ECOnetic Ford Fiestas take Part in the Monte Carlo Rally for Alternative Energy Vehicles - Huh?

We always thought that 'alternative energy vehicles' was a term restricted for cars powered by engines that run on... alternative fuels like biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electricity etc, etc, and that a rally for 'alternative energy vehicles' would be exactly that. Well, apparently not as the organizers of the Monte-Carlo Rally for Alternative Energy Vehicles have created a class for fossil-fuel-powered cars with low emissions. "Technicalities" aside -we'll leave the comments to you- Ford will participate in the eco-friendly rally (that sound's better) with three diesel-powered ECOnetic Fiestas.

The Fiesta ECOnetic is based on the Fiesta 1.6 TDCi 90HP and it gets the usual green mods like low rolling resistance tires, a paritculate filter, lowered suspension, a higher final drive and a revised ECU for an average fuel consumption of 3.7l/100 km (mixed cycle) or 63.6mpg US with CO2 emissions of just 98g/km.

The 3rd Monte-Carlo Rally for AEVs (Alternative Energy Vehicles) will begin on Friday March 27 with the first challenge being a 'Concentration stage' that starts simultaneously from two different cities, Lugano and Clermont-Ferrand. The finish will be on Sunday March 29 on the Monaco harbourside.