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Whisky fuelled car reaches top gear

Published:  14 August, 2008

The BBC has attempted an unusual biofuel experiment on the whisky island of Islay.

The BBC has attempted an unusual biofuel experiment on the whisky island of Islay.

TV's wine expert Oz Clarke and Top Gear's James May attempted to run a high performance racing car on a special distillation of Bruichladdich single malt whisky. The presenters were filming for Oz and James' Great British Adventure, a series that follows on from their educational wine tours in French and Californian vineyards.

The presenters managed to achieve a speed of 60mph in 3.5 seconds after filling a Radical SR4 racing car with three litres of Bruichladdich's quadruple-distilled X4 Islay Spirit.

"The exhaust smells much better than petrol", said Duncan MacGillivray, Bruichladdich distillery manager. "It's a sustainable biofuel; but at £26 a litre, the duty and VAT isn't.

"Fuel here is a whopping £1.50 - £1.60 a litre, so it's not a viable alternative just yet. The police even tried to breathalyse the car but fortunately they had the wrong type of tester."

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