Hybrid power is now seen as cool because it works so why has Ford bothered with a fuel that simply isn’t widely available? The Focus FFV is currently the only bioethanol car on sale in Europe.It runs on E85 Bio-ethanol derived from sugar and wheat crops which produces less CO2 and makes the FFV more efficient than the 1.8-litre petrol variant on which the FFV is based.
The technology to convert a 1.8-litre Focus into a car capable of running on bioethanol is actually quite simple. Ethanol burns hotter and is more corrosive than petrol, so the valve seats are replaced along with ancillary hoses to cope.

Finally the engine management computer is reprogrammed to avoid an electronic meltdown when the new fuel (and higher engine temperatures) take effect.The FFV cracks 62mph in 10.3sec (matching the petrol version) and returns a reasonable 40mpg – up only 0.6mpg over the standard car.

Five of the forecourts selling bioethanol are in Somerset, where Ford has sold the most Focus FFVs. The remainder are in East Anglia – three in Norfolk and two in Suffolk. Somerset and Norfolk are two of the counties where Ford is working with regional biofuel groups to establish FFV sales and bioethanol filling stations.

The automaker noted that this FFV is priced the same as a conventionally fueled 1.8-liter Ford C-Max. The new C-Max FFV, a multi-activity vehicle, will come in a number of trim levels, including LX, Sport, Zetec, Zetec Climate and Ghia. Ford launched its first FFV, the Focus FFV, here last August.

Unlike the Lotus Exige Bio-Ethanol, the Focus can be filled up with any combination of conventional petrol or ethanol making it far more usable.Ford hopes to sell around 200 Focus FFVs annually around Somerset where the wheat is refined into ethanol; if the fuel takes off in the UK, clearly that figure could blossom. In other markets around the world, Ford is selling vast numbers of FFV models.