Bentley’s renewably-powered showcase at Goodwood Festival of Speed was opened in dramatic fashion this morning, with the announcement of a new, albeit unofficial, hillclimb record – fastest car with a trailer. A Bentayga EWB, Bentley’s newest flagship, completed the hill climb at speed in just 1 minute 21 seconds – impressive enough, but made even more surprising by the fact it was towing 2.5 tonnes of straw in a specially-prepared Ifor Williams trailer.

Not only has the run set a new Goodwood record – fastest time for a car and trailer - the unofficial run of 1 minute 21 seconds was completed on second-generation renewable fuel, made from agricultural waste straw. As part of Bentley’s ongoing trails into sustainable fuel, all modern Bentleys running on the hillclimb at the Festival of Speed over the next four days are using renewable fuel, meaning an 85 per cent reduction in carbon emissions on a well-to-wheels basis.

For safety reasons, the run was completed ahead of the start of the Festival of Speed, during the build phase of the event, meaning the record time is not official.

The 2.5 tonnes of straw hauled to the top of hill is enough to create 1,100 miles-worth of fuel that the Bentayga EWB and indeed all Bentleys can run on without modification. The second-generation biofuel conforms to the global EN228 standard for gasoline, meaning it’s a straightforward replacement for normal pump fuel.