Kenneth Cobonque, Albercht Birkner Create World’s First Biodegradable Car

The Phoenix Roadster is the world’s first biodegradable car and uses bamboo in its design.  Designed by Kenneth Cobonque and Albercht Birkner, the vehicle is meant to have the appearance of a leaf.

There are many benefits to using bamboo in production: it grows quickly and anywhere, and is strong and rigid.  The design also incorporates steel and nylon into the structure, which took ten days to completely assemble.

The Roadster has a life span of five years, which may seem short, but that is the average amount of time that most car owners keep their vehicles.  Some question whether five years is too frequent.  The goal of the vehicle is to be environmentally friendly; replacing the skin every five years may not be so green.

At 153 inches long, the vehicle has already raised some safety concerns.   Just looking at the picture, you can probably guess what those concerns might be. However, its small size does mean that an electric engine would probably be enough to power the vehicle.  Currently, there has been no word on what engine will power the car.

Due to safety concerns, we probably won’t see it on the road any time soon.  However, you can’t deny – the design is beautiful, and it’s a step in the right direction towards moving to more renewable materials.  The Roadster is intended to introduce a new age of green vehicles using organic fibers.  It might not be completely practical now, but it will be interesting to see how this influences the development of greener production processes.