More news on the Future Car Challenge this weekend, as Toyota announces that is to hold its own version of a ‘Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman’ joke, only in this case we mustn’t forget the Welshman too.
The Japanese car maker is entering four identical models of its British-built Auris hybrid into Saturday’s Brighton to London fuel efficiency challenge. Each car will be decorated with the flag of its adopted nation and each driven by a two person team who will compete for their country’s pride.
As rivalry has always been fierce between Britain’s home nations, the car maker decided to use the event as an opportunity to give the English, Scots, Welsh and Northern Irish the chance to score partisan points by hosting its own Nations Challenge.
In this case, winning will have nothing to do with scoring goals, landing tries, or registering quickest times. Instead, the four teams will be tasked with achieving the lowest energy use while driving a Toyota hybrid.
As the Auris hybrid’s official combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 70.6mpg, the drivers can expect to complete the 60 mile run on well under a gallon of fuel.
The challenge takes place this Saturday (November 6) as part of the RAC’s Future Car Challenge, designed to showcase the energy saving potential of the latest production and prototype hybrid, all-electric and hydrogen fuel vehicles, as well cars powered by ultra-efficient petrol and diesel engines.
Alongside the Auris HSD Nations Challenge cars, Toyota is entering three Prius – representing each generation of the world’s most popular hybrid – and the new Prius Plug-in, marking the next stage in its global development of hybrid powertrains.
More details about the RAC Future Car Challenge can be found at the official event web site at www.futurecarchallenge.com.
