Although the Italians have managed to equip a Fiat 500 L hatchback with an espresso maker they haven’t managed to design a car fueled by espresso. Leave that to British engineer Martin Bacon using a process known as gasification. By introducing a controlled amount of oxygen (or steam) to coffee beans (or any organic, carbon-based material) and by increasing the temperature to above 700C (1292F), a fuel called syngas (synthetic gas) is produced and can be burned using a normal internal combustion engine or fuel cells to power a car.
The “coffee car”, brewed up by Bacon and created by the Teesdale Conservation Volunteers of Durham, England, is a modified British Leyland Rover SD1 appropriately painted mat black. It set a new land speed record for cars fueled by coffee.
Given the rising cost of gasoline, using renewable green energy to power cars is always on the drawing board. A previous American version, fueled by wood pellets achieved 47mph. The Leyland Rover SD1 averaged no less than 77.5mph with a Guinness World Record noted for the achievement.