Check Out the World’s First Calorie-Burning Car

(Photo Credit: AutoExpress)

Some cars run on fuel, others on electricity, and a few on hydrogen. This car runs on whatever you had for breakfast.

Named the “FitCar PPV” (Pedal Powered Vehicle), it is the world’s first calorie-burning car. The car’s accelerator pedal is replaced by bicycle-like pedals, making it much harder to drive than a manual car in stop-start traffic.

The pedals work similarly to a bicycle, making you exercise your whole legs to burn off calories. The FitCar PPV is based on an Audi A4 Avant, and was created by a Saudi-based inventor, Nasser Al Shawaf and a Dutch engineering company based in Amsterdam called BPO.

(Photo Credit: FitCar)

The car’s biggest modification is the throttle, which has been replaced by a bicycle pedal mechanism. There’s a flywheel, a mechanical device designed to store rotational energy, that is linked to the mechanism. So, the harder you pedal, the faster the car accelerates, just like a bicycle. The brakes are controlled by a handle behind the steering wheel.

This green car comes in three settings, ‘Drive Slow’ for slow-moving traffic, ‘Drive Fast’ for fast-moving traffic and ‘No Drive’ for stationary traffic. Just like on a bicycle, the amount of resistance while pedalling can be adjusted accordingly to the setting chosen. On the ‘No Drive’ setting, you can continue to pedal to burn more calories while the car remains stationary.

Al Shawaf, the inventor of the FitCar PPV, said he got the idea for commuting in many different cities. “I work in many cities around the world where a 60-minute-plus car commute, each-way, each day is not uncommon,” he said.

He added that, “this is an unhealthy way to waste more than two hours every day. So, I came up with the idea of the FitCar–which does exactly the same as any conventional car– getting us safely and comfortably from A to B, however in the FitCar you can exercise while you drive”.

(Photo Credit: FitCar)

This calorie-burning car is still a new concept, and its creators are still looking at addition features and ways to improve it. Currently, the creators claim that the car can help you burn an average of 300 calories in 30 minutes.

Talking about the future of the car, Al Shawaf mentioned that, “Our ambition is for the technology to be either adopted by a car manufacturer for a new generation of ‘healthier’ city cars, or for us simply to offer it as a conversion kit to the after-market for those wishing to add PPV as an optional active extra to their car”.

He added that, “We are increasingly time-poor and unfit, and the FitCar PPV provides at least part of the solution to these two problems for those of us wishing to exercise more but without the time to do it. I’m really proud of the results”.

Currently, the creator’s idea is patented worldwide and is currently awaiting approval for use across Europe. The video below is from the Dutch engineering company BPO, demonstrating how the car works.

Do you think the FitCar PPV would arrive on our shores soon? Will the car strive in a tropical country like Singapore? Let us know in the comments below!

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