FUEL TEST- BP ULTIMATE 102 UNLEADED
SERIOUSLY JUICED

Never underestimate the zeal of a true performance enthusiast. We're not talking about the sort of guy who buys the sports coupe that's accumulated the highest rating in a magazine road test. We're talking about the petrolhead who knows how much titanium-forged pistons cost for his car. The guy who can tell you clearly how a raised compression ratio has boosted pick up. Or who can wax lyrical about how the changes to his turbo car's ECU have improved low end torque and top range power. 
These niche group of customers demand the best and for the first time on a UK forecourt, there's now a petrol that satisfies the demand of this clientele - BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded.
The sort of customer who will value BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is the customer who doesn't just own a performance car like a TVR, Aston Martin or a Porsche - this customer is devoted to it.  This is ideal for amateur motor sport enthusiasts who have built a 600bhp Nissan Skyline for weekend high jinks or are off to a race or track day and want a definite performance advantage.  But for everyday driving, whatever the make or model, a more mainstream product like BP Ultimate unleaded or diesel would be the recommended choice.  At 97 RON and 55 cetane respectively, these fuels offer more performance and less pollution than ordinary fuels and are suitable for all cars.  
So the reason why BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is so specialist and why it probably won't benefit you much if you just want to show off at the lights in a Saxo is that in order to get the highest benefit from it, your engine should ideally be 'remapped' to handle it. This involves reprogramming the engine's ECU to cater for the higher octane levels. Obviously this is not a problem for ultra-high performance cars and racing specials (or for cars with automatic mapping systems such as the Ford Focus ST) but it's a little beyond the scope of most weekend warriors - one reason why the fuel is currently only available in a handful of filling stations around the country. 
Produced in small 'hand made' batches at BP's Speciality Fuels Technology Centre in the UK, using the same expertise employed for Formula 1 fuels manufacturing, BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded has the highest octane rating available on any forecourt in the UK. That's something to chew on.
In independent tests with a range of high performance cars, BP found that Ultimate 102 Unleaded outperformed their Ultimate Unleaded 97 fuel by between 4 and 7.5 per cent when ignitions were remapped.  That may not sound a huge improvement but when the difference between first and last place on a Formula One grid is less than 7 per cent, it can be the difference between a podium and a procession. Not only that, with the boost pressure also optimised, one vehicle gave increases as high as 60 bhp in some parts of the speed range
In fact, BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded isn't too far off the fuels that BP supplies to Formula 1. Unlike other 'high octane' fuels such as Tesco 99, BP's fuel doesn't go for the quick fix of adding five per cent ethanol to boost octane. Comparing the two fuels is rather like comparing a Formula One car to a Touring car. One is a vastly more sophisticated and higher specification product.
This fuel is also bound to be popular with owners of high-end sports bikes, having been shown to evaporate faster and more completely in the engine, leading to better combustion in high revving engines. Certainly then, BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded is no ordinary petrol. It even looks different - it's crystal clear. And it's obvious why - BP Ultimate 102 Unleaded contains less than 0.1 per cent benzene, it's the only automotive petrol not classed as carcinogenic. 
For true performance enthusiasts then, here is a fuel that is even better than the legendary Japanese and Continental blends. If you're chasing big horsepower figures, visit www.bpultimate.co.uk and find out where to get an appreciable edge.