Car-puccino takes old coffee grinds for a drive
There are a fair number of puns and clever sayings available to lead off this post. The Daily Mail went with saying this particular car "won't take the grind out of commuting." We, though, will go with a line sent in by a reader: "The best part of waking up is driving from your cup!"
What are we talking about? The Car-puccino, a project car from the BBC show Bang Goes The Theory that uses gassified coffee grounds to power the engine. The car will drive from London to Manchester using only waste grounds in an episode of Bang that will be broadcast in early May. The Car-puccino is not exactly efficient – it takes a kilo of grounds to go three miles – but at least it looks kind of like the DeLorean from Back to the Future. In fact, that resemblance is one reason the team bought and converted the 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco for £400 in the first place. Previously, we've seen people who use coffee to make ethanol or make biodiesel from the coffee grounds, but we're really drinking in the Car-puccino's style. Sorry.
If you're in an area where you can stream the BBC, you can watch see a video about the car here. If not, just remember how great and free the Internet is. Thanks to MM and Joviocoe for the tip!
[Source: BBC via Switched, Physorg, Daily Mail]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
neptronix 1:14PM (3/11/2010)
Those better be fair trade beans!
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neptronix 1:28PM (3/11/2010)
And does it run on 100% columbian or will nescafe instant do?
Ivan Malagurski 1:29PM (3/11/2010)
:)))
mark 1:16PM (3/11/2010)
I wonder how well it does on ice?
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Joeviocoe 1:46PM (3/11/2010)
Probably a bit sluggish when running on decaf.
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neptronix 3:39PM (3/11/2010)
or maxwell house, who puts the 'crude' in 'crude oil' for this car
neptronix 3:35PM (3/11/2010)
at least it's less of a rolling meth lab like hydrogen cars are, lol
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Joeviocoe 9:47PM (3/11/2010)
I can imagine the only carnage that will happen following a crash, is all the people rushing to lick up the mess so they can continue to work well caffeinated.
neptronix 2:30AM (3/12/2010)
Ha, yeah.. starbucks would definetely have a slow day.
Bahnburner 8:29AM (3/12/2010)
Sciroccappucino.
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joe 5:11AM (3/14/2010)
Joltswagen
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