The bright orange Mercedes 300D appropriately named “Vegi-1” will give petrol stations a miss throughout the 2008 Variety Bash and will instead refuel using waste vegetable oil from local fish and chip shops along the way.

Andrew Chaney, managing director of green product manufacturer ‘Orange Power’, said using vegetable oil as fuel was a much cleaner and cheaper alternative to petrol.

“We’ll be using waste vegetable oil from local takeaways, RSL’s and sporting clubs in the towns we stop in so there’ll be very little cost involved in refuelling,” he said.

“The car has a diesel engine that has been converted to run on vegetable oil and a little of our Orange Oil, which is a lot more environmentally responsible than fossil fuels.

“Variety is a great cause and to be able to add some eco-credentials to the 2008 bash in the form of a car that uses a carbon neutral fuel will hopefully help in raising more awareness of their work.”

The boys will bring Vegi-1 within half an hour of Inverell when they roll through Moree on the 2008 Bash, but unfortunately due to the tough competition they won’t be able to make a stop in Inverell.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun but unfortunately we can’t stop through home on the way,” he said.

“But we’re hoping a lot of locals show up to cheer on the Inverell lads as we go screaming past in a car that will smell a lot like fish and chips.

“We’ll hopefully be able to bring Vegi-1 through Inverell some time after the bash.”

Orange Powers’ “Vegi-1” will pass through Moree on 16 August and will stop to refuel at the Moree Tourism Centre where staff have collected waste vegetable oil from various takeaway shops around town.

The 2008 Variety Bash runs from August 14-23, starting in Melbourne and concluding in Yeppoon in central Queensland.