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April 27, 2007

Not-so-ginger Alé

Our ears have an in-built homing device that closes in on any car when we hear the phrase '0-60mph in five seconds'.

This time our ocular radar has homed in on the FuelVapor Alé, which hails from Canada.

With a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine producing 180bhp, the Alé may not be endowed with crazy power, but low weight and equally low aerodynamic drag helps it on its way to a 140mph top speed.

OK, you'll have spotted that the Alé is a three-wheeler, though thankfully two are at the front for stability.

Having three wheels does not hinder the Alé's cornering prowess and grip levels have been measured at up to 1.7 G, which is a good bit more than a BMW M5.

But the major point of the Alé is to that it's a low emissions vehicle.

It can turn in 92.0mpg and qualifies for a 'super low' emissions rating in Canada.

The key to this is in the name of the company as the Alé runs on fuel vapour rather than normal liquid fuel.

It allows the engine to run on a much leaner mixture of fuel and air without compromising performance, yet uses about a third less petrol for the same given power.

FuelVapor is busy testing the Alé before it goes on sale in 2008. There's no word on pricing yet, but we'll be keeping our ears pinned back.

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  • FuelVapor Alé
  • FuelVapor Alé

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