King Charles Drives a Fancy Car That Runs on Wine and Cheese

It supposedly fills the air with gourmet smells, too

prince charles camilla aston martin
The then Prince Charles arrives with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall to the Burberry Cup Polo match in 2005
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Earlier this week, we wrote about a Minnesota man who built a motorcycle that’s powered by beer. And to our great delight, it isn’t the only beverage-powered motor vehicle story in the news this week, for King Charles revealed that he drives a car that’s powered by leftover wine and cheese.

While the royal is a man of decorum, he’s certainly not one of modesty. It’s estimated that his car collection is worth £6.3 million, and his Aston Martin MK ii DB6 Volante, which he received as a gift for his 21st birthday, has been converted to run on E85 bio-ethanol. The fuel is produced on his Duchy of Cornwall estate, a mix of 85% bioethanol made from leftover wine, cheese whey and 15% unleaded gas.

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Supposedly, the Aston engineers originally told King Charles that the conversion would ruin the car. But this is a man that is very much used to getting what he wants, so he wouldn’t take no for an answer. “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,” he said.

Food & Wine mentions that no wine or cheese is being harmed in the process, “as the wine used is not fit for human consumption, and the whey is merely a cheese byproduct.” Is any English wine fit for consumption you may ask? We jest, as the country isn’t really known for its fine bottles of vino. But actually, England is on the come up in the wine world, producing some pretty good bubbly that has been winning awards and worldwide recognition.

We’re not sure what type of wine and cheese they’re producing at the estate, but whatever it is, supposedly it smells really good when the car is burning it off. “It smells delicious as you’re driving along,” King Charles noted.

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