We're entering an age where combustion is on its way out. It's inevitable. Granted, we have decades before it's fully gone the way of the Dodo, but we're starting to see its gradual phasing out with hybridization and full electrification.
To me, that's a loss, as I love the sound of an engine. Whether it's some manic turbocharged two-stroke or a bananas cross-plane four-cylinder, the aural sensation feels inherently important to the machines we all know and love. And this is coming from a self-professed lover of all things electric.
But while we could be all doom and gloom about EVs and hybrids, a handful of companies are working on solutions to prolong the internal combustion's life well into the future. And one of the most exciting solutions to that quest is synthetic fuel. Yet, there are questions about the recent formulas, chief among them being what they do to a machine's power and torque.
That's why Evo Magazine grabbed a couple liters of Coryton's Sustain Classic Super 80 synthetic fuel and strapped a Porsche 911, Toyota GR Yaris, and Caterham to a dyno to see what's what. The results were both surprising and not, which sounds confusing, but let me explain.
The fuel itself is 80% sustainable biofuel mixed with 20% traditional fossil fuels, and less than 1% ethanol, and has an octane rating of 98—definitely not the jungle juice 87 that is so prevalent in the States. According to Evo, a liter will cost you about £4.65 or $5.82 with today's exchange rate.
As for the test, it was simple. Evo compared the manufacturer-provided torque and horsepower to that of a dyno run with regular pump gas and then to the synthetically produced biofuel from Coryton. And what they found was that while the synthetic fuel hewed pretty damn close to the OEM-supplied stats, there was a slight decrease in both horsepower and torque compared to regular gasoline.
Now, that sounds not great, but if you look at the numbers, you see that you lost at most only a few horsepower and a couple pound-feet. That's likely nothing you'd feel in a car, but it's interesting in the powersports world where losing a horsepower or pound-foot could affect a machine's overall performance.
I'd personally love to see how this fuel works in a motorcycle, UTV, snowmobile, or ATV.
But more than that, and echoed by Evo, these fuels might save the noise we all love from our machines. "There has been much talk around sustainable fuels and how they may allow a stay of execution for internal combustion engine cars," says Evo's John Barker, adding, "The EU, lobbied by Germany, will now allow some new ICE vehicles to be sold beyond the 2035 Euro cut-off, provided those vehicles are fuelled exclusively on carbon-neutral fuel."
Maybe we'll get that here in the U.S., so long as we can figure out how to produce these synthetic fuels at larger volumes and more sustainably. Fingers crossed, as I'd be absolutely cool with losing a few horsepower and pound-feet if it meant I get to listen to MotoGP bikes without worrying about what it was doing to the planet.
