A brand new environmentally friendly driving event will take place this year in Europe to establish the continent’s most eco-responsible driver. Named the Peugeot Eco Cup, the drive will take place over a 1,000 mile course that starts in Paris and ends in Geneva, Switzerland, and the winning cars will be those that set the fastest times and consume the lowest amounts of fuel.

A website has been set up for drivers to apply for one of 72 available places in the Peugeot Eco Cup. Four places are available per country (since Europe is made up of 18 nations – namely Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland and Turkey).

If selected by Peugeot, the drivers will have the option of driving the 1,000 kilometres (622 miles) in one of four Peugeot models: the 207 HDi 90, the 308 HDi 110, the 3008 Hdi 110 and the 5008 HDi 110. All are associated with low fuel consumption standards, achieved in earlier tests.

Peugeot Eco Cup

There will be four winners of the Peugeot Eco Cup in all – one for each of the four vehicles involved. The prize in each instance is a brand new Peugeot model.

“This first Peugeot Eco Cup is a truly exciting challenge in the mould of those first great motoring adventures, and uses the expertise from one of Europe’s leaders in terms of environmental vehicles”, Peugeot UK Managing Director Jon Goodman commented.

“We are seeking the best of the best in eco-driving, taking every-day but highly fuel-efficient new cars over a testing route to see just how far they can stretch their fuel capability. Will anyone make the finish on one tank? We’ll have to see.”

Eco Drivers

The Peugeot Eco Cup begins on February 28th in Paris, and finishes in Geneva three days later. Drivers wanting to apply are encouraged to visit www.ecocup.peugeot.com, in order to select their preferred car choice and input information including an answer to the question: ‘what makes a good eco driver?’ The closing date for registration is February 10th 2010.

In a previous News Item, Enviro News reported on the issue of new vehicle emissions data for 2008 which showed that Fiat’s cars produced an average of 138 grams of CO2 for every kilometre driven. On this basis, Fiat topped the European Federation for Transport and Environment’s leader board, while Peugeot was a little further down with 139 grams of carbon dioxide emitted per kilometre.

See also:

Japan's Challenger Wins Global Solar Car Race

Tesla Roadster Electric Car Sets Distance Record