In 2009, UK-born Steve Braithwaite (a resident of Michigan, USA) started constructing the unique "Big Banana Car". Based on a 1993 Ford F-150 pick-up truck, Steve took until 2011 to finish construction of the world's longest "banana car". At 22 ft 10.5 in (6.97 m) in length and 10 ft 2 in (3.09 m) in height, the "banana" is built on the truck chassis using rebar (reinforced steel bars), chicken wire and polyurethane foam that was sculpted, covered in fibreglass and painted into its unique fruit appearance. With a top speed of 85 mph (136.79 km/h), the 8-mpg V8 engine gets about 15 miles per US gallon (18.01 miles per UK gallon), propelling the banana car down the road with three passengers seated in a line behind the driver. The car cost around $25,000 (then approximately £16,000;€19,000) and has driven on the highway from Michigan to Miami (Florida), Houston (Texas), Providence (Rhode Island) and everywhere in between. According to its constructor, this is the world's only four-wheel drive banana.