When we refer to alternate fuels for cars, we, at most times, mean electricity, bio-fuel, or ethanol. But what happens when you add the word 'weird' before alternative fuel? It's a whole new story!
A car powered by air? Yes indeed: the MDI Air Pod proves that the notion is not just a load of hot air. In fact, it's a load of compressed air. MDI wants to build charging stations to compress air which will then power its three-wheeled bubble car at speeds up to 50mph, and up to 95 miles range.
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Apples
A car that runs on apples - has cider producer Henry Hobhouse been on the tipple? Not at all: this Somerset farmer has converted his Jaguar XJ6 to run on fuel made from apples from his farm. He makes his own methane fuel by pulping apple cores and grass waste at a cost of less than 50p per litre.
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Methane gas
The GENeco Bio-Bug is a real-life 'dung beetle'. The Bristol-built prototype is powered by methane gas generated from household poo. GENeco says it takes about 70 household dung heaps a year to power the car for 10,000 miles. We bet it goes like stink. And you're guaranteed to win at top trumps.
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Legs and arms
Most of us started driving when we got our first pedal-powered car. Well, a few companies make leg-powered cars for grown-ups as a green statement. The HumanCar PS goes one step further by using the arms of its four passengers. You have to 'row' the car using the onboard sticks. Top speed: 30mph on the flat. Oh, there's no steering wheel: instead you need to steer by shifting your buttocks about in the seat
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Jet fighter – and a rocket as well
Bloodhound is the latest British land speed record hopeful. Its Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine is used to reach a 'running-in' speed of 300mph, at which point it switches over to hybrid rocket power. The combined engine thrust is 47,500lb - the equivalent of 180 F1 cars. Pilot Andy Green expects to reach the magic 1,000mph barrier in just 42 seconds.
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Nuclear
It was 1958 and nuclear power was the future. Ford reckoned that uranium reactors would eventually be small enough to fit into a car, so it built the Nucleon scale model as a proposal. The idea was to swap reactors if you were running low - something you'd need to every 5,000 miles. Strangely the idea never left the drawing board.
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Steam
In the early days of motoring, steam cars rivalled internal combustion for popularity. Then the steam suddenly went out of the idea. Fast forward to 2009, and this British Steam Car took one of the longest-standing land speed records in the world. Driven by Don Wales, it broke the record with a 139.843mph top speed.
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Sugar
Bottoms up, Brazil! Way back in the 1970s, the South American country pioneered the idea of bio-fuel, using its huge sugar cane harvest to circumvent the oil crisis by making ethanol fuel from fermented sugar. Today, Brazilian cars powered by flexi-fuel engines (running on either petrol or alcohol) are widespread, including the all-new Fiat Uno.
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Sun
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Tequila
Chrysler remains the only company ever to deliver a gas turbine car to consumers. The experimental 1963 Chrysler Turbine was fitted with a 44,500rpm gas turbine engine that could run on virtually anything, from fish oil to coal dust. The president of Mexico proved this by running his on... tequila!
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Water
In 2008, Japanese company Genepax unveiled this car, claimed to run on water and air alone. However, Genepax was unable to reveal how the car worked and it shut down its website eight months later, adding fuel to claims that the whole idea of water-powered cars is but an urban myth.
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Wind
Described as part aeroplane, part sailboat, part Formula One car, the Greenbird - supported by British wind farm experts Ecotricity - is the world's fastest car powered by the wind, having exceeded 126mph. If you're thinking this sail car doesn't look terribly practical for doing the shopping run to Tescos, Ecotricity is working on an electric Lotus powered by wind generators...
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Wine
News shock: Prince William was drink-driving on his wedding day. Kind of. The Aston Martin DB6 he borrowed from his dad has been converted to run on ethanol derived from surplus wine from British vineyards. It can travel 10 miles per gallon of wine. Hic!
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Wood
You're looking at the world's fastest car powered by wood. The Heath Robinson-esque Beaver XR7 reached a heady 47.7mph on its diet of burnt wood chips. Beaver Energy has also converted an Isuzu Trooper, which it claims can run for 20 miles on 11kg of wood chips.
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Chip fat
Thousands of UK drivers have now discovered that you can run some diesel cars on vegetable oil. It's cheaper than regular fuel - and even free if you make friends with your local chip shop. The government won't tax you on it unless you use more than 2,500 litres a year. Only one downside: your car may start smelling like a chip van.
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Urine
We're not taking the piss here. An Ohio scientist called Gerardine Botte has developed a catalyst capable of extracting hydrogen from urine. By electrolysing the urea in human pee, she's managed to unleash 0.0005kW - not exactly Ferrari territory, but she hopes her invention can be scaled up.
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