This might be a long way away, but the media coverage until then should be ever increasing. Alternative fuel will be the star of the show in the first ever round-the-world auto race to focus on “the green.” We’re not talking about money here: The “green” is hybrids, biofuel-powered cars and all the rest, and the race will award US$1 million to what it deems to be the most innovative automotive technology.

The race begins in New York City on Feb. 12, 2008, and ends (of course) 80 days later, at the Eiffel Tower, on May 1. Along the way, race organizers and, especially, the drivers themselves will celebrate non-petroleum sources of auto fuel. The journey will commemorate the centennial of the Greatest Auto Race of 1908, which was devised to showcase that new invention, the automobile. This time, the spotlight is on that new innovation, alternative automobile fuel.

The race will have a Classic division, featuring cars from or before 1969, including muscle cars. That division’s winner gets US$500,000.

Deadline to enter is December 31 of this year, so head on over to Great Race for more info.