Car-bon Miles Trabant Pedal-Car
Submitted by MikeWhelan on 21 June, 2008 - 23:42
With the help of the Volks Electric Railway engineers, artist Jamie McCartney has ripped the two-stroke engine out of this Trabant and converted it to pedal-power. Despite being one of the 'most polluting vehicles on the planet ', the Eastern-block classic also has more recycled fibre content than the hemp Lotus Eco Elise. As Jamie puts it: "the East-Germans used whatever they could get their hands on to make the bodywork: old bits of cloth, papier mache, whatever."
'Hemp My Ride'
Jamie and his engineer have done a fantastic job of coupling the two recumbant bicycles to the drive-train. The car is surprisingly easy to ... er... ride, as the twist-grip gears help you to get the significant weight moving. Once you're up to speed (we managed about 15mph in my short test-cycle), the momentum means you can cruise up and down the sea-front with ease. This exquisitely turned out model comes complete with solar-powered lights, hessian and astroturf upholstery, and a custom internal roof, painted to look like the sky for that free-wheeling convertible feeling.
The Car-bon Miles team would have been clear winners of the Kick the Carbon Habit challenge if they'd hadn't given up when they hit the first hill out of Brighton.
