LPG Falcon rounds Oz

FORD’S LPG Challenge returned to Melbourne at 3:15pm last Friday (August 25) after driving more than 13,950km around Australia and spending only $997.55 on fuel – about half what a large petrol-powered sedan would have cost – by filling up solely on LPG.

The LPG Challenge left Melbourne on August 3 in a BF Fairmont with the aim of proving the economical benefits of LPG fuel and its availability around the country.

The Fairmont returned a total average fuel consumption figure of 10.2L/100km.

"Australians are constantly worrying about fuel prices and there has been a lot of talk about a movement from large cars into smaller vehicles," said Ford Australia president Tom Gorman.

"We wanted to show Australians that you can have all the performance and package benefits of a large car while enjoying the refuelling costs of a much smaller car.

"The difference in LPG prices versus petrol around the country allowed us to complete our trip around Australia for less than $1000. A similar trip in a petrol vehicle would have cost approximately twice that amount.

"We also wanted to prove that concerns about the ability to access LPG outside major metropolitan cities are unfounded and that it is possible to drive the whole way around mainland Australia and fill up only on LPG.

"The LPG Challenge team has now travelled a full lap of mainland Australia – more than 13,950km – and has filled up only on LPG at service stations around the country. This includes areas as remote as Port Hedland in Western Australia, Kununurra and Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory and Mt Isa in Queensland," said Mr Gorman.

Ford V8 Supercar drivers Russell Ingall, Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney, Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes, Dick Johnson, Dale Brede and Jason Bright each had a turn behind the wheel of the Fairmont.

The drive following a route from Melbourne to Adelaide, across to Perth, north to Broome, east to Kununurra and Darwin, south to Tennant Creek and then east again to Mt Isa and over to Townsville.

From Townsville, the Challenge continued its southward journey into Rockhampton and Brisbane before heading inland to Tamworth and Dubbo before heading back to the coast and Sydney. From Sydney the Challenge stopped in Canberra, before its final leg to Albury and Melbourne.