Coryton launches first classic car biofuel
Three levels of plant-based petrol available now, priced from £3.80 a litre
The name Coryton will hopefully be familiar from its exploits with Mazda few months back, setting lap records across the UK in an MX-5 using nothing but fossil-free fuel. Now there’s something properly tangible to show for its work in renewable fuels, with the first publicly available sustainable petrol for classic cars launched today. Called Sustain Classic, it’s available in three types, the most environmentally friendly of which promises ‘a reduction of at least 65 per cent in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to fossil fuels’. Which is pretty significant. Initially, it’ll be available at Bicester Heritage, with more locations to follow.
Coryton’s Sustain Classic will be available as Super 80, Super 33 and Racing 50. It’s the 33 that’s probably of the most interest as the most affordable, priced from £3.80 a litre. The 33 denotes the minimum amount of sustainable content, which contributes to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 25 per cent against fossil fuels. It’s rated at 98 octane and also comes with something called a ‘multifunctional deposit control additive package’, which cuts down on deposits in the engine to keep it clean. Super 80 has at least 80 per cent renewable content meaning the greenhouse gas reduction is said to be more than 65 per cent. It’s also 98 octane, and costs from £4.65 a litre.
Coryton even has a race-spec of biofuel, rated at 102 octane. Racing 50 has at least 50 per cent renewable content and a saving of more than 35 per cent in greenhouse gases. It costs £5.24 a litre (nobody ever said motorsport was going to get any cheaper in the future, sadly). Nevertheless, Sustain Classic is already in use, powering more than 70 cars at Bicester’s recent Rally for the Ages event. It’s going to be available at the upcoming Flywheel 2023 event, too.
With around half a million classics believed to be in the UK, Coryton’s launch of Sustain Classic feels like a small but significant step in the right direction. Clearly, there’s not going to be queue of thousands at Motor Spirit (where the petrol will be available), but it’s a start. As David Richardson, Coryton’s Business Development Director, noted: “Every kilogram of CO2 we avoid adding to our atmosphere, by replacing fossil fuel with sustainable fuel, is a win. We don’t instantly have to go for the full switch to start making a genuine impact.” That’s the key, surely; fuel from agricultural waste is not a panacea for the situation we’re in, although it does mean that cool old classics can hopefully be kept on the road while using less carbon. That’s got to be a good thing. Do let us know how you get on filling up…
But at less than half that, when normal fuel has recently been nudging £2, it doesnt seem too bad at all. It doesn't mention ethanol conent but one would hope that given the target market it would also be ethanol free. Certainly might be worth a tankful before parking up for the winter.
But at less than half that, when normal fuel has recently been nudging £2, it doesnt seem too bad at all. It doesn't mention ethanol conent but one would hope that given the target market it would also be ethanol free. Certainly might be worth a tankful before parking up for the winter.
But at less than half that, when normal fuel has recently been nudging £2, it doesnt seem too bad at all. It doesn't mention ethanol conent but one would hope that given the target market it would also be ethanol free. Certainly might be worth a tankful before parking up for the winter.
TX.
But at less than half that, when normal fuel has recently been nudging £2, it doesnt seem too bad at all. It doesn't mention ethanol conent but one would hope that given the target market it would also be ethanol free. Certainly might be worth a tankful before parking up for the winter.
But at less than half that, when normal fuel has recently been nudging £2, it doesnt seem too bad at all. It doesn't mention ethanol conent but one would hope that given the target market it would also be ethanol free. Certainly might be worth a tankful before parking up for the winter.
A chap parked next to me (in a Morrisons petrol station) this morning. In his classic Capri, and spent some time examining the pump options before moving on…
Let's say at current local prices for 99 octane I'm paying £1.58 a litre (V Power) and I've got a 50 litre tank, that's just under £80.
The Super 33 stuff would be £190.
However, not that I wish it to be any more expensive than it currently is, I'd say fuel at the pumps is relatively affordable, on a 50 litre tank you 'only' need to average 36-ish MPG to get a 400 mile range.
Price up how much it would cost you to do a similar journey by other means...
For example if I wanted to get on public transport right now and do a round trip to London and back (A journey of just over 400 miles) I'd be paying over £240 to the train company, that's not including taxi to and from my house to the station, so let's call it £260 all in.
Even at £3.80 a litre, it's cheap transport.
TX.
If
- wholesale petrol costs just over £1 per litre vs £5 for this
- Taxes and duty will out this to about £6 probably
- there still isn’t enough electricity for this be mass market and still no roadmap to enough carbon capture so this won’t scale
- the average pleb on £35-100k with a fast BMW is not going to pay £300 for a fill when the country was up in arms over £2 a litre
- the price will increase as other industries are forced to compete for supply (aviation, shipping all have CO2 targets)
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