Community | September 20, 2009 | 19 comments

The new Hemp car by lotus

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com/2008/07/lotus-eco-elise-concept-with-hemp-body.html

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MIHEMP
Lotus will unveil an environmentally-friendly version of its sporty roadster called Eco Elise at the British Motor Show that opens its doors on July 22. Unlike most eco-friendly propositions of our time, the Eco Elise study doesn’t revolve solely around tailpipe CO2 emissions. Instead, the Brits tried a holistic approach to ecology by using sustainable materials, cleaner manufacturing processes, renewable energy generation and of course, by reducing the car’s weight.

The renewable materials that have been incorporated into the Eco Elis project include hemp (industrial cannabis) that’s used on the car’s composite body panels, spoiler and seats, eco wool for the upholstery and sisal for the carpet. Cleaner manufacturing processes have been achieved by utilizing the latest water based paint technology. As for renewable energy generation, the Eco Elise’s hemp hard top incorporates a set of solar panels that provide power for the car’s electrical systems.
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19 comments // The new Hemp car by lotus

  • H0M3GR0WN
  • CalgarC
  • MIHEMP
    • 0
      MIHEMP  
    • CalgarC:

      I'm glad you posted this.
      Not many people are aware that Henry Ford built a car and fueled it with Hemp.
      Ford grew hemp for years after the federal ban on it in an effort to free the grasp the petroleum industry had on his company.

    • 2 years ago
  • Khidrock
  • Jaci_Collins
  • thecoyote23
  • trecoolatta
    • 0
      trecoolatta  
    • Image

    • Cars leave much more behind than just the CO2 emissions from their engines. I think this is at least a valiant attempt at setting an example for car producers to take a step back and rethink the way they build cars.

      If we could begin to manufacture vehicles from recycled and renewable materials, it would obviously be a huge step in the right direction.

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  

    • omg they made a woody elise using hemp OSB?!

      I wonder why they didn't use sugar cane OSB? it's cheaper, stronger, just as renewable, uses materials that would ordinarily become industrial waste, and is already in production in Jamacia.

      Oh wait, that's not the point. It's not suppose do BE eco freindly it;'s supposed to SOUND eco friendly. After all what is eco friendly about a car that gets worse gas milage than a Ford Ranger pickup truck? Thanks to the legalization movement though hemp gets a lot more press.

    • 2 years ago
  • Conniepae
    • 0
      Conniepae  

    • If this car can be hemp based, why can't other products? They can, the American government ignores the facts, cause the spin is so much better. American politicians have found a spinnable political tool and they are sticking to it. Facts be damned.

      Will they ever admit they have been wrong?

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
  • spacemikey
    • 0
      spacemikey [removed]  

    • Hemp fiber Vs. Carbon fiber....

      I gotta see a comparison of the two. SO much has been made of carbon fiber, and how light and tough and all that. Somebody with funding and know how needs to engineer some hemp fiber similar in it's applications to carbon fiber. Test the two against each other, and publicize the results.

      (of course this probably already happened and I just haven't seen it yet.)

    • 2 years ago
  • bombastinator
    • 0
      bombastinator  
    • spacemikey:

      Let me give you a hint.

      Carbon fiber is carbon graphite whisker, which before the discovery of boron whisker , carbon nanotube ad a couple other fairly recent and exotic things was considered one of the strongest materials on earth. Before the invention of a cheap manufacturing technique it rivaled diamonds for cost.

      Hemp is made out of plants which is to say cellulose. The most common synthetic fiber made of cellulose is rayon. Rayon used to be used to make bias ply tires until we started using nylon because it was stronger.

      if this is a laid fiber compound like carbon fiber or fiber glass it is going to be weaker than both of them. Probably lighter too though. The only car i ever heard of that used a similar compound body panel was the Trabant. better known as the trabbi, or the worst car ever developed by the soviet bloc, which is really saying something. it's body panels were made of resin and sheep's wool.

    • 2 years ago
  • ras_menelik
  • Cochiese
  • RepressThis
    • 0
      RepressThis  
    • Image

    • Wednesday, July 09, 2008
      This is OLD news, really really old. Yes, it's still a great piece of news and I truly hope Lotus and other automotive manufacturers take this sustainable approach on 'going green.' It's ridiculous that a car could be considered environmentally friendly just because it has a hybrid engine. I can really appreciate Lotus' ability to think outside the box. But disappointed because it has been well over a year since (Wednesday, July 09, 2008) and still no sign that this or a similar car will hit the market anytime soon.

    • 2 years ago
  • brittneyfreeze
  • bailey78
  • Kev_Dawg
  • Darevalo
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