Volkswagen has been doing a lot with bio-sourced compressed natural gas lately. First it built a new Scirocco to run on the stuff, then raced the car at the daunting 24 Hours of The Nurburgring Nordschleife — and won. As if to put an exclamation point on the viability of bio-CNG and its potential as a racing fuel, VW is launching a series of races next year with cars that burn the alt fuel.

The competition will be called the Scirocco Cup, and VW says it will run on some of Europe’s most demanding tracks. As the name suggests, all the cars will be Sciroccos (like the one in the photo) modified to run on CNG.

VW says running the fuel will reduce CO2 emissions by 80 percent over conventional fuels. The German automaker claims that will make the Scirocco Cup the cleanest auto race on the planet.

“In the Scirocco Cup, Volkswagen combines environmental consciousness with economy and sporting performance on the race track,” says Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen. “This motorsport one-make cup thus underlines the corporate strategy of the Volkswagen brand — to make a contribution to sustainability with innovative technologies without having to sacrifice the dynamic fortes of a Volkswagen.”

Bio-CNG is made from renewable resources like grass or refined, um, biological waste. VW claims the fuel is CO2-neutral, generating only the amount of carbon dioxide already absorbed by the source feedstock. The energy produced from a ton of organic residues equates to 60 liters (about 15 gallons) of fuel oil, or 200 kilowatt-hours of electrical power. Using this production process, the yield from one hectare (2.4 acres) of cultivated land allows a vehicle to cover a distance of 67,600 kilometers (about 42,000 miles). VW says that makes bio-CNG the most efficient bio-fuel available.

Yeah, so what about the cars? The ‘roccos are powered by 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged engines based on the mill in the Scirocco R. Modified for racing and running on bio-CNG, the engines produce 220 horsepower and 202 foot-pounds of torque. All that grunt gets to the tarmac through VW’s slick six-speed DSG gearbox with steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters. As a cool touch, drivers have another 30 horsepower on tap through a push-to-pass system like Indy cars use.

There are some quirks in running bio-CNG, though. The racers have stainless steel pipes and the special valves, as well as a fuel-injection system pressurized to 200 Bar (2,900 PSI) and a fuel tank made of a composite material. It has a capacity of 22 kilos of Bio-CNG, which is the equivalent of about 35 liters (9.2 gallons) of conventional gasoline.

Look for the series to start next year, with up-and-coming drivers facing seasoned pros from Formula 1, rally racing, Le Mans and Europe’s Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series. VW isn’t naming names yet, but we’ll be sure to keep you posted.

Photo: Volkswagen

The irony in greener transportation has always been designs that emphasize the cool-factor over practicality. Too often companies create a product for the haves instead of the have-nots and completely overshoot the everyday environmentalist. That’s how we end up with things like $109,000 electric sports cars and $69,000 electric motorcycles.

Suzuki and Intelligent Energy, which previously brought us the bad-ass Crosscage hydrogen fuel cell motorcycle concept, have taken an essential step back to practicality and functionality with the Suzuki Burgman Fuel Cell Scooter. It may not look as cool as the Crosscage, but it’s designed to go where the Crosscage never could — your garage.

The hydrogen powered Burgman debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show. At first glance it looks like any other scooter. But beneath the unassuming Clark Kent facade is a Super-Nerd zero-emission power plant running off a hydrogen fuel cell.

The real beauty of this machine lies in the purposeful design. As opposed to an outrageous one-off destined to never be replicated, the fuel cell Burgman is designed with manufacturing in mind. Even the fuel cell designed by the United Kingdom’s Intelligent Energy is light, compact and made for the mass-market. We still haven’t heard anything about power numbers, top speed, range or even the price of the eco-Burgman. But we may not have to wait much longer.

“These clean fuel cell engine powered motorcycles are not simply for motor-shows ,” says Dr. Henri Winand, CEO of Intelligent Energy, ” and can be widely available to everyone in the near future.”

If you’ve never heard of Intelligent Energy, it was the brain trust that worked with Boeing on the first manned flight of a fuel cell aircraft. With that kind of know-how and Suzuki’s stature in the motorcycle biz, you might just see the Burgman hit the streets.

Fueling it will be another story.

Photo: Intelligent Energy

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts — President Obama raised the stakes for kicking the fossil fuel habit in a speech today at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, saying the country’s dependence on fossil fuels hurts the economy and the nation that moves beyond them will reap huge benefits.

Obama spurred the nation on in the race to develop clean energy, saying the United States risks losing its dominant position if it fails to win. “The nation that wins this competition will be the nation that leads the world economy. I am convinced of that,” he said. “And I want America to be that nation. It’s that simple.”

The president touted energy research at MIT, including solar power windows, virus-built lightweight batteries, quantum dot lighting and combined offshore wind/ocean energy systems. Obama also pointed out his administration’s push to make the research and experimentation tax credit permanent, and its direct funding for science. “The Recovery Act provides the largest single boost in scientific research in history,” he said.

The speech also gave Obama an opportunity to rally support for the climate bill senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry recently introduced. Kerry was in the audience. “All of this must culminate in the passing of comprehensive legislation that will finally make renewable energy the profitable kind of energy in America,” Obama said.

The president said he saw consensus building for the bill, and for energy legislation also wending its way through Congress. The two bills are considered critical to international discussions of a new global warming pact. The president has said he wants the United States to lead the way in addressing global climate change. He also has said he wants to see one million plug-in vehicles for sale by 2015.

Obama began his speech with a shout out to MIT’s übergeek pranks: “I’ll probably be here a while. I understand a bunch of engineering students
have put my motorcade on the roof of building 10.”

Catch MIT’s webcast of the president’s speech here.

Photo: White House

Who says alt-fuel cars can’t be cool? The last time we saw something like AFVTech’s 1933 Ford Roadster, Harrison Ford was cruising around looking for it to see who had the fastest car in the valley. AFVTech is best known as a company that does compressed natural gas conversions for fairly mundane things like Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras, but this time around they decided to make a CNG fueled Ford Roadster with an engine that is anything but mundane.

In an interview with Green Car Congress the President of AFVTech Kevin Fern was straight and to the point: “The goal of this project is to make a statement, that Natural Gas can be fun to drive, fast and wrapped up in a package that will turn heads. We are investing a lot of engineering time in this project, highlighting the technological advancements that we use in the Natural Drive Dedicated EPA Certified CNG retrofit systems.”

We can agree with him that a 1933 Ford Roadster is a package that will certainly turn heads. And what they have sitting under the hood will sure turn those rear wheels too. The mill in question is a modified General Motors LS7 7-liter engine cranking out in excess of 600 horsepower. That’s the same engine you’ll find installed in the Corvette Z06, and like all LS7 engines, it is hand-built by GM’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan.

The AFVTech Ford Roadster is more than just an engine and a CNG conversion. It also features such goodies as a drive-by-wire engine management system that replaces the conventional mechanical and hydraulic control systems and 4-wheel ABS disc brakes with selectable traction control.

According to Edmunds, the CNG Ford Roadster will roll out at the AFVI trade show in Las Vegas in May 2010. Although no one has said whether the car will just be used as a marketing tool or enter into a limited production run, it’s easy to guess that we’re hoping for the latter.

And the Roadster isn’t AFVTech’s only custom ride that will be rolling around out there. AutoBlogGreen mentioned that they are also working with the Arizona’s Fountain Hills High School research club on converting a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria into a hydrogen-powered vehicle.

Photo: AFVTech