Going Green Fast

A hot-rodded Dodge Viper SRT10 Roadster that runs on E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline, has broken the world speed record for the standing mile, according to the car's owner Karl Jacob and SVS, the Chicago-based company that modified the car.

The twin-turbocharged 1,200-hp Viper, called the SVS TTX, set the new world record of 220.7 mph for the standing mile in 27.41 seconds. The standing mile is an acceleration test that clocks a car’s top speed at the end of one mile. The test of the E85 Viper was conducted at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Mich. The previous standing-mile speed record of 217.85 mph was held by a vehicle with a gasoline engine.

Jacob tapped Ron Misjak, Jr., co-owner of Chicago-based SVS, an aftermarket vehicle modification company specializing in computer-controlled engine management, to develop the E85 Viper. "Going green does not have to mean going slow," Jacob said in a press release. "We built this car to break the world speed record and bring attention to the importance of renewable fuels. These fuels decrease our dependence on oil and reduce overall emissions. As we've demonstrated, E85 enables us to go green and go fast."

Besides the side-mounted twin turbochargers in the engine, SVS modified the Viper’s drivetrain, exhaust system, head-up display, interior gauges and brake pads, among other things.

E85 has the highest oxygen content of any fuel currently available, and it therefore burns more completely (cleaner) than gasoline, thus reducing exhaust emissions, according to the American Lung Association. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that high-blend ethanol fuels such as E85 can reduce harmful carbon monoxide emissions by 40 percent and smog-forming pollutants by 15 percent.

The ethanol used in E85 is made primarily from corn in the U.S. Some automakers, including General Motors, are producing Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) that can run on either gasoline or E85. Click here for a list of those vehicles.

The Indy Racing League officially recognized the benefits of E85 to engine performance by switching entirely to ethanol-based fuel starting with this year’s season.

One draw back to E85 is its energy density, which is lower than that of gasoline. This means that engines that run on E85 get fewer miles per gallon than do gasoline engines.

E85 also isn’t widely available. According to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), less than 1,200 of the 170,000 fueling stations in the U.S. have E85. The number of stations offering E85 is expected to double in a little more than a year.

Image credits: Ken Pries