RALLY UK: Hybrid rally car goes bio-ethanol.

A pioneering project in green motorsport has taken another step forward after the Oaktec Honda Insight Hybrid rally car used E85 bio-ethanol fuel for the first time.

 

 

The car, which has support from Motorsport Development UK through the Energy Efficient Motorsport programme, was crewed by Oaktec partners Paul Andrews and Bill Meeson, and made the historic move of running on bio-ethanol while competing on the Centenary Rally, in Class A of the Formula 1000 Rally Championship.

 

 

The one litre car uses a V-TEC three-cylinder engine with an electric motor/generator built into the flywheel, which boosts performance under acceleration and converts wasted braking energy into electricity which is then stored in a 22kg battery pack.

 

 

The team has been testing a development Insight with E85, and was comfortable with the performance and reliability of the fuel, but elected to only use it for the final two stages of the six stage event.