Getting to the Track Sustainably is my monthly column on developments in sustainable transportation that could have some application to motorsport. Since most carbon emissions come from logistics and transportation, this topic is of utmost importance as motorsport works to make itself more sustainable.
Here is an important quote to keep in mind when it comes to sustainable mobility and especially motorsport: “There are many ways to climb the mountain that is achieving carbon neutrality,” former Toyota CEO, now chairman Akio Toyoda recently told reporters at the Japan Mobility Show, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal.”
Here are some articles you may find of interest including a new two-seater sports car concept from Mazda, Virgin Atlantic’s 100% SAF flight, an emissions-free supersonic passenger jet concept that could fly at 1,141 mph and a roadmap to sustainable shipping.
Sustainable Land Transportation
- The Rotary-Electric Mazda Iconic SP Concept Could Save the Sports Car (Motor1)
- Mazda Says It Can Shrink The Iconic SP To The Size Of A Miata (Motor1)
- Welcome back, RX-7: meet the gorgeous twin-rotor electric Mazda Iconic SP (Top Gear)
- Students Build World’s First Off-Road Solar-Powered SUV–and Drive it Across Morocco (Good News Network)
- Honda Prelude Returns (Road&Track)
- Toyota’s FT-Se Is a Gorgeous EV Sports Car Concept (Road&Track)
- The 1341-HP Nissan Hyper Force Sure Looks Like an Electric GT-R (Road&Track)
- The Subaru Sport Mobility Concept Is a Driver-Centric Boxy Coupe (Road&Track)
- Lexus’ New EV Concept Looks Like a Transformer Egg (Road&Track)
- Lexus presents EV concept built on circularity and digital (EV Magazine)
- Vision Qe Concept Leads Off Infiniti’s New EV Push With Visual Shove (MotorTrend)
- The Chevrolet Blazer EV Is the 2024 MotorTrend SUV of the Year (MotorTrend)
- Alysm Energy develops non-flammable battery storage tech (Energy Digital)
- Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren’t working (Business Insider)
- What Do You Think About Toyota’s Fake Manual Transmission for EVs? (The Drive)
- Inside Superbus: World’s most luxurious commuter vehicle is fully electric, drives 155mph & is loved by Richard Branson (The Irish Sun)
- Watch a Diesel-Electric Edison Semi Truck Drag a WWII Tank Like It’s Nothing (The Drive)
- Lamborghini Huracan Successor Spied Driving Silently in EV Mode (The Drive)
- Lamborghini Isn’t Quite Ready to Retire Internal Combustion Engines for Good (The Robb Report)
- Akio Toyoda Says Slowing EV Demand Proves He Was Right All Along (The Drive)
- Porsche Signs Deal for Low Carbon Steel (ESG Today)
- Road & Track’s 2024 Performance EV of the Year
- Toyota’s Electric GR Sports Car Concept Targets Porsche 718, Packs a Dual-Motor Setup (Road & Track)
- Toyota Unveils an All-Electric Sports Car Concept That Could Rival the Porsche Cayman (The Robb Report)
- The Toyota FT-Se is a stunning two-seat electric sportscar concept (Top Gear)
- Ford Cuts EV Investment After Losing $36,000 On Every EV Sold In Q3 (Inside EVs)
- Electric Dodge Charger Will Have 880+ HP in Top Trim: Source (The Drive)
- BMW 5-Series Goes Electric And It’s Brilliant: New I5 Test Driven (Forbes)
- Top 10: Electric Motorcycle Companies (EV Magazine)
- Infiniti Wants to Recapture the Q45’s Magic With Its New Qe Electric Sedan (The Drive)
- Ferrari Sold More Hybrids Than Gasoline Cars In Q3 2023 (Motor1)
- Stellantis continues to see EV sales growth & development (EV Magazine)
- Solar Cars Are Still Baking Along, Kind Of (AutoWeek)
- Car brands aren’t ready to talk about sustainability (Goodwood)
- 2025 Volvo EX30 First Drive Review: Small Electric Package, Big Value (The Drive)
- World EV Sales Now Equal 17% Of World Auto Sales (Clean Technica)
- Electric Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator 4Xe PHEV: Everything We Know (MotorTrend)
- 2025 Ram 1500 Ramcharger Smashes EV Range With 690 Miles, V6 Range Extender (The Drive)
