How do you save the planet? If you're American chat show host Jay Leno, you get General Motors to come up with a design for a biodiesel-powered supercar.
Unveiled on the eve of the SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Ecojet Concept is the brainchild of 'Tonight Show' front man and renowned car nut Leno, and his chief mechanic, Bernard Juchli. Leno called in GM's Vice-president of Global Design Ed Welburn to assist on the project, and it was completed by GM's Design Studio in California.
The car is powered by a mid-mounted Honeywell LT-101 turbine engine producing 650bhp, and running on bio-diesel. The chassis is a modified Corvette Z06 frame and the bodyshell is a blend of carbon fibre and composites. The car's styling is designed to echo jet aircraft and Formula One racers - but the original idea was sketched on a paper napkin.
Welburn said, "This is a purpose-driven design that conveys power, capability and even danger, with a hint of Cadillac's sophisticated design vocabulary." Leno's view was slightly less on-message. "I drive it, wait for the harvest, get some corn and drive it some more," he said.
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