Driving the future

Interesting day. I'm one of the judges for the Professional Driver Car of the Year Awards, and we spent today driving and assessing a variety of cars from an event based at Sandown Race Course in Surrey.

How about this? Is it a model car I'm holding? Well yes, but also much more than that. Would you believe that this is actually a car key, to operate a Tesla electric car? Press the roof of the little car fob, and the real car opens. Press the fob's tiny tail, and the real bootlid swings upwards, and likewise the bonnet when you squeeze the front of the fob. Brilliant.

What a stunning car the Tesla is. It drives silkily and performs powerfully, with a 130 mph top speed and 0-62 mph in a Ferrari-like 4.2 seconds, but no engine and with a range between charges of around 300 miles. The entire floor of the car is one huge battery pack. Don't all rush, though. The starting price for the Tesla Model S range is around £50,000, and the Performance Plus one we drove today sees no change from £75,000.