. The car's gasification process might also work for equally tasty fuel such as walnut shells or agricultural waste.
Anyone in the UK with an itch to see this technological marvel (monstrosity?) can check out The Big Bang: UK Young Scientists' and Engineers' Fair from March 11 to 13 in Manchester. The coffee-powered episode of "Bang Goes the Theory" is set to run on BBC1 on May 3.
[via Daily Mail]
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Other than the how this can run on Hydrogen and Carbon Monoxide this is one of the coolest uses of coffee I have ever seen! Almost as the Delorean from BtTF!!
I have seen this before only that it ran on sawdust. It seems they replaced sawdust with waste coffee grounds.
This Car Runs on Coffee (AND CHARCOAL!!!), in the Name of Science
Wow! I bet the exhaust of this car would smell like cappuccino or brewed coffee, in much the same way as the exhaust of vehicles using used-cooking oil smell like hamburgers or fried chicken.
I admire these people for being creative, innovative and resourceful. Keep it up!
Awesome!
Great looking car, I miss the Scirocco and the smell has got to be intoxicating :).
Brings new meaning to "getting creamed on the highway".
This a very old technology. There are many of these vehicles running around the world and it was used in Europe during WW2 because of fuel shortages. The old gas plants used coal to provide coalgas for homes before the use of natural gas.India and China, as well as other 3rd world countries, are using this technology on small scale plants to run generators and for process heat. Do a search for biogas generator. There is a lot of cool stuff going here and abroad.
Well this would be my type of car, full of beans. I love my coffee so this could be a perfect match. I also love the colors I have a passion for brown at the moment. I am surprised that brown has not crept into the car market more widely. I have only seen an Audi Convertible in brown. Its a pity as it is a wonderful color and toning for cars.
Lucille
http://www.meritcarhire.co.uk/
I too like Lucille like coffee. Though I can not imagine how I could put enough beans into my 1970 valiant station wagon. The color is the same, so I guess that is a start.
www.meritcarhire.co.uk
In the name of science. I must question the worth of the talented people involving themselves in this project. When there are so many unanswered issues in our struggle to care for the environment.
www.premierplates.co.uk
Coffee cars! I wonder if they could have a chocolate flavor added. Yum! Seriously is this really feasible for the mass market or is it like many inventors a great idea for the enthusiast.
www.premierplates.co.uk
Ill bet the exhaust smells like a a starbucks drive through for cars and trucks. They make and exhaust for it on http://www.allexhaust.com. Im not sure though if its magnaflow, borla, gibson, or flowmaster.
I have a mate who runs his car on used chip ship oil..smells a bit though! It goes to show that there are plenty of ways outside of the box to power our cars when required. Im guessing oil companies wouldn't be too happy if this happend on a bigger scale. Theres plenty on the web about water powered engines too and hemp oil can work just the same as diesel but i guess it might result in groups of stoners hanging around on motorways to inhale the fumes.
www.carwithbadcredit.co.uk