Greenest-ever International race car: Green race car
Green race car heads to Florida to debut in 12-hour race
After a shakedown test at Snetterton last week the greenest racing car to compete in the international arena is now heading to Florida where it'll debut in next week's Sebring 12 Hours.
The British Eco Racing team's Radical SR9 LMP1 prototype is powered by a modified version of the V10 engine found in the VW Touareg running on Shell GTL diesel, however the plan thereafter is to run on a fuel containing a 50-per-cent-bio component. And that is just one of several green initiatives being pioneered on this all new car.
It uses bodywork components made from 100-per-cent-biodegradable hemp fibre and will run solar panels to power some of its electrical systems. It has even been liveried in water-based, rather than petroleum-based, paint and its Dunlop tyres will be re-cycled after use.
Eco Racing is the latest venture by veteran sportscar team manager Ian Dawson, whose Taurus team took diesel technology to the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2004 and has spent the past two years developing the V10 engine run on a bio fuel made from the jatropha plant (a non-edible product grown on land unsuitable for food production).
Dawson said, "We want a car with a low carbon footprint, because that is the way motorsport is heading." We are aiming to make the most economical vehicle, rather than necessarily the fastest car."
The Eco Racing Radical will be driven at Sebring by Harri Toivonen, Ben Collins and historic racer, Simon Wright.
