Sustainable Race Car... thoughts

[rwh11385]

http://www.worldfirstracing.co.uk/index1b63.html?theCar

The new WorldFirst racecar is a clever piece of lateral thinking. It is the first Formula 3 racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable materials, putting the world first by effectively managing the planet's resources.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1934027_1934003_1933986,00.html

http://www.worldfirstracing.co.uk/in...tml?galleryCar

[87e30]

Of all things that need to be sustainable a race car is not one of them.

[Ryann]

+1
sustainable race car= oxymoron.

[dinanm3atl]

Cool idea... but meh. I like racing and the smell of fuel and gas spills and wrecks and coolant leaks and burn outs and the like.

[PaintPro21]

New technology is used on race cars for publicity, and there's plenty of money to support new technology at premium prices. Race car technology trickles down to street cars, it's as simple as that. If it wasn't developed for them first, it would not be made at all in many if not most cases.

Racing is a sport. Nobody defined it as having to be ultra wasteful or not competitive unless fossil fuels and petroleum products are used. When the cost of sustainable parts on that race car are lower and just as good as other parts available, then why not use use them? They have to begin developing them at some point.

[Be30mer]

the planet does not need saving. Race on! :firehop:

[joshh]

I'm trying to see the positive and I think that would be would was already mentioned...technology.

[george graves]

New technology is used on race cars for publicity, and there's plenty of money to support new technology at premium prices. Race car technology trickles down to street cars, it's as simple as that. If it wasn't developed for them first, it would not be made at all in many if not most cases.

^this guy understands why companies drop a lot of coin in racing. And a racing series might build such a thing into the rules as a method of forwarding technology. Nothing wrong with racing being about more than just who wins.

[Skafrog]

If it can win against current F3 cars, then it will have performed its mission, showing that eco friendly composites and such are actually competitive with current products on the market, and not just feel good marketing hype.
If not, well, top race teams will continue using the best technology, whether it is eco friendly or not. Contrary to popular belief it seems, no one who is standing on pit lane watching their car drop in position due to some eco part is happy about it.
Look at corvette, not running E85 at LeMans because they wanted the extra HP.

[FredK]

It uses a decent amount of sustainable materials. It's not a sustainable race car. Excellent marketing, though.

I'm fine with portraying auto racing being a "sustainable" activity.

[Feffman]

I'm trying to increase my carbon footprint! :p

Jay Leno, speaking to James May on Top Gear about the Honda hydrogen car, made a great point. The more people driving hybrids, electric cars, fuel cell vehicles, etc. using less actual gasoline leaves more for we enthusiasts to power our cars.

Feff

[Burnera]

^this guy understands why companies drop a lot of coin in racing. And a racing series might build such a thing into the rules as a method of forwarding technology. Nothing wrong with racing being about more than just who wins.

Except for F1, which hasn't contributed anything to the standard car in a number of years.

[Farbin Kaiber]

You know, Henry Ford made a "sustainable" car back in 1941...

http://www.thehenryford.org/research/soybeancar.aspx

[E30Kaiser]

Except for F1, which hasn't contributed anything to the standard car in a number of years.

Except the new Porsche hybrid of course, and giving Honda, Toyota, Renault, Ferrari, BMW, and Mercedes engineers plenty of experience in engine technology and aerodynamics. The main reason F1 hasn't contributed much to normal cars in years though, is because they haven't been allowed to innovate much in a number of years, all in the name of "cost cutting" and slowing down the cars.

[Lance Racing]

Greenwash