Check Out the World’s Fastest Vegetable-oil-fueled Vehicle
The world’s fastest vegetable oil-fueled vehicle – conceived, built and driven by a team of Boise State University undergraduate students dubbed Greenspeed – will be on display Jan. 26-Feb. 5 at the Washington Auto Show in Washington, D.C.
The souped-up 1998 Cheverolet S-10 pick-up truck shattered the existing 109-mph record for vegetable oil-fueled vehicles in November with a run of 139 mph on a dry lakebed called El Mirage in the Mojave Desert at a Southern California Timing Association race. The next day, the team broke its own record with a run of 155 mph. The project was designed to demonstrate the potential of vegetable oil as an alternative fuel to traditional petroleum products.
“It is a well-deserved and appropriate honor and I know they will represent Boise State very well on this highly visible national stage,” said Boise State President Bob Kustra of Greenspeed’s invitation to the show as he awarded the team the university’s Trailblazer award today. “Greenspeed’s spectacular success is a shining example of the capabilities and ingenuity of our students. Their dedication to building this truck from scratch, which is valued at around $125,000, and then showing the world its capabilities is a testament to perseverance, fine engineering skills and good old Bronco spirit.”
Later this year, the team hopes to set even more records by overtaking the existing 215-mph record for petroleum-fueled trucks in their division. Their first attempt will come next summer at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
The Washington Auto Show is the largest public show in Washington, D.C., and also the premier place for showcasing the latest innovations in sustainable technologies and drawing the most influential leaders in the auto industry. The team, its truck and their accomplishment will be highlighted as part of the show’s overarching theme of “Safety and Sustainability in Motion.”
The club, made up of undergraduates from the College of Engineering, includes Jenny Kniss; Ken Fukumoto of Portland, Ore.; Adrian Rothenbuhler of Bern, Switzerland; Patrick Johnston of Boise; Seth Fueurborn of Pocatello; Mike Van Kirk of Boise; and Dave Schenker of Ketchum. Schenker is the leader and founder of the club and the driver of the truck during its record-breaking runs.