| The Light-Weight Transparent e85 Exasis |
| Written by Philip Proefrock | ||
| Thursday, 08 March 2007 | ||
It's one thing to be able to see the inside of your PC with a windowed case. What if you could see the inside of your car at work. Well, you can with a transparent plastic vehicle called Exasis.
With an aluminum frame and transparent panel body, the tandem two-seat car
weighs only 750 kg (1800 lbs). The concept car is scheduled to debut at
the Geneva Auto Show in March 2007.
It is powered by a lightweight engine designed to run on E85 ethanol, which isn't anything new anymore, but still represents forward thinking. Because of the lightweight materials used in building the Exasis, its 150 hp engine gives it a horsepower-to-weight ratio comparable to a Porsche. It's not going to be a production vehicle, but, as with a lot of concept cars, the developments used to make this vehicle will likely find their way into cars on the streets in the coming years.
Cocolico
complains about using oil for the manufacture of plastics in the
construction of this vehicle. But, frankly, Steel isn't environmentally benign either. And using some hydrocarbons to make a light weight body that will save a ton of gasoline seems ridiculously logical. There are lots
of other ways of getting heat or energy, but oil seems perfectly suitable for creating a durable, long-lasting material.
via: Cocolico
Comments
(1)
Hemp plastics?
written by Grant , March 12, 2007
Hi Philip. I agree with your comments re: the plastic option. I'm wondering if/when hemp-based plastics will start to appear in these kind of applications (esp. at the concept phase)?
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