Today, ethanol is not the most favored solution to oil dependency, but it was not always so frowned upon. Here's a car that deserves a place in the history of ethanol's growth. A Brazilian friend of mine pointed to me to the first mass-produced ethanol car (with the exception of the Ford T): the local version of the Fiat 127 (also the Seat 127) that was called the Fiat 147. The 147 was developed in Brazil in 1976 right as the oil crisis hit and the country was seeking solutions from the biofuel. Fiat finally launched the ethanol version of the 147 in 1979 after three years of testing. The 147 used a 1.3-liter 60hp powertrain, but the compression ratio was reduced to 10.65:1 so it could run on ethanol. Despite the 30 percent fuel increase, the car had better performance figures than the gasoline version and became a hit. This car was also released in a diesel version. Enjoy a couple of videos of the 147 after the jump. Muito obrigado, Pedro!
[Source: Best Cars Web Site]
This ad wanted to show how durable the car is:
And this one is my favorite: With 4 people inside, at normal road speeds, the car ran 12km over this bridge with 3/4l of gasoline. If I did the math correctly, that's 6.2 l/100km or 38 mpg US.
[Source: Best Cars Web Site]
This ad wanted to show how durable the car is:
The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.
And this one is my favorite: With 4 people inside, at normal road speeds, the car ran 12km over this bridge with 3/4l of gasoline. If I did the math correctly, that's 6.2 l/100km or 38 mpg US.
The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.
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