The extraordinary Eco Elise.
This is a car consisting in large part of marijuana. Or at least the industrial, non-cannabinoid breed of hemp. Smokin' indeedy!You'll remember from the earlier series of Lotus posts that the company is aggressively "green", with their original biofuel track car, the Tesla all electric sports car and loads of green techno-wizardry going on in Research and Development.
They have also recently got planning permission for their own windfarm to power the plant, making them just about the greenest car company going.
This car is the quite astonishing result of a chat over coffee in the canteen a while back.Thanks to Phil for filling in the facts.
It all started when the lovely Geordie (a Toonsman from NooKassle, hence the name) thought it would be fun to match the weight of an Elise chassis in aluminium drinks cans (Lotus guys recycle everything they can) to try to offset the environmental impact.
A few other guys tossed in some ideas over coffee including the news that someone was using hemp matting (like your eco shopping bags) to form into solid shapes and mixing them with other materials.
The idea of a hemp car was born …
Boys will be boys and so Geordie and the others got hold of some local hemp and tried making test panels using the same resins that Lotus use with their glassfibre mats to form body panels.
Geordie then took the whole concept and presented it to the board for their blessing and the boys got down to work.
Phil went over to Belgium and sourced enough experimental primer, colour and clear coat to make the entire paint job water-borne and solvent free.Jason (Phil's paint application specialist) sprayed all the silver and made the whole thing seamless.
Andy (seen here back at the Festival of Speed this summer) actually made all the hemp panels and grafted the entire body together.
The most difficult part was the roof, which is made entirely from one hemp panel (with the hemp exposed down the centre stripe) but which needed fully functioning solar panels inset to trickle charge the battery.
Internally, the seats are made from hemp and resin with local sheep providing the wool for the cloth trim and local timber for the lovely wooden gear knob and handbrake.
This is a one-off concept car, dreamed-up and built by the guys on the shop floor and hoorah for them!With luck (and testing), these technologies or their derivatives may become standard across the industry and make the guilty pleasure of motoring just a little less guilty and a lot more pleasure.
More car porn on Friday.
23 comments:
Thanks Dive what a great car.. pats on backs all around I think...glad Phil came up with all the gen....I say again very proud of my boys......
Hoorah for Geordie, Andy, Jason, Phil and the guys and girls at Lotus. It's a fantastic car and they should feel justifiably smug and proud of themselves.
No need to be proud of me; all I did was look at it and go "Ooooooo".
THEIR OWN WINDFARM!? Wowo! Im impressed.
I want my own windfarm... oh, and an Eco Elise...
No problem, Dot.
All you need to do is come over here and get 'em.
Oh, and you'll need rather a large sack of groats, too.
Haha never heard of the term 'groats' before... love it, very English I presume.
Stuff the car then... I want me some GROATS dive!
Groats: Mediæval fourpenny pieces, Dot. And originally Celtic (or at least Scottish), rather than English.
Shame on you for not knowing that! Hee hee.
As you know, I glaze over when you talk about cars, but this post actually held my attention. It will be interesting to see if these cars can be made efficiently enough to warrant mass producing them.
Oh My Gosh! I feel ashamed! My apologies... =p
All Lotus cars are lovingly hand-built, Robyn; we'll have no truck with that US concept of "profit".
With luck, however, some of the technology will trickle down. BMW among others are now looking at biodegradable body panels like this.
Dot: Hee hee hee.
yep...more sighs...
You were closer than you think, Dive, see yesterday's... :)
Indeed, Lynn. Now you have no excuse whatsoever for coming up for a coffee. They're only just down the road from my house so I can come and pick you up.
Amazing story, and what a fabulous looking car! I really applaud Phil and all the Lotus team for coming up with this concept and then turning it into a beaut of a car. If only I had oodles of cash to buy one. You know, to promote environmentalism. I do hope these ideas trickle down soon!
"To promote environmentalism". Hee hee. Of course, Katie! Nobody would ever think of driving a car like this irresponsibly, would they?
Great car, dive. and great description of the entire process.
Thanks, Rich. It is a doozy.
We must do that, Dive.
Jason, Andy & Geordie all work for me but it was Geordie's idea and drive that got this done.
The guys have the expertise so I just supplied the paint system and they did the rest and deserve ALL the credit.
Can't forget Mally, Mark, Stu, Dicko, Gav, Sharon, Pete, Joffe et al for their time, knowledge and skill.
Lynn. We MUST!
Phil: your guys are stars!
Though you sound a bit like an Oscar winner thanking all of the team.
Hee hee.
Not only pure horn but bio-degradabe - bargain!!!
My guess is, it is SO not a bargain!!!!
So, does one get very very hungry for toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwiches when one drives it?
Because I recall those college days filled with bongs and joints and how GOOD a toasted peanut butter and jelly sandwich tasted....
Jules: Of course it's a bargain. Well worth every penny.
Hmmmm … I wonder if a whole load of hemp shopping bags and some resin could be made into a fabulously light and fast outrigger?
Maria: Eeww! How gross!
Jelly over here is either the pink, wobbly stuff kids have at parties or the jelly from meat.
I assume you mean jam? Even so, a peanut butter and jam sandwich is a sickening thought.
Ew, ew and ew again.
Even the worst case of post bong muchies would never induce me to eat that.
If you make you I'll buy it!! Of course you'll have to paddle it over here Dive to deliver it!!!!
Women! You make us poor blokes do everything.
Hee hee.
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