The Royal garage is full of exotic cars from British manufacturers that are certain to please car aficionados. And these aren't just the modern examples but vintage and classic cars that will make you envy the royal life. Sharing one such example of his royal garage, Prince Charles recently shared that his blue 1970 Aston Martin DB6 MkII Volante, gifted to him by the Queen on his 21st birthday, now runs on waste products, surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese process to be precise. Prince Charles was speaking to BBC climate editor, Justin Rowlatt, in a recent interview, wherein he was answering questions about climate change.
Prince Charles says his request to change the fuel source on the Aston Martin was initially met with a bit of resistance
Revealing more about his vintage car, Prince Charles described the more practical ways he was incorporating his passion for the environment into everyday life. One of those ways, he says, has been converting the fuel source on his Aston Martin.
"My old Aston Martin, that runs now on waste products," he said. "It runs on, can you believe this, surplus English white wine and whey from the cheese process."
Charles insisted the Aston Martin engineers find him an alternate fuel source, he says. He was initially met with some resistance. The engineers apparently told him that "Oh, it'll ruin the whole thing."
However, the prince was adamant about having it changed. He said, "Well I won't drive it then, so they got on with it and now they admit that it runs better and is more powerful on that fuel than it is on petrol."
The 1970 Aston Martin DB6 MkII Volante was gifted to Prince Charles by the Queen on his 21st birthday
This wouldn't be the first instance where the Royal Family has changed the powertrain on their vintage cars to make them more eco-friendly whilst preserving the vehicle in its original form. More prominently, the Jaguar E-Type with an electric heart was featured in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding in 2018. The electric powertrain was developed by Rimac as part of the electric Jaguar E-Type Zero project. The car has been modified in such a way that it can go back to its straight-six motor, should the owner ever wishes to.
Prince Charles also revealed that he also battled to change the royal train to run on used cooking oil in order to lower emissions. Charles says he has been a staunch advocate of climate concerns but was "ridiculed for long." He also shared that he is "deeply worried" about the world he will leave behind for his grandchildren.
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