A car modified to run on waste coffee grounds has unofficially broken the speed record for gasification powered vehicle.
Built by engineer Martin Bacon from County Durham in collaboration with the BBC show Bang goes the Theory, the Coffee Car broke the previous Guinness World speed record of 47mph with a new record of 77.5mph. The car averaged a speed of 66.5mph too, during its record-breaking run beating that held by Beaver Energy, whose XR7 car ran on wood pellets.
Gasification vehicles, like the coffee car use steam and organic material such as waste beans and heat to around 700c to produce syngas (synthetic gas) which can then be burned like fossil fuel in a combustion engine to power the vehicle.
Teesdale Conservation volunteer, Mr Bacon used an old Rover SD1 stripped it down to make the Coffee Car and fitted with a gasifier to power it to its record speed. The Guinness World Records is expected to confirm the record soon.
The car will now go on show at Bang Live in Manchester on 22 – 23 October.
