A Prince running his vintage sports car on wine and all in the name of the environment! It may sound like an unlikely story, but it is actually true, as Prince Charles has converted his Aston Martin DB6 to run on wine based bioethanol.

The first in line to the British throne felt that his love of his Aston Martin, which he has owned since his 21st birthday, did not sit well with his well-publicised views on the environment. The 38-year-old DB6 was a very big polluter, clocking in at a high emission ten miles to the gallon. In an effort to set an example on carbon footprint reduction, Charles had the engine switched to bioethanol and found a novel source for the fuel. It comes from excess grapes that have fermented at a Vineyard close to his country home, but cannot be used due to restrictive EU quotas. The winemakers therefore sell the leftovers to Gloucester-based biofuels supplier Green Fuels where the Aston is filled up. The bioethanol is only marginally less expensive than normal petrol but emits 85% less damaging CO2.