Canola Power

When he introduced the world’s first jet-powered biodiesel vehicle, race-car driver Kevin Therres couldn’t believe no one beat him to it. Ever since, the race-car aficionado has been all over the prairies with his yellow and white Corvette funny car, the 007, trying to get people fired up about his twin passions: car racing and biodiesel.

“We have a way to produce fuel on our own land,” he says. “Agriculture students are all talking about canola and how much less impact these fuels will have on the environment.”

The 2007 Corvette has a J60 Pratt and Whitney jet engine. On the tarmac, it throws the requisite massive flames and creates a cloud of smoke so large the car disappears. But doing it all with biodiesel reduces the car’s greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 40 per cent, Therres says. The fuel’s sulphur levels are also lower, which decreases engine wear and increases fuel economy. It is also a renewable resource that can be made from local crops.

A former prairie farm boy, Therres is convinced biodiesel will raise the value of canola crops and help sustain family farming in Canada. And his cars are just as fast as those running on petrol. Last May, the car clocked in at a very speedy 250 miles per hour.

“I’m not Howard Hughes, or a rocket scientist from NASA,” he says. “I’m just a guy with a dream, living in the heart of canola-growing country. To be able to live the dream intrigued me. I never thought we’d be the first to get it done.”

To find out more about the 007, visit www.prairielandmotorsports.com .