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9th March 2007

A Le Mans car run on biodiesel made from the seeds of the tropical Jatropha tree is to feature at the ‘world’s first eco-friendly motor show’, The Sexy Green Car Show, sponsored by Co-operative Insurance (CIS), and to be held at the Eden Project in Cornwall from March 30-April 15.

The 8-litre D1 Lola B2K car is powered by an engine modified to run on a mix of regular diesel and biodiesel made from jatropha trees, and designed to test the performance, fuel efficiency and emissions produced by different biodiesel blends.

The UK-based D1 Oils plc has tested the fuel’s performance by sponsoring the car’s entry in the Le Mans series. The B2K, developed for Le Mans Prototype racing by groupBio, a UK-based racing team, has completed its track tests running on diesel blended with up to 50% jatropha biodiesel.

As well as exhibiting at the car show, D1 Oils is to plant a demonstration plot of Jatropha curcas, D1’s biodiesel raw material of choice, in the Eden Project’s rainforest ‘biome’. Jatropha grows on a wide range of land types in Africa, South East Asia and India and its seeds produce a high yield of inedible vegetable oil that can be refined into biodiesel.

Elliott Mannis, CEO of D1 Oils, says: “We believe that non-food oils like jatropha offer one of the most promising solutions to the world’s growing need for renewable transport fuels. We must not allow the growing of crops to produce biodiesel to put pressure on either food crop production or lead to the destruction of rain forest.”

Also on show at the Eden Project will be Saab with its 9300 bio-power convertible and cutaway. Vauxhall will show the latest Zafira and Corsa biofuel-compatible models; Ford, the new Focus flexi-fuel convertible, a formula race car which runs on ethanol, and a Model T; The Mercedes Smart EV car; and the ECO-M Caterham 7.