Prince Albert drives £1.2 million eco race car through streets of Monaco

Prince Albert of Monaco went full throttle for hydrogen-powered fuel in Monaco on Monday, getting behind the wheel of Extreme H’s prototype hydrogen-powered race car.

The Monegasque royal, who is a five-time Olympian as a bobsleigh pilot, switched the icy bobsled track for tarmac as he drove the single-seater racing car, 'the Pioneer 25', down from the Prince’s Palace of Monaco to the Hotel Hermitage.

Following the eco-enthusiasm of King Charles, the royal is a passionate advocate for environmental sustainability, and chose to drive the £1.2 million supercar as a historic demonstration of hydrogen's potential to revolutionise clean mobility.

Emphasising his dedication to advancing renewable energy solutions, Prince Albert II explained: "Hydrogen represents an important pathway to a sustainable future, offering solutions to reduce emissions across multiple sectors.

"It was my pleasure to be one of the first to try out this remarkable race car, here in Monaco, a country proud to host the most iconic racing across Formula One and Formula E. As Extreme H showcases, innovation in motorsport can be a driving force for global progress, inspiring action far beyond the racetrack."

Extreme H’s Pioneer 25 race car is proof that sustainability doesn't compromise speed, making a case for a cleaner, more sustainable motorsport future.

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Eco motor cars

Prince Albert isn't the only royal with a penchant for climate-conscious vehicles. King Charles' beloved Aston Martin, gifted to him on his 21st birthday by his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, uses a combination of English white wine and whey from cheese as a form of fuel.

The British monarch has driven his beloved Aston Martin for over five decades, and sought a more sustainable fuel source in a bid to be more environmentally conscious about his methods of travel.

Charles asked Aston Martin himself to make the change but was met with some resistance from engineers who were left convinced the car would be "ruined" with a bioethanol fuel.

"The engineers at Aston said, 'Oh, it’ll ruin the whole thing,'" Charles told The Telegraph in 2018. "I said, 'Well I won’t drive it then,' so they got on with it and now they admit that it runs better and is more powerful on that fuel than it is on petrol.

"And also, it smells delicious as you’re driving along," he added.