The Lotus Eco Elise: Sexy and Sustainable Hemp Car

The Lotus Eco Elise takes “green” automotive to a whole new level. Lotus is not worried solely about the amount of CO₂ coming out of the tailpipe, but has adapted a more holistic approach to sustainability.

The car is built out of sustainable and biodegradable materials – primarily hemp, eco wool, and water-based paint solutions. The roof – made of hemp rather than traditional fiberglass- also has two solar panels built in to generate renewable energy for running the electrical system.

But Lotus has went even further with the Eco Elise, improving their manufacturing processes to be more environmentally sustainable and using locally produced hemp. Plus they’ve trimmed 70.5 pounds off the design and created a unique “shift-light” feature which allows drivers to know when to shift for maximum fuel efficiency.

Check out this YouTube video to find out more:

But don’t get too excited about this sexy sports car. The Eco Elise is still a ‘concept car’ unavailable on the market today – more than 100 years after Henry Ford built his first model T out of hemp!  And as long as hemp production remains illegal in the United States the chances of seeing an American-made hemp car anytime soon remain quite slim to none. The cost of shipping cars overseas means even when foreign companies begin mass-producing hemp cars they’ll be far too expensive for most American.

But of all of the nine bills being considered by the U.S. Congress which could reform federal marijuana regulations, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 has the best chance of being enacted. It is the only one of the nine being considered in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. When industrial hemp cultivation is finally legalized by such legislation American car makers could build upon such technology to create hemp cars like the Eco Elipse.

If we finally started developing the technology of engines capable of running on hemp fuel, America could finally seriously address the environmental damage our reliance on individual vehicle ownership and operation is wreaking on the environment.

But our Congress is not taking the possibility seriously – the bill has a higher chance in the Senate than the House at an astounding 2 percent chance of enactment – so sexy, sustainable cars like the Eco Elise will have to remain a hot topic on internet forums and a dream car for consumers with a strong environmental conscious.