A Swedish converted BMW 1M has been the first car in the country to win a rally race by running on synthetic petrol. The goal is to secure a future for the internal combustion engine.
It may well be possible to get ahead in this world on synthetic fuels.
DRIVE VXO Motorsport has just proven that by winning the first division of the Rally-SM championship.
The car they did it with, a converted BMW 1M, is designed to run on biofuel and synthetic petrol. Now driver PG Andersson with co-driver Anders Fredriksson tops the table in the class for towing on two wheels.
The team writes this in a press release .
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– It was an important victory for the team and a huge ceiling for the project, which aims to create a future-proof rally car without compromising on either performance, durability or entertainment.
– Something we hope can create international impact in both motorsport and on public roads, says Hans Bååth, managing director of DRIVE VXO.
The project to rebuild the BMW has been a long time in the making. It already began in the summer of 2022, when the Volvo P1800 Cyan was launched.
According to the Swedish rally team, that racing car caused interest in – and demand for – alternative fuels to increase. And even though the P1800 Cyan cost just under 5 million Danish kroner each.
– We were not keen on building an electric version of the Volvo P1800 Cyan, as the basic idea was to build a modern version of the sixties icon Volvo P1800.
– Such a car must be light, preferably under 1000 kg, and have a temperamental engine. Making it electric would have made it 50% heavier and also removed much of the character, says Hans Bååth.
The goal is for the synthetic fuel to be readily available so that the internal combustion engine can continue to run for decades to come. The next big test for the rally team, the fuel and the BMW is a hot summer, because they will repeat a test circuit in arctic cold.
In January 2022, the team experienced temperatures as low as minus 33 degrees. Nevertheless, the two planned lobs were carried out in Boden, which is located in the absolute northernmost part of Sweden.
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