The DeLorean had a flux capacitor and the movie magic of Back To The Future, but a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco -- a DeLorean look-alike -- has been jerryrigged to run on roasted coffee for a British television program.
The Daily Mail reports on the latest alternate-fuel vehicle built by the team for the BBC's Bang Goes The Theory, a cross between Myth Busters and American Chopper. The car's maiden voyage will be a 210-mile trip between Manchester and London for a show that airs in Britain on May 3 (I'm looking for where you might find the episode online).
The car's statistics are delightful. It will consume 56 espressos per mile -- which translates into 70 kilos (about 154 pounds) of ground coffee for the 210-mile trip. That makes it 25 to 50 times more expensive than an equivalent journey using gas -- depending on the price of gasoline and the coffee used.
As anyone who has consumed a lot of coffee on a road trip can attest, the drivers will have to make plenty of pit stops. The car will need new coffee grinds every 30 to 45 miles. And although the car can apparently reach top speeds of 60 miles per hour, the team expects to stop every 60 miles to clean out the coffee filters. The trip is expected to take 10 hours.
Let us hope this isn't an indicator of the future. It's bad enough that I can't get going in the morning without a cup of coffee. If I have to share that coffee with my car, there could be trouble.
[Photo via The Daily Mail]
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