Electric Cars, Top Gear and Lincoln

Lunch time today took a completely different turn to what I’d planned when I got a text message to say there had been sightings of the Top Gear crew in Lincoln.  I was on my way out of the office anyway (this was 1pm) so I thought I’d go and see if I could find them.  Well I didn’t have to walk far… a few metres from the door and I’d found them – just the other side of the level crossing.

It transpired that the three presenters were road testing electric cars, and had planned on passing Lincoln by until they realised they were nearly out of juice – so they went to the council offices to ask if there was anywhere to charge.  Nope!  Eventually Jeremy in his Nissan Leaf ran out of wiggly amps outside the Lincolnshire Echo offices on the Brayford.  Did anyone have any spare electricity?  The Echo didn’t (although they had a tow rope), the British Heart Foundation didn’t, the Marina gates were locked… who came to the rescue with an extension lead?  The University 🙂

So James May and some onlookers pushed Jeremy onto campus, and eventually all the way to the main entrance… although the car wouldn’t fit through the doors.  James then went and got his Peugeot iOn to join him.  When I left the building (lunch break being over) the two cars were sat plugged into extension leads – one into the University Reception and the other into the University Shop.  Knowing it would take hours and hours for the cars to charge, Jeremy and James spent the afternoon in Lincoln – Prezzo and the Castle being on their whistle stop tour.

I did hear someone say that Richard Hammond was supposed to be there but hadn’t made it yet… maybe he ran out of leccy somewhere else?

Obviously we won’t know the full story until the edited programme is aired in June or July (it will be part of the new series coming soon), but let’s hope Lincoln features at least a little bit, and not just because we don’t have any electric car charging stations in the city (or county).