VW Scirocco CNG

As if completing a 24-hr endurance race wasn't hard enough, VW has set itself an additional challenge for the 2009 Nurburgring event in May. The German firm will be fielding two factory-prepared Sciroccos powered not by petrol, but by natural gas (CNG).

Called the GT24-CNG, the car uses a fettled version of the standard car's 2.0-litre turbocharged engine producing around 300bhp and 350Nm of torque, thanks mainly to CNG's much higher octane rating of 130. The car will retain the road car's front-wheel drive layout and six-speed DSG 'box, too.

However, CNG's inferior energy density to petrol, which means it can't go as far on a single tank of fuel, could prove a problem in endurance racing. But it does mean a the GT24-CNG will produce around 25 per cent less CO2 than the standard GT24 race car.

Luckily the GT24-CNG will be in safe hands. John Barker from our sister-title Evo has been given the honour of driving the car for its debut 24-hr race in May.