- More Affordable Lucid Air Touring and Pure EV Models Still Deliver 400+ Miles of Range (MotorTrend)
- A week with a Lucid Air: Better than a Tesla? (Grassroots Motorsports)
- Mythbusting the world of EVs: is it sacrilege to convert a classic car into an EV? (Top Gear)
- We Tried Toyota’s Fake Manual Transmission for EVs. Is It Awesome? (MotorTrend)
- Rail Travel For Work: Which Companies Are Paving The Way For Sustainable Business Travel? (CleanTechnica)
- New Study Finds Electric Vehicles Are Driven Less Than Gas Cars (CleanTechnica)
- Here’s what form a future, next-generation electric Nissan GT-R could take
- Ignore the name, Nissan’s Hyper Force concept could signal an upcoming all-electric GT-R (Yahoo Finance)
- Nissan Electric GT-R Sports Car Concept Is Razor-Sharp in Tokyo (MotorTrend)
- Toyota Expands Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Research with San Diego Gas & Electric Company Collaboration (Toyota)
- 2024 Polestar 3 and 4 First Ride Review: Two Car Solution? (MotorTrend)
- Toyota Signs On As First Carmaker To Buy Battery Components From Redwood Materials (Forbes)
- Has Hyundai made the Ioniq 5 N a true performance EV? (Grassroots Motorsports)
- 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N First Look: Charging Away From the Competition (MotorTrend)
- 2025 Gravity SUV Will Make Lucid an Electric Power Player (AutoWeek)
- The All-Electric Rolls-Royce Spectre Ushers In Bold New Era (Maxim)
- Mercedes-Benz EVs on ride-hailing apps thanks to WeFlex (EV Magazine)
- Top 10 Electric Pickup Trucks (EV Magazine)
Sustainable Aviation
- Virgin Atlantic granted permit for historic 100% sustainable aviation fuel flight (Virgin Group)
- Flying onboard Virgin Atlantic’s Flight100 (Virgin Group)
- Virgin Atlantic successfully flew the first long-haul flight using 100% alternative fuel (Quartz)
- Virgin Atlantic jet lands after maiden transatlantic flight on low-carbon fuel (Reuters)
- Airlines look to sustainable aviation fuel to meet carbon targets (Reuters)
- Wisk Aero’s Self-Flying Air Taxi Completes Its First Public Flight in L.A. (The Robb Report)
- Google Founder Sergey Brin’s Bonkers 400-Foot Airship Has Been Cleared to Hit the Skies (The Robb Report)
- Archer’s eVTOL Has Taken Flight, Setting a Course for a Full-Scale Launch in 2025 (The Robb Report)
- Embraer aircraft successfully complete SAF testing (BioFuels International)
- This Emissions-Free Supersonic Passenger Jet Could Fly At 1,141 MPH (Maxim)
- Wizz Air’s SAF use earns it sustainability award (BioFuels International)
- Putting the ‘S’ into SAF (BioFuels International)
- easyJet signs up to Airbus technology complementing to SAF (BioFuels International)
- Portland’s New Airport Built with Local Tribal Timber is Inherently Fire Resistant and Less Carbon-Intensive (Good News Network)
- The world’s largest aircraft breaks cover in Silicon Valley (TechCrunch)
- Planes, Trains And Climate Change (Forbes)
- 1st Electric VTOL Flight In Florida (CleanTechnica)
- Top 10 Electric Aviation Companies (EV Magazine)
- Elroy Air Autonomous Hybrid Electric VTOL Makes Historic First Flight (Forbes)
- Not A Plane, Not A Boat — And If The Motors Fail This Fast Electric Seaglider Floats (Forbes)
- Boeing selects Pratt & Whitney and Collins to support new NASA sustainable flight test programme (Green Air News)
- Governments gather to seek agreement on a global framework for aviation’s energy transition (Green Air News)
Sustainable Shipping
- Roadmap to a sustainable shipping industry (Sustainable Shipping Initiative)
- HMM accelerates green sailing service with marine biofuel (BioFuels International)
- Maersk Signs its Largest-Ever Green Fuel Deal to Drive Fleet Decarbonization (ESG Today)
Author: Mark Boudreau
Mark is the publisher of Motorsport Prospects. As a former lawyer, he applies his legal background and research skills to assist race drivers by showcasing the resources they need to make their motorsport careers happen.