Hasta La Gadget!

Everyone knows you can use Mentos and Diet Coke to make fizzy fountains that shoot soda as much as 30 feet in the air. Now, two guys have harnessed that power for human transportation, with a rocket car powered by Mentos and Coke.

Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz are the guys behind the famous video of a Mentos-and-Diet Coke, Bellagio-style fountain, which they estimate has been seen by more than 120 million people. Four years later, they’re back with a rocket car powered by nothing but Mentos and Coke Zero. The video, which debuted this week, shows the duo’s efforts to set a land-speed and distance record for a vehicle powered by nothing but erupting, minty, fizzy soda.

The video was directed by Rob Cohen (director of The Fast and the Furious). Two dimensions not enough? There’s even a 3-D rocket car video you can watch on YouTube, if you have a pair of red-and-cyan 3-D glasses.

Wired sat down with Grobe and Voltz shortly after a recent performance at Maker Faire to find out how they built their 900-pound vehicle. It contains 108 2-liter bottles of Coke Zero, 648 Mentos, an elaborate-looking system of PVC pipes and pistons, and a complicated rig for dropping all those mint candies into all those bottles at the same time. In this exclusive Wired.com video, the duo explain how they made the magic happen.

As for the switch from Diet Coke to Coke Zero? The two explained that Coke, which is one of their sponsors, wanted to tout the newer diet soda instead of the old one. In fact, almost any kind of soda works, though they say diet sodas work a bit better. The one thing to keep in mind: You want warm soda for the maximum effect; a Coke right out of the fridge won’t fizz nearly enough.

These guys should know: Since their 2006 video launched, Grobe and Voltz have managed to make a living staging Mentos-and-Coke performances and other events.

For more Mentos-and-Coke videos, including outtakes from the filming of the latest video, check out the pair’s website, Eepybird.com.

Video: Wired.com. Produced by Annaliza Savage, camera by Michael Lennon, edited by Fernando Cardoso.