In our latest Vehicle Plastic Recycling feature, we look at Vince Cable and the 1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS.
Vince Cable.
Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, visited MBA Polymers in Worksop recently to pay homage to their vehicle plastic recycling contributions.
MBA Polymers run the most advanced vehicle plastic recycling and vehicle materials recovery process in the UK, but also manage plants in Austria and China. The plant in Worksop employs around 150 people and works with EMR for their waste supplies. Current capacity stands at more than 50,000 metric tonnes.
Recovering plastics and other materials from cars is a necessary practice and shows great resourceful behaviour. Of the 2 million cars taken off UK roads annually, each car can be made from up to a quarter plastic. The other materials, like metal and glass, are also recyclable.
Nigel Hunton, the chief executive as MBA Polymers said “We are delighted Dr Cable has taken time out of a busy schedule to visit our facility.
Discussing the various benefits to vehicle plastic recycling, Hunton added “Having increased throughput rapidly in 2014 we’re now working hard with customers to realize some of the commercial and environmental benefits of using recycled plastics in their end products.”
The Carrera
Plastic cars are cheap and cheerful?
Not always. It is assumed that plastic cars will decrease in value quicker than metal cars, but it’s simply not true. As well as not being able to rust, plastic cars hold their paint better and are more resistant to weather and scratches. Vehicle plastic recycling is now so viable a method for end-of-life cars, that it makes sense to make manufacture them with it in mind.
Back in 1965, it wasn’t so common for cars to be made from plastic, which is why the 1965 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS is a beauty in a league of its own. One of these ultra-rare collectors cars went for auction in late 2013 and as the gavel clacked the sound block, it became the most expensive plastic car of all time.
£1.232 million big ones.
The exact car, shown in the pictures here, finished 6th at the 1965 Nurburgring 1000km race, competed in Le Mans in the same year and won 1st in class at the 1967 ’12 Hours of Sebring’ competition.
The nearly 50 year old motor can achieve 0-60Mph in just 5.5 seconds and still has a top speed of 160Mph. It’s almost as if this plastic car hasn’t deteriorated, it even looks as new!
This car, perhaps not only the most expensive but also the most beautiful plastic car in the world, has been treated well and delicately looked after for its whole life. In 2003, Lord Laidlaw, prominent businessman, car collector and former politician, purchased the Carrera and spent a considerable amount of money restoring it to its current condition. One report said the the car had been driven for only 20 hours since 2013.
The one question we have left:
Why would anyone sell this masterpiece?
Let us know
