Ford has unveiled an eco-friendly version of its new Focus, as petrol prices across the UK nudge towards £1 a litre.

The Focus Flexi-Fuel Vehicle (FFV) runs on bioethanol, a renewable fuel source derived from wheat.

Some 340,000 tonnes of wheat make the 131,000,000 litres of ethanol a year that Ford plans to fuel the 40 FFVs arriving in the UK as part of a pilot scheme.

The great thing about bioethanol is that it's 40 per cent cheaper than petrol; the downside is that there's only one UK production plant planned, and that's in Somerset.

Still, other rural economies have expressed an interest in creating a bioethanol infrastructure (sugar beets are a popular choice, apparently), so there's a chance that people outside the West Country could save some cash in years to come.

The Focus FFV costs £14,095, although Ford has yet to reveal when the car will go on sale.

Read Ford Focus Car Review

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