It's not a participation requirement, but that's not stopping some teams who are entered in to upcoming New York to Paris Great Race 2008 from trying to make the trip on ethanol or other renewable fuels or other "new automotive technologies. "There are two classes for vehicles participating in the race: one for classic cars (over 25 years old) racing in the Schuster Cup and the other for vehicles "created to showcase and prove that the latest generation of automotive technologies can meet the needs of a future on the move" in the Innovation Cup. The trip is a recreation of sorts of the 1908 Great Race, pictured above.

So, what do we know about the cars in the Innovation Cup? Not a lot, yet. The full line-up hasn't been decided yet (it will be revealed sometime after the sign-up deadline at the end of this year), but five teams have been confirmed, including a "Ford prototype, 2007 Toyota Highlander and a 2008 Volkswagen Passat, as well as a 2007 Buell Ulysses motorcycle." Admittedly, that's not much to go on, and the website doesn't say what the fifth team is using, but we've got more than a year to learn more.

Related:

• Great Race offers $1 million Innovation Prize, 35,000km renewable energy race

[Source: Great Race]