Drunk driving gets new meaning as Prince Charles converts Aston Martin to run on bioethanol from wine
July2


Over in the Old World, Prince Charles is using surplus wine to power his classic ride, a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 convertible given to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday. Technically, the wine is distilled into bioethanol first, and while the carbon footprint of the car, which is only driven about 300 miles per yer, is negligible, it’s the kind of publicity stunt that draws headlines to the Royal Family.

The white wine comes from a vineyard in Wiltshire, England, which produces more drink than it is permitted to bottle as per EU regulations. The vineyard then sells the excess to Green Fuels of Gloucester, where it is converted to bioethanol and sold at £1.10 a liter (about $8.26 per gallon, though still less than gasoline) says the U.K.’s Daily Mail. Charles’ Aston returns about 10mpg, or less than five bottles of wine per mile.

The 100 percent bioethanol fuel emits about 85 percent less carbon dioxide than regular gasoline. Other measures taken by the environmentally-conscious Charles include reed bed sewage systems and wood-chip boilers at his two homes, as well as feeding his cows as much grass instead of grain as possible in an attempt to cut their greenhouse-harming emissions.