Flex Fuel Pajero

Given it has the largest sugar cane crop in the world and has been heavily reliant on ethanol production from that crop to power its fleet of cars, Brazil is where you would expect to find a car company developing a vehicle that will run equally well on ethanol or petrol (gasoline).

And so it has proved, with Mitsubishi announcing the Brazilian-built Pajero TR4 Flex (pictured).

Look closely and you'll see design traits from the Pajero iO, the light 4WD wagon last sold locally in 2003.

The Pajero TR4 Flex, as it is known, will be launched in Brazil next month.

Modifications to the engine and induction system allow the vehicle to run on 100 per cent petrol, 100 per cent ethanol, or any combination in between.

Running pure ethanol, the 2.0-litre four-cylinder develops more power and torque than on pure petrol, but the difference is minimal -- 98kW of power (petrol) versus 99kW (ethanol) and 177Nm of torque (petrol) against 186Nm (ethanol).

Mitsubishi is planning for a flex fuel vehicle to enter commercial production in the US for the 2009 financial year.

Brazil has a long history of powering the country's cars from its sugar cane crop. The Brazilian government encouraged industry to develop cars that would run on ethanol extracted from the crops after the 1975 oil crisis, despite the country being a major oil producer and exporter.

Reaching a high point in 1986 -- where 76 per cent of local vehicle production was engineered to run on 'gasohol' (a 24 per cent ethanol/76 per cent petrol mix) -- pure petrol-engined cars made a come-back in the early nineties and as recently as 2002, ethanol fuel vehicles accounted for just 3.2 per cent of new car sales.

With increasing concern about the environment and the long term viability of petrol-engined vehicles, ethanol is all set for a revival -- not just in Brazil, but globally.

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