They gave him $20,000 to build a car out of Legos. Here's what he came up with.
The fact that it's made out of 500,000 Legos isn't even the best thing about it.
Inventor Raul Oaida wanted to build something that would capture people's imaginations.
Ultimately, he decided to build a car. You might be thinking, What's so imaginative about a car? For starters, Oaida's car is made out of half a million Legos.
Now, the fact that it's a Lego car is pretty awesome, but that's not even the best thing about it.
It's that it actually drives — and it's emission-free.
Oaida was able to achieve it using a technology that not too many folks know about: compressed-air engines.
"We wanted to bring attention to air-powered cars because most people have no idea that this stuff is actually out there."
— Raul Oaida
He pointed to a model by Peugeot that already uses compressed-air technology.
Peugeot's hybrid air vehicles are set to hit the market in 2016.
Compressed-air vehicles could dramatically reduce city drivers' need for gasoline and, in turn, the greenhouse gases they release into the atmosphere.
Air-powered cars have a ways to go before they replace our gas guzzlers, but it's worth a shot.
According to automotive writer Christopher DeMorro, "The search for an alternative fuel source other than oil should leave no idea untested."
And what better way to test air-powered cars than to get more people driving them?
The video above closes with the interviewer asking Oaida why he builds this stuff. I really like his answer, because it can go for anything we believe is worth doing, including breaking our reliance on fossil fuels:
"It's about the willingness to do it."
— Raul Oaida
Wanna see the Oaida's Lego car in action? Check out his interview with The Adaptors.
