You might want to start stockpiling your favorite vintages, for the engineers over at Lotus have created a vino-powered car!
The 270 hp supercar, called the Exige 270E Tri-fuel, does 0-60 in just under four seconds and tops out around 158 mph; it’s one of the fastest road legal vehicles in the world. Its 4-cylinder, 1.8 liter engine is even internally sealed so no engine oil is required.
Modeled after the Exige S, the prototype is part of Lotus’ initiative to address the environmental challenges currently facing the auto industry.
And while I’m all for saving the planet, with an estimated fuel economy of 20 mpg, that’s a lot of full-bodied Merlot being put to waste. Luckily, the Tri-fuel runs on ethanol made from undrinkable wine (whew!), whey (a byproduct of making cheese), and surplus chocolate. It’s absolutely crazy…how is there ever leftover chocolate?
Lotus hopes to someday power the car using methanol, and not wine. Methanol is a fuel synthetically produced from captured CO2 and hydrogen, making it practically carbon neutral.
Since the vehicle is a research unit, it is not yet for sale. Sorry. But in the meantime, check out some of my favorite green wines. They are very drinkable.
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