We've heard of ethanol (made with corn!) switchgrass-derived stuff, sugar cane-derived stuff and even biodiesels like fry oil. But this is a first for us. It seems a Japanese research team plans to enter a race car in the Dakar rally that runs on cooking oil used to fry tempura. The turbo-engine Land Cruiser 100, sponsored by Toyota, will be the first car completely powered by biodiesel to enter the event. To top it all off, driving the car will be former Formula-One racer Ukyo Katayama. And yeah, we realize tempura cooking oil is the same as using any other kind of cooking oil — but to us, it just sounds much more funny when it's the stuff used to make tasty fried sushi snacks. Mmm...it is getting close to lunch, isn't it?

Former Japanese F-1 driver to race Dakar rally on 'tempura oil' [PlanetSave]

Related:
Tripping The Ethanol Fantastic: Mark Pike's Corny Cross-Country Ride; Report: Corn, Soybeans? Not So Much, Scientists Bullish On Other Biofuel Supplies [internal]

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