Kate and William could 'lead the green march' (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Kate and William could 'lead the green march'

8:30am Friday 19th November 2010 in Cars By Glynn Williams

If the state coach isn’t suitable transport for the royal wedding in these austere times, Kate and William could lead the green march by choosing one of the cars used at the first RAC Future Car Challenge.

More than 60 contestants took part in the challenge – which ran from Madeira Drive in Brighton to Pall Mall in London. The aim of the challenge was to cover the 57-mile distance consuming as little energy as possible.

The event drew a range of entrants – from pure electric vehicles to hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and highly efficient diesel-powered vehicles.

It was staged, promoted and judged in three categories: Electric, Hybrid and Internal Combustion Engine. Within each category, entries were measured in various modes for the energy used during the drive – from start to finish.

The challenge was to complete the event with the least energy impact.

Taking the overall prize was the all-electric Volkswagen Golf Blue-e-motion, chosen by the event judges after it consumed the least energy of all the competitors over the challenge.

Jim Holder, from What Car?, shared duties behind the wheel of the prototype electric Golf, above, with VW engineer Folko Rohde. It was the first time the car had run in Britain, and it is still two years from production.

Jim Holder said: “It’s testimony to the VW Golf Blue-e-motion and Folke’s expert tuition in energy-saving driving techniques that we ended up with such a fantastic result.”