Mercedes finishes Mille Miglia on synthetic fuel

P1 Fuels provides carbon-neutral petrol for classic Benzes as well as pre-war Alfa and Bentley

By Matt Bird / Tuesday, 20 June 2023 / Loading comments

Another day, another alternative fuel story. But hey, if it can keep some of our favourite old cars on road and in races for the foreseeable future, we’re all for it. The latest comes from P1 Fuels. In a world first, Mercedes-Benz Classic fuelled its Mille Miglia competitors - more than one 300SL Gullwing and a pre-war SSK - with fossil-free, carbon neutral fuel from P1. The ECO100PRO good stuff is described as a ‘drop-in’ alternative, too, meaning no modifications were required to the cars.

It wasn’t just the Mercs, either, even if they’ll inevitably hog the headlines. P1 petrol was also used in Italy by Vintage Bentley in Katarina Kyvalova’s 4.5-litre, the first time a pre-war Bentley had completed the MM on synthetic fuel. Same for the Alfa 6C Gasogene; it first competed in the Mille Miglia in 1933 and was known - get this - ‘for its adaptability to run on solid fuels like charcoal’. Yikes. Back then fuel quality couldn’t always be guaranteed, meaning alternatives were often sought. So as well as being the first pre-war Alfa to run the classic road race on fossil-free fuel, it’s surely the only one – maybe the only car – to have ever been powered by three fuels: petrol, synthetic fuel and coal – although it was actually a combustible produced from coal.

Martin Popilka, CEO of P1 Fuels, said: “What a race. If we have shown anything then it’s a statement on the ease of using synthetic fuels – from modern racers to timeless pre-war cars – if they can do it, so can any other [internal] combustion engine car.

“Partnering with Mercedes-Benz Classic, an OEM with such great heritage in engineering and protecting cars to power them in the future, when the cars crossed the finish line, I had such a great sense of pride and honour that they [Mercedes-Benz Classic] trusted us to deliver for them on such an important endurance race.

“As I stand here today, I feel like our participation in this year’s Mille Miglia has impacted the future of endurance races and would be pushing what P1 [Fuels] has been dedicated to change for the better; a cleaner and more sustainable option for these historic events, without sacrificing motoring heritage.” Sounds pretty good to us. P1 Fuels will also be at next month’s Festival of Speed, where its fuel will be used to power both an ex-Mansell Williams FW14B and a former Senna McLaren MP4/8, each to be driven by Sebastian Vettel. That ought to be worth a watch…