Spark your engines

摘要

When the traffic wardens start circling it's usually time to move on. But this one came in peace, his eye for an automotive curiosity temporarily tripping the penalty notice instinct. 'Is it electric?' he asked, gesturing toward the illegally parked bright-red Mini. 'Yes,' we replied 'it's a prototype,' and after a bemused peek beneath the bonnet, our impressed-looking warden headed off in search of more conventional prey.rnIt's a reaction that clearly delights the car's developer, James Westcott of London technology firm Synergy Innovations. Westcott explained that one of the main reasons for developing the car, dubbed the E-drive, was to persuade people that electric vehicles don't have to look and feel any different to conventional cars. 'Cars such as the G-Wiz have perpetuated the idea of electric car as milk float,' he said. 'Electric cars don't have to be dinky little roller skates and they don't have to be super cars. This is an everyman's car that people on the street can relate to. It's not a one-off racer or a solar car or a freaky carbon fibre thing, it's just a Mini, and it drives, looks and feels like a Mini.' He added that the project is not associated with BMW, which is currently working on its own electric version of the car, called the Mini-E.