A LOTUS sports car fuelled by wine and cheese whey, a VW Beetle burning gas produced from dung and one of Oxford’s hybrid buses will all be on the starting grid for a rally with a difference on Sunday.

The Bridgestone Eco Rally will see a cavalcade of electric and eco-vehicles of all shapes and sizes travelling from Broad Street in the city centre to London to promote alternatives to petrol and diesel.

Also taking part in the event will be the smallest, slowest and most environmentally-friendly Aston Martin ever built, the Cygnet city car, and one of Oxford carmaker BMW’s Mini E cars, used in a series of extended trials to prove the technology to be used in future models of the Cowley-built car.

In keeping with Oxford’s tradition of two-wheeled transport, two electric-assisted bikes will be tackling the 70-mile route, one a retro-styled Spencer-Ivy machine, the other from the French car and bike maker, Peugeot.

Among those supporting the event is a group of students at Oxford Brookes University’s School of Technology, at the Wheatley campus, who are developing an electric racing car to contest the Formula Student racing championship next year.

While their vehicle cannot be driven to London, they will be taking it to the capital to be displayed at the end of the rally route in The Mall, where Prince Charles will be opening the gardens of Clarence House to the public in conjunction with the event.

James Arkle, 21, an engineering student and the team leader, said: “We work on the car at weekends and evenings to develop it and learn more about the technology.

“We could not compete in any races this year but hope to be on the track next season. We have been doing lots of testing and the car works well. We hope to run it up The Mall on Sunday.”

The eco-vehicles will be on show to the public in Broad Street from 8am to 10am before setting off to London, with their batteries topped up at Oxford’s network of electric vehicle charging points.

Andy Dingley, from rally sponsors Bridgestone, said: “It is a fantastic event, which showcases the vehicles of the future and really shows off the versatility of the different, environmentally-friendly options out there.”

The Eco Rally is organised by Revolve, an organisation committed to accelerating the market for zero-emission transport.

wcrossley@oxfordmail.co.uk l For details of Sunday’s events and the vehicles taking part, see eco-rally.org