The 2,507-mile (4,035 km) journey, which began in Jacksonville, Florida, and finished successfully in Santa Monica, California, took a total driving time of 37 hours 2 minutes (thus average speed = 67.7 mph/109 km/h). The trip was made with CLP-engineered and developed Superlite Coupe (SLC) racecar powered by a custom Volkswagen 1.9-liter TDI diesel engine. The SLC has been built featuring aerodynamics for maximum efficiency at speed and enhanced with an aluminum monocoque chassis and fiberglass body. The result was a car that maintains all of its power and handling of a racecar, yet is still street legal.

When the car was finally refueled in Santa Monica, the fuel consumption for the cross-country journey was determined to be 37.6 gallons (142 liters) of NEXBTL renewable diesel—an average fuel consumption of 66.7 miles per gallon (3.52 l/100 km). The partners estimated that the use of NEXBTL in the SLC resulted in a GHG reduction of about 75% compared to the same journey being done with a “regular” car running on petroleum diesel.

Motorists expect a lower carbon footprint as well as lower tailpipe emissions from renewable fuels, without compromising high quality and good performance. We made this unique trip to show that advanced biofuels such as NEXBTL renewable diesel meet these requirements.

—Kaisa Hietala, Executive Vice President, Renewable Products at Neste

The trip was the conceived of by Pat O’Keefe, CEO and President of CLP Motor sports, Vice President at Golden Gate Petroleum and a keen racing car driver and enthusiast. Golden Gate started selling NEXBTL renewable diesel to its fleet customers the San Francisco area in 2013.

Neste’s NEXBTL renewable diesel is a low-carbon, clean burning diesel fuel that meets the requirements of ASTM D-975 (the US fuel standard) as well as the CARB diesel requirements (The Californian fuel standard). It is a “drop-in” fuel that is compatible with all diesel engines and does not require changes to the distribution network.