Christmas goodwill and oil companies don't really go hand in hand, but according to the RAC there could well be cost savings passed on to customers this festive season. As the price of Brent crude oil fell below $40 this week for the first time since 2009, the RAC is predicting a drop of 3p a litre for petrol and 5p for diesel, which would take average price of each to 103p and 104p a litre respectively
All I want for Christmas is cheap petrol!
Could it go lower still? Both Tesco and Asda ran promotions last month where petrol was sold at 99.7p per litre. With no sign of crude prices firming up - indeed they've dropped from $115 a barrel in June 2014 to $40 now - it wouldn't take much to make 99p a litre fuel viable. RAC spokesman Simon Williams said the 3p drop "will be a big step in the right direction" towards fuel at £1 a litre. Throw in the Christmas period, with plenty of families on the road visiting relatives they would rather not, and the incentive is certainly there for taking fuel down that extra couple of pence. Let's see.
But even the remote possibility of cheaper fuel is enough to have us speculating on car purchases. Cheaper fuel means you can fuel more engine, right? And there's not much more engine than a 6.0-litre V12, as found in this BMW 760Li. Oh sure, the bork factor is huge, and it will still take a hell of a lot of fuel money. But to see the litres racking up faster than the price would be especially something in something so OTT.
For a more sporting option infamous for chomping through fuel, there's little better than a Mitsubishi Evo; there are many tales of single-digit mpg on a more spirited drive. This Evo X FQ-360 has been tuned to 400hp, so the official combined of 19mpg will be even harder to hit. Looks cool though.
A 6.0 V12 makes sense at £1 a litre. Definitely.
Furthermore, it wouldn't be a fuel story without discussing V8s. How does a supercharged 671hp one sound? Yes, a Mustang
Shelby GT500
isn't technically that good, but there's no arguing with that sort of power and performance. Just make sure you do a big smoky burnout from every fuel station. And for something that could well be even rarer than the Mustang - plus a lot more practical - there is this
Discovery V8
. Think of the fuel card loyalty points at 18.8mpg!
Lastly in our shortlist of cars that look rather appealing with the potential of a pound a litre, the Golf R32. It may never have been the sharpest hot hatch, but that glorious V6 and its sharp styling have won it legions of fans. However, although an R32 may be cheaper to fuel soon, this one isn't so cheap to buy: it's £25K. Yikes.
The cost of fuel is always an issue close to our hearts at PH (particularly with a 550hp Range Rover now on the long-termer list), so we'll report back as and when there is more news.