PRINCE Charles met staff at Ford Dunton on an official visit today.

He delighted the crowds by getting behind the wheel of a prototype Ford Focus.

Ford staff say the car will travel for 70 miles on a gallon of petrol and pumpless carbon into the atmosphere than current models.

The company says the car will emit less than 100 grams of CO2 per kilometre.

Engineers say current models emit on average about 150 grams.

The car could be on sale by 2012.

Prince Charles met engineers and technicians during a 90-minute visit to Ford's Dunton Technical Centre, which opened 40 years ago.

Speaking before the visit, Brian Bennett, Ford Dunton spokesman, said it would be an honour to show the Prince how the plant is at the cutting edge of green automobile technology.

He said: "Ford is delighted His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is marking the 40th anniversary year of Dunton with an official visit.

"His Royal Highness was among the first to champion environmental issues and we are sharing with him a number of the green technologies developed at Dunton that are available in Ford vehicles now or are being engineered for future applications."

Prince Charles was shown around the centre's design studio, which boasts computer-aided modelling, and will also visit its environmental test laboratory, which is a giant weather simulator for testing cars.

It has a rolling road wind tunnel facility, which can simulate freezing weather conditions down to minus 30 degrees celcius and also desert conditions at above 50 degrees.

Such testing would usually be carried out in the Arctic conditions of Scandinavia or the blistering heat of Arizona, but the invention means the cars can be tested right here in Essex without the need to travel to exotic locations, saving valuable money and unnecessary environmental hardships.

The labs can simulate driving speeds of up to 137 miles per hour and can even simulate solar radiation and humidity. They can be used to test anything from aerodynamics, crashes and mileage over various terrains, to noise, vibrations and emissions.

Together with Dunton's sister plant in Merkenich, Germany, the pair have forged the design and development of small and medium cars, and light commercial vehicles, now driven across the world.

Recent research projects include work on developing ultra-low carbon dioxide-emitting engines to go in Fiesta and Fusion cars, and Ford Focus engines which can run on either bio ethanol or petrol.

The plant was first opened by the then Prime Minister Harold Wilson in 1967, with an initial outlay of just £10.5million.

Since then Ford has invested a staggering £5 billion in research and development at the site.

In the 1970s, it splashed out on special surfaces and high-speed test tracks, and expanded its exhaust emissions laboratory to four times its original size following public concerns about air quality.

It also added a computerised four-poster vehicle test rig and a high-speed tyre test facility.

In the Eighties, a driveability test centre and engine-mount durability rig were installed, followed by the climate-controlled research facilities in the Nineties.

In 1992, it was a double celebrations when the centre celebrated its 25th anniversary and also became the headquarters for Ford research operations in the UK.

The centre is now one of Ford's premier research hubs and employs 2,900 people.

Since it was first opened it has grown into the largest automotive research and development centre in the UK.

The centre spans 268 acres and has a plant size alone of 70,000 square metres.

It will be the second time Prince Charles has visited the centre - he first popped along to mark its 30th anniversary, ten years ago.