Enlarge imageSome of the latest and sexiest green cars were driven today along The Mall, against the backdrop of Buckingham Palace, by a range of celebrities.
The Start Eco Car Spectacular was a high profile and fun way to show green cars to the people of London. The gasps from the crowd at the incredible acceleration of the Tesla Roadsters certainly outweighed any noise from the cars themselves, and you could overhear many people in the crowd carrying out an immediate re-consideration of their views about electric cars - which was the whole point of the event.
The Start Eco Car Spectacular was part of HRH The Prince of Wales' sustainability initiative 'Start', which is presenting positive steps to leading a sustainable lifestyle.
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Mulberry founder and Sharpham Park organic food brand owner Roger Saul together with Grand Design's presenter Kevin McCloud were the key people responsible for having the vision behind this event and making it happen.Vehicles taking part included the electric Citroen Survolt racing car - certainly one of the main crowd-pleasers - the Westfield iRACER, the Ginetta G50 EV prototype, and the electric Lightning GT, which is a new British creation currently in development.
Some of the current crop of electric vehicles that are either in production or close to production were also on show, including the Renault Fluence, Mitsubishi i-MiEV, Think City and Smart fortwo. There were also electric motorbikes and scooters, along with very bizarre-looking ultra-low emission Shell eco-marathon cars.
James Caan, from Dragon's Den, drove a TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster across the line to complete its round the world journey (he didn't actually drive it all the way round the world). James recently invested in Peel Engineering, the company which produced the Peel P50, the smallest car of all time (as demonstrated when Jeremy Clarkson drove one through the BBC offices, including via the lifts).
Other personalities taking part in the event included Sir Stirling Moss, Quentin Willson, Lisa Rogers, Robert Llewellyn, Gabi Roslin, Dame Ellen Macarthur, and the former 'Stig' from Top Gear - Perry McCarthy.
As well as a static display and a moving parade, there was also a prizegiving ceremony. The presentation was led by Roger Saul and Kevin McCloud, with help from individuals such as Sir Stuart Rose, Marks & Spencer Chairman. It turned out that no-one seemed to quite know who had won what, but Kevin McCloud ad-libbed in such a highly entertaining way that it didn't really matter. So we're still not too sure who won the actual individual prizes - which were composed of bits of waste metal from Roger Saul's farm - but the winners certainly included Citroen for its Survolt electric racing car, Tesla and TAG Heuer for their round-the-world exploits, and Mitsubishi for the i-MiEV.
EV Cup was a key sponsor of the event, which is the world's first racing series based totally around zero emission electric vehicles. EV Cup events will feature three different sectors of cars - City, Sports and Prototypes - and the new series is scheduled to have cars racing in 2011.
'Start' forms part of The Prince of Wales', 'A Garden Party to Make A Difference', an event lasting twelve days from 8th - 19th September that promotes and celebrates sustainable living.
For more information on the Eco Car Spectacular, visit www.startecocars.com
Event organisation was by Caroline Whitmey, and it appears that there would have been lots of organisation required for this event, especially as cars and celebrities were likely to have been changing like mad at the last minute.
See our Start Eco Car Spectacular photo gallery below.
Paul Clarke
Citroen being presented with an award for the Survolt by Kevin McCloud and Sir Stuart Rose
Lisa Rogers, having (only just) managed to escape out of the cockpit of the Westfield iRACER
Why walk, when you can hitch a zero-emission lift on a Tesla driven by Sir Stuart Rose
Kevin McCloud itching to burn rubber down The Mall to beat Roger Saul in the Citroen Survolt
Kevin McCloud pilots the Westfield iRACER
Hopefully the Westfield's rollover bar won't be tested today by Kevin McCloud
Citroen Survolt racing car about to race at the regulated 30 mph down The Mall...
Gabi Roslin taking a spin in one of the many Tesla Roadsters at the event
The awesome electric Westfield iRACER
Dame Ellen Macarthur extolling the virtues of the new electric Renault Fluence
The new Tazzari ZERO electric car only arrived in the UK from Italy on the morning of the event...
One of the first times on British roads for the new Renault Fluence ZE
Mitsubishi i-MiEV - on sale in the UK soon
The THINK City - this is the EV Cup edition - yes it's a stripped-out electric racing car
Smart fortwo electric drive
Ginetta G50 EV two-seater sports car
Lightning GT, a new British electric sports car almost ready for production
Kevin McCloud was overheard asking whether we have to have so much fun at eco car events...
The view that most people will get of the Citroen Survolt
Keywords: Start Eco Car Spectacular, HRH The Prince of Wales' sustainability initiative 'Start', Mulberry founder Roger Saul, Grand Design's Kevin McCloud, James Caan, Dragon's Den, TAG Heuer Tesla Roadster, Citroen Survolt
