Wednesday, May 26, 2010

CarPuchino - Car Powered by Coffee Grinds
For those of us who plan their trips from coffee shop to coffee shop finally a better solution. A car that is powered entirely by roasted coffee grinds is now a reality, I can feel my hear raising as I write this.

The car is called the Car-Puchino and was created using a 1988 Volkswagen Scirocco that sorta looks like a time traveling DeLorean from back to the future. It was created by a team from BBC1 science program Bang Goes The Theory and driven 210 miles between Manchester and London.

It does about 60mph and uses about 2.2 lbs of coffee for every three miles or 56 espressos per mile (56epm). Its going to take 154 lbs so price depends on the type of coffee you use:
  1. Premium = Kona Coffee = $30/lb = $4,620
  2. Plus = Starbucks Breakfast Blend = $10/lb = $1,154
  3. Regular = Folgers = $5/lb = $770
A trip like this is a bit of grind since you have to stop every 40 miles to add coffee grinds, every 60 to clean out the coffee filters. Even with a top speed of maybe 60 mph a relatively short trip could take all day to complete. On the plus side, there will be plenty of coffee and bathroom breaks.

How the Carpuchino Works

Carpuchino Under the Hood

via