Green light for alternative cars

Green light for alternative cars

If the thought of visiting a car show fills you with a sense of dread, the Eden Project in Cornwall has come up with the antidote. The attraction, famed for its futuristic bio-domes, is hosting the Sexy Green Car Show - the first event of its kind staged in the UK.

David Miliband, the environment secretary, opened the event on Thursday via a video link from London. While most car shows celebrate speed, size and excess, the Sexy Green Car Show showcases the most environmentally friendly vehicles on the market.

Seven car manufacturers have made the long journey down to Cornwall, and, crucially, most of the cars on show - which run on a variety of fuels - can be bought and run today.

The Eden Project has built a special covered area in front of the domes to display the vehicles, which have all been designed to have the minimum impact on their surroundings.

"There was a feeling that it would be good for the Eden Project to take the lead and organise the UK's first green car show," says Gus Grand, the woman behind the show. "Because of where we are in the country, we have a battle to encourage our 1.2m annual visitors to come to us by public transport.

"A bus brings people from the nearby St Austell station and we've recently installed £12m worth of new cycle tracks, but the fact remains that 86% of our visitors come by car. The show is designed to make more people aware of the 'green-ification' of the car market that is happening.....continued below

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today."

The attraction has come up with a first: VW is launching a new Polo model, the BlueMotion, which the company says is the most efficient car it has ever produced. It features lighter wheels, extra streamlining and low-friction tyres, making it capable of doing 72 miles on a gallon of diesel.

Saab, the only manufacturer to offer alternative-fuelled cars across its model range, is there in force. It is showing a bio-power hybrid concept which combines an engine running on bio-ethanol and a self-charging electric motor at low speeds.

Citroen has wheeled out several models including the C1 which features a fuel-saving "stop & start" technology which allows it to achieve 61.4 miles on a gallon of petrol. C1s start at £5,895.

And Smart took its latest electrically powered car to Cornwall. The EV has a range of 50 miles on one overnight charge, and is capable of up to 70mph - making longer trips in electric cars possible for the first time. But it is not yet available for people to buy.

Ford, the first car maker to sell bio-ethanol powered cars in the UK, is showing a Model T built in the 20s, plus a Formula Ford racing car - both running on bio-ethanol. The company is also showing a glamorous new convertible Focus, which again runs on the petrol substitute.

There is a Caterham Seven sports car made from recycled materials, while Vauxhall is showing a Zafira family car that runs on hydrogen and produces no CO2 at all.

· Entry to the show, which is sponsored by Co-operative Financial Services, is free with a standard Eden Project ticket (£14 for adults, £5 for children, or £35 for a family ticket). It runs until April 15. For further details, go to edenproject.com

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