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      11-23-2012, 04:21 PM   #1
Jason
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Red face BMW F80 M3 to Run on E85 Ethanol, or So Thinks Its Test Driver. Doh!

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BMW F80 M3 to Run on E85 Ethanol, or So Thinks Its Test Driver. Doh!
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Seeing the 2014 M3 Sedan (F80) in the harsh winter of northern Sweden this time of the year for cold weather testing is no surprise. Nor is seeing the prototype at a gas station being refueled.

But, the type of fuel that this F80 M3 test car was being filled with by its driver was certainly surprising. An astute witness captured these images at a gas station in Kode, Sweden, while witnessing the test driver of the M3 refueling the car with E85 ethanol fuel (a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline).

So, is BMW testing an M3 which is powered by ethanol fuel? Seems unlikely. Human error seems to be the cause as the witness described the seemingly confused test driver first grab the wrong fuel pump handle (blue is for ethanol, green is for regular gasoline in Sweden) and then initially look for the fuel door on the wrong side of the car. The driver may also have mistaken the blue pump handle for regular gasoline because 98 octane gas in Germany (where we assume he's from) is marked by a blue handle.

Another (unlikely) possibility may be that the wrong type of fuel is being filled on purpose in order to test the ill effects of it on the F80 M3 engine - a turbo inline 6.

There was no report on the results of this scene, but if this was truly a mistake, we picture a still confused test driver wondering why the M3 prototype's engine is behaving oddly, running rough, and/or being down on power.

Follow our F80 M3 / F82 M4 coverage and news @ http://www.bimmerpost.com/m3/f30m3/


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