Lotus Omnivore news - Big hungry Lotus - 2008

TG's award for 'Best-Named Engine of the Year' goes to Lotus... and the just-announced Omnivore.

The Omnivore. What a name. So called because it'll eat anything. Well, not anything. But any combination of petrol and alcohols. That's alcohol in the fuel sense - methanol and ethanol - not gin and whisky. At least, we assume not.

It's still in the early stages of development, but Lotus says that the Omnivore will be based around a two-stroke, single-cylinder design with direct injection and - here's the clever bit - a variable compression ratio system. All of which should allow the Omnivore to devour petrol, alcohol, or a mixture of both.

The Omnivore complements the tri-fuel Exige (pictured) we saw back in April, and could be a key element in a greener, cleaner future. Methanol, see, combusts more efficiently than petrol, and can be synthesised from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. And carbon dioxide is bad.

We'll see over the next couple of years whether Lotus can make the Omnivore a production reality. If they do, surely we can expect the Carnivore and Herbivore to follow?