Can historic car safely run on sustainable fuel? Classic vehicle is, by the nature of things, more fragile. All the components incl. its heart – the engine – require special care. Hence, the opening question is justified. And what better place to search for an answer than Mecca of historic motorsport, Goodwood Revival.
Before I take you for a journey to the UK, let’s take a short stop in the southern Norway. (This is where I live and where I work on sustainability in motorsport on daily basis). Last year, one of the main projects I was involved in was testing of sustainable fuel in the national rallycross championship. Although successful, not everything went smooth.
One gentleman was convinced that sustainable fuel would cause engine failure in his old VW Beetle. It wasn’t anything fundamentally wrong in his behavior. Ultimately, he simply cared about reliability of his car. I just couldn’t figure out at how to at least make him consider testing advanced sustainable fuel (AS Fuel) in the future.
Pointing out to his colleague from the other side of the service park, who went on to win one of the heats using AS Fuel, did no good. The eureka moment arrived good time after we shaked hands and thanked each other for the conversation. Then, I contemplated.
What would he say if he saw a multitude of classic cars running safely on sustainable fuel?
That, we may never find out. Your reaction is a whole different story.
Welcome to the Goodwood Revival.
Oldie but goodie
What should you know about the Goodwood Revival?
According to the organizer, it is the world’s most spectacular historic motor racing event. Held every September in the UK it transports visitors to the golde age of motor racing.
In other words, plenty of well-preserved classic cars and favorite symphony of every petrolhead – the roar of an internal combustion engine.
By the sound(s) of it, Goodwood has very little (if anything) to do with sustainability. Meanwhile, event has been setting the standard on that front in recent years.
Legends racing classic 911s on sustainable fuel
What were Jenson Button, Tom Kristensen and Mark Webber doing in September 2023?
Given the nature of their line of work, it would be easy to assume that they were racing. And if you made such assumption, you are correct!
It wasn’t just any racing, though.
The aforementioned trio put on a great show in pre-1966 Porsche 911s. Overall, 30 911s competed against each other and all of them were running on sustainable fuel.
Exciting yet more environmentally sound spectacle took place at the 2023 Goodwood Revival.
Also there, in the other competition, Ben Collins a.k.a. Stig and Gareth Graham drove to victory in a sustainably-powered 1925 Bentley Speed Model, leaving behind competitors running on standard fuel.
The best, however, was yet to come.
Historic year for Goodwood Revival
Soon after the 2023 edition, it was announced that at the 2024 Goodwood Revival sustainable fuel (70%) will be obligatory.
As a result, tens of classic cars had to „survive” on sustainable fuel. How did it go?
Drivers reported no problems with green fuel, with some of them going as far as claiming it is indistinguishable from its fossil counterpart. What proved to be the key to was a unique feature of sustainable fuel.
To race the classic on sustainable fuel, no major modifcations are required. You just power up an old car and go. As if nothing changed. (As long as selected AS Fuel is a natural substitute of the previously used blend!).
That made room for some astonishing use cases of this technology.
Century-old vehicles on sustainable fuel
The 2025 Goodwood Revival was no exception on that front with both Maserati 4CL and 6CM happily running on sustainable fuel.
However, being respectively from 1938 and 1939, age-wise they fell short of the aforementioned 1925 Bentley Speed Model.
Where one Italian manufacturer failed, another succeeded.
With its RLTF model from 1922, Alfa Romeo proved that even over a 100-year old vehicle can fit the conversation about more sustainable future.
Historic motorsport, green(er) future
In the last few years, Goodwood Revival has become a space when past meets the future. Those efforts has been noticed.
Motorsport UK recognised Revival with Environmental Sustainability Award, celebrating its commitment to making motorsport greener.
Despite the success, there is no sign of slowing down. The event will continue to rely on sustainable fuel in the years to come incl. the 2026 edition.
From 18 to 20th September, fans will yet again see AS Fuel in the tanks of the most prominent representatns of the historic motorsport.