Opel, Vauxhall find greenest driver in Europe

29 July 2010

Portuguese driver Antonio Goncalves has been crowned as the Greenest Driver in Europe by the pan-European hunt launched by Opel and Vauxhall. Under the slogan

Portuguese driver Antonio Goncalves has been crowned as the Greenest Driver in Europe by the pan-European hunt launched by Opel and Vauxhall. Under the slogan: 'Green Driver: Wanted!', the organisers started a two-month long ecoFLEX Experience contest to promote that environmentally friendly driving techniques, along with the right cars, can significantly cut CO2 emissions.

The 25-year-old champion has won one of the very first models of electric Vauxhall Ampera, which is scheduled to roll onto the production line in 2011. This extended-range electric car - the first vehicle of its kind in Europe - will go on sale by the end of 2011 in Europe and is due to enter the UK market early in 2012.

"I definitely wanted to win because I wanted that Ampera", said Goncalves. "That's why my main focus was to drive as consistently as possible".

Around 70,000 entrants joined the contest, but they were eventually whittled down to 20, with one contestant from each participating country. For the grand finale, finalists were brought together at Sturup Raceway near Malmo, Sweden to show their fuel-saving skills in different disciplines.

After two days of intense driving challenges, Goncalves demonstrated the best balance between speedy driving style and fuel-saving techniques, with an overall average consumption of just 71.5mpg. This put him atop of other drivers, proving that eco-friendly driving is fun and profitable as well.

Other winners of the competition are second placer Yakup Pelit of Denmark, who won an Astra 1.3 95PS CDTI ecoFLEX, and third placer Keijo Tapio Leppavuori of Finland, who received a Corsa 1.3 CDTI ecoFLEX.

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