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Grounds for Celebration: TV scientists convert VW Scirocco to run on coffee
03.15.2010 AutoBlog: Grounds for Celebration: TV scientists convert VW Scirocco to run on coffee
This is what we mean when we say that the future of alternative fuels isn't anywhere close to being decided. A team from the BBC program Bang Goes the Theory has rigged an older Volkswagen Scirocco to run on coffee pellets. It's a bit complex, with the coffee grounds needing to be heated to 1,292 degrees Fahrenheit, and the resulting concoction cooled, separated and filtered before it's run to the engine. Because coffee contains carbon, however, it works.
It's expensive, though. The trial run the Starbucks Scirocco will make from London to Manchester and back will cost more than 25 times what the same trip on gasoline would because the car goes just three miles on a kilo of coffee. The 209-mile trip is also take ten hours, due to the number of stops required to refill the fuel canister and regularly clean out the system.
So, on second thought, this is not what we mean when we talk about the future of alternative fuels. But it is really neat, and it's for the kids, and those sorts of things count for a lot in our book.
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