Last Dispatch From Monaco: E85 Conversions, Racers
By John O'Dell April 3, 2008 Our Euro-correspondent finally runs out of interesting green and greenish vehicles at Monaco's eco-fest -- but not before stumbling across a Ferrari converted to run on E85, and a racing series dedicated to the stuff.Note: If you are seeing this first, remember that blog sites are last in, first up. Drop down four more pieces to Nick's look at Venturi Automobiles and you can read his dispatches back up to here, in order.
Enjoy!
John O'Dell, Senior Editor.
By Nick Kurczewski, Contributor
Monte Carlo is one of the few places where you don’t need to set an alarm clock to get an early start to the morning. Simply leave your window open and let the cacophony of shrieking supercars rolling through early-morning traffic be your wake-up call.
Of course, you do run the risk of having the occasional moron redline his brand new Ferrari 599 GTB outside your hotel window at 3:00 a.m. We learned this lesson the hard way. Only in Monaco
We expect high profile exotic hardware on the streets of Monaco, though we certainly didn’t expect to see any on the show-floor of the EVER Monaco ecological car exhibition. EVER Monaco is an annual showcase for vehicles powered by alternative fuels or technology.
Fuelcat Europe Ltd. got into the spirit by exhibiting a V-12-powered Ferrari supercar that it converted to run on E85 ethanol – or "Super Ethanol," as it’s called in France. Laying eyes on the bright-red Ferrari Maranello got our blood racing even more than did the idiot hot-footing his Ferrari 599 in the wee hours.
Eric Moulaert, Fuelcat’s French distributor, says that interest in the ethanol conversion technology has exceeded all expectations. "We’re still in the hundreds [regarding sales in France] but very soon we’ll be in the thousands," he said. A big reason for this success is that ethanol in France is roughly half the price of diesel or gasoline.
Moulaert says that the system, including Fuelcat’s fuel management hardware and injector kit, requires little more than few hours time to install and that almost any vehicle with an electronic fuel-injection system can be fitted with the Fuelcat conversion. The price ranges from $350 to $1100, depending on engine size and cylinder count.
As for the Ferrari, Moulaert chuckles and admits that the car belongs to Fuelcat’s founder. So far no other exotic car owners have ordered the Fuelcat conversion.
Bio-Fuel Racers
Of course, Monaco is home to more than just slinky supercars and perfectly coiffed shitzus. Every year the principality plays host to the Monaco Grand Prix, arguably the world’s most famous auto race.
While there’s no chance of the teams slapping solar panels on the side-pods of their fuel-guzzling Formula One cars anytime soon, alternative energy race cars are already racing and winning. Audi has won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race two times with a diesel-powered car.
Lurking only a few feet away from the Fuelcat Ferrari was a Batmobile-like silver racecar with “BioRacing Series” emblazoned on its flanks. Brand new for 2008, the BioRacing Series comprises 22 identical sports-prototypes all powered by 350 horsepower V-6 engines running on E85 ethanol.
The first race meeting takes place in Ledenon, France, on April 25-27. The champion of the 2008 BioRacing series is then guaranteed a race seat in either the following year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans, or the Le Mans Series races.
A BioRacing representative told us that the concept has sparked great interest in Canada and the United States, and that the series could expand to other markets should the European races prove popular.
That's all from EVER Monaco 2008!
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