The 100 MPG Foam Car

As a sci-fi geek, I've seen more than my fair share of futuristic cars making use of the most bizarre materials. There's the Back to the Future DeLorean that runs on waste. The cars that fill with foam to protect inhabitants from crashes in Demolition Man. And now, there's the Spira, a car made mostly out of foam, only this one isn't from the movies, it's from designer Lon Ballard, a contestant in a progressive automobile contest.

The Spira is made out of 90 percent foam, and looks kind of like a shoe. Or a twinkie. Supposedly, the foam body, which is reinforced with an aluminum cage, will be safer for automobile accidents as well as pedestrians. The most amazing part of all, though, is that the car can go up to 70 mph and even pulls in 100 miles per gallon.Talk about fuel conservation!

To read more about the Spira, be sure to visit Wired.