Land’s End To John O’Groats Using Sustainable Fuel

To mark the 35th anniversary of the Mazda MX-5, four models – one from each generation – completed a 1,000-mile journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats using sustainable fuel. These vehicles, powered entirely by 100 per cent biofuel from SUSTAIN, became the first cars to complete this iconic route across the UK using sustainable fuel.

The Mazda MX-5, which debuted at the 1989 Chicago Motor Show, has always set the standard for pure, lightweight sports cars, with driver engagement at its core. To date, over 1.2 million MX-5s have been produced at Mazda’s Ujina plant in Hiroshima, with more than 135,000 sold in the UK. The four cars that completed the 1,000-mile drive were part of the Mazda UK Heritage Fleet: a 1990 1.6-litre Mk1 from the car’s UK launch year, a 10th Anniversary Mk2, a 25th Anniversary Mk3, and a 30th Anniversary Mk4, each marking a special occasion in the MX-5’s history.

Each generation of the Mazda MX-5 made the journey using SUSTAIN 100 RON E5, a second-generation biofuel from Coryton. This fuel, free from fossil fuels, is produced from agricultural waste and by-products from non-consumable crops. The cars required no modifications to use this drop-in fuel, which recycles existing atmospheric carbon absorbed by plants, unlike fossil fuels that release additional CO2.

The 1,000-mile trip featured stops at four organisations that are helping to demonstrate the potential of sustainable technologies. Although the 100 per cent biofuel used is not yet publicly available, other SUSTAIN fuels are, showcasing the crucial role sustainable fuels can play in de-carbonising both modern and classic cars.

Since June 2023, the Mazda UK Heritage Fleet has been powered by SUSTAIN Classic 80 sustainable fuel, which is available to the public. In 2022, the Mazda MX-5 became the first vehicle to drive 1,000 miles across the UK and complete laps in each home nation’s circuit using sustainable fuel.

Commenting on Mazda’s latest sustainable fuel achievement, Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director at Mazda Motors UK, said: “The MX-5 is Mazda’s brand icon and it embodies all that is great about our products. Mazda’s unceasing commitment to refining the vehicle over its 35-year history has always focused on its core mission of delivering driver engagement and fun from behind the wheel. It’s great that it was a quartet of MX-5s that became the first cars to drive this famous route using sustainable fuel, as it’s always been a sports car that delivers efficiency through its lightweight and compact design. Furthermore, it’s highly appropriate that a car famous for driver fun has highlighted the part sustainable fuel can have in de-carbonising classic motoring in the future”.

He continues, “Mazda is committed to reducing CO2 emissions from every car and believes that all options available must be used to achieve climate neutrality. In the future through Mazda’s SKYACTIV Multi-Solution Scalable Architecture, continued electrification will go hand in hand with the development of advanced internal combustion engine technology. While, with the wide use of Mazda M Hybrid mild-hybrid, the all-electric Mazda MX-30, the unique Mazda MX-30 R-EV parallel hybrid, the self-charging hybrid Mazda2 Hybrid and the plug-in hybrid Mazda CX-60 PHEV, across Mazda’s current range this multi-solution approach is already clear to see”.

Adding, “In many regions of the world Mazda is investing in different projects and partnerships to promote the development and use of renewable fuels in cars. In Japan, Mazda is involved in several joint research projects and studies as part of an ongoing industry-academia-government collaboration to promote the widespread adoption of biofuels from microalgae growth and bio-diesel from used cooking oil, while in Europe, Mazda was the first OEM to join the eFuel Alliance”.

David Richardson, Director at SUSTAIN, said: “Achieving the first-ever drive from Land’s End to John O’ Groats on 100% sustainable biofuel is something we’re extremely proud of. It’s particularly poignant to be teaming up with Mazda on the MX-5s 35th birthday. Sustainable fuel is a genuine way we can keep vehicles such as these on the road for many years to come, whilst reducing their environmental impact. Over the 1000-mile trip, we calculated that around 981kg of CO2 was saved by using SUSTAIN in the four MX-5s to replace fossil fuels. Imagine the difference we could make if more motorists followed suit.“

Adding, “Electric vehicles are increasing in numbers, but there are many millions of combustion engine cars on our roads – it surely makes sense to reduce the emissions from those vehicles if we can. Yet many people don’t realise it’s an option or know how sustainable fuel works. There are a lot of misunderstandings. We need support from those in power to enable sustainable fuel production to be scaled up, which could happen relatively quickly. There is no silver bullet solution to tackle the environmental impact of the automotive sector – we should be using all the available technologies to give us the best chance to make a real difference.”

The Four Stop Locations

Stop 1: Motor Spirit, Bicester Heritage Centre, Oxfordshire

Stop 2: Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC), Sheffield University

Stop 3: Windermere Boat Club (WMBRC), Lake District National Park

Stop 4: Celtic Renewables and Caldic, Grangemouth, Scotland