Chocolate fuel car in top 50 inventions list

Nov 24 2009 By The Journal

A RACING car made from vegetables, fuelled by chocolate and developed in the North East has been named one of Time magazine’s 50 Best Inventions of the Year.

Scott Racing, based in Meadowfield, near Durham, worked with experts from Warwick University to develop a Formula 3 car which does not create pollution and biodegrades when its racing days are over. Its bodywork is built from potatoes, it has a carrot-based steering wheel, its seats are filled with soya beans, and it can reach speeds of up to 145mph fuelled by waste chocolate and vegetable oil.

The car was listed in the influential American magazine alongside inventions ranging from the Aids vaccine, to the Nasa Ases rocket, Nissan’s Leaf electric car and James Dyson’s bladeless electric fan.