Mazda MX-5 completes 1,600km sustainable fuel drive

17 July 2024 - 14:54 By Motoring Staff
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To celebrate 35 years of MX-5, one of each generation drove from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
To celebrate 35 years of MX-5, one of each generation drove from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
Image: Supplied

Four Mazda MX-5s, one from each generation, drove a 1,600km route from Land’s End to John O’Groats using 100% biofuel from Aspen Group's Sustain Fuels. This marks the first time a car has completed this end-to-end drive across the UK using sustainable fuel.

Launched at the 1989 Chicago Motor Show, the Mazda MX-5 has produced more than 1.2-million units at Mazda’s Ujina plant in Hiroshima, with more than 135,000 sold in the UK. The four cars on the 1,600km drive were from the Mazda UK Heritage Fleet — a 1990 1.6l Mk1, a 10th anniversary Mk2, a 25th anniversary Mk3 and a 30th anniversary Mk4.

The cars used Sustain 100 RON E5, a second-generation biofuel from Coryton, which contains no fossil fuel and is made from agricultural waste and by-products. The fuel required no modifications to the cars and uses carbon already present in the atmosphere, recycling it instead of releasing additional CO2.

The Mazda UK Heritage Fleet has been powered by sustainable fuel from Sustain since June 2023.
The Mazda UK Heritage Fleet has been powered by sustainable fuel from Sustain since June 2023.
Image: Supplied

The journey included visits to four organisations focused on sustainable technologies. While the biofuel used is not yet available for public purchase, other Sustain fuels are (market and region dependent).

This drive further demonstrates the potential role of sustainable fuels in reducing carbon emissions in modern and classic cars.


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