1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,000 This is a model of KITT, 2 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,320 from the 1980s TV series Knight Rider with the Hoff. 3 00:00:06,360 --> 00:00:11,960 And this is the 1966 jet-powered Batmobile. 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:14,200 The fantasy cars of TV and cinema 5 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,200 were formed by our dreams of the car of the future. 6 00:00:18,240 --> 00:00:20,840 We liked the idea of a car that would talk to us, 7 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,120 that knew where it was going, that would fly 8 00:00:23,160 --> 00:00:26,200 and we wondered if it could actually drive itself. 9 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:28,760 Did anything come of the wild imaginings 10 00:00:28,800 --> 00:00:30,760 of the creators of these things? 11 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,760 Did any of it become reality to filter down 12 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:37,000 to the real cars of the people? 13 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,320 'This week, before I deal with the people's dreams, 14 00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:51,800 'I want to start by talking about me for a change.' 15 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,200 This is a BMW i3, an electric car. 16 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:58,400 It's my car. 17 00:01:01,840 --> 00:01:04,840 If you haven't driven a modern electric car, it is worth a go, 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:09,000 because it's mainly like driving a car, there's no gearbox, 19 00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:11,520 because you don't need one and some of the controls 20 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,480 are slightly different, but it does feel strangely enlightened. 21 00:01:17,320 --> 00:01:19,520 This car, like many of its rivals, 22 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,200 is bristling with user-friendly hi-tech. 23 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:28,360 And like all other electric cars, it's powered by a simple battery, 24 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,520 without the need for valves, pistons or gears. 25 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:33,520 26 00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:35,880 You plug it in, and you plug in everything these days - 27 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,000 your phone, your tablet, your toothbrush. 28 00:01:39,040 --> 00:01:41,600 Your ladyshave, whatever. 29 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:46,960 I don't have a ladyshave, I just know that you recharge them. 30 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:48,640 KNIGHT RIDER THEME TUNE 31 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,240 'It's simple, yet sophisticated. 32 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:53,160 'It'll even park itself... 33 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,040 'while I'm doing my legs.' 34 00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,200 I'm not touching the pedals. I'm not touching the steering wheel. 35 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:02,440 It's doing it by itself! 36 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:03,520 It's witchcraft! 37 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,640 Are you watching? 38 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:10,280 It's just going to go forwards a bit and then... 39 00:02:10,320 --> 00:02:11,440 Ah. TONE 40 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:13,880 It's good, isn't it? 41 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,760 'Electric vehicles like this are at the forefront 42 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:20,160 'of a 21st-century battle 43 00:02:20,200 --> 00:02:23,520 'to decide how our cars will be powered in the future. 44 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,760 'And although rivals include the fuel cells, solar energy, 45 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:30,760 'biofuel and liquid gas, I quite fancy its chances.' 46 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,560 It's electric. 47 00:02:32,600 --> 00:02:35,880 Smooth, quiet, clean. 48 00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:37,360 Modern. 49 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:40,520 Or is it? 50 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,440 Let's go back 100 years or so. 51 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:51,400 Here is an early car from 1909. It's a Baker. 52 00:02:51,440 --> 00:02:53,640 It looks a bit like a horse-drawn carriage 53 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,600 and, if you look inside the interior, 54 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:00,240 it's described by the current owner as a bit frou-frou, 55 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:03,120 or rather like a Victorian brothel. 56 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:06,160 But here's the interesting thing - 57 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:07,400 it's electric. 58 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:12,480 We modern people like to think that our electric dreams 59 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,600 are a product of our hi-tech world. 60 00:03:15,640 --> 00:03:18,800 But in large parts of America in 1900, 61 00:03:18,840 --> 00:03:22,160 the electric car was the bestselling car of the people. 62 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:24,400 It was as fashionable as top hats... 63 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:25,600 and TB. 64 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,960 'But, just like today, it wasn't clear which propulsion method 65 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,720 'would drive the car of the future. 66 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,840 'And the electric car faced some high-pressure competition.' 67 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:41,400 This is a Stanley Model 740D Roadster, 68 00:03:41,440 --> 00:03:44,840 and as you can probably guess from the chuffing sound, 69 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,000 it's steam-powered. 70 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:48,760 Right, now this is like a car, 71 00:03:48,800 --> 00:03:50,920 in that it has a steering wheel in front of me, 72 00:03:50,960 --> 00:03:52,960 a rather vague one, I've got to be honest. 73 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,520 Everything else about it is quite baffling. 74 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:58,160 The pedals are all wrong, there's lots of lovely instruments, 75 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:00,400 but they're talking about mysterious things. 76 00:04:00,440 --> 00:04:03,320 We've got fuel system pressure, boiler pressure, 77 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:06,880 cylinder lubrication, oil flow, all sorts of things. 78 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,200 Hang on a minute, open the regulator. 79 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:10,320 Climb this hill. 80 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:17,200 So all this stuff, this isn't steam punk, this is actually steam. 81 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,160 Duba-duba-duba-duba, duba-duba-duba-duba... 82 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,520 A steam car works in pretty much the same way as any other steam engine. 83 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,840 Water is boiled in, well, a boiler, by kerosene burners and then steam - 84 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,160 and I mean proper, superheated steam at 300 degrees plus, 85 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:40,600 not the poncey vapour that comes out of your kettle - 86 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:44,120 that is forced into cylinders, where it pushes pistons along. 87 00:04:44,160 --> 00:04:46,640 That then turns a shaft, which drives the wheels. 88 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,720 That's all we've ever wanted out of all these sources of motive power, 89 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:52,520 a rotating shaft. That's it. 90 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,280 The brakes don't work, the steering is terrible, 91 00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:57,400 and you do worry that it's going to blow up. 92 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,040 But, for the people of the early 20th century, 93 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,520 steam power was a trusted friend. 94 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,400 Steam had been around since the 18th century, it had industrialised us, 95 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,000 it powered mill engines and mine pumps and, of course, 96 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,080 it gave us the miracle of the railways. 97 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,120 Steam was understood. 98 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:21,320 A steam engine will really run on just about anything that will burn. 99 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:24,160 They can go very, very wrong and become very, very sloppy 100 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:25,960 and they still work. 101 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,880 Steam power, it seemed, was not only the past but also the future. 102 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:34,960 In America, sales began to outstrip electric cars. 103 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:38,600 But coming up fast in their rear-view mirrors was a rival system 104 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:41,480 destined to rule the world. 105 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:43,880 ROCK MUSIC 106 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,640 This is a Mercedes-Benz AMG DT. 107 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,560 It has a four litre V8, developing 510 horsepower. 108 00:05:54,600 --> 00:05:57,120 Is that a lot? It is quite a lot, actually. 109 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,520 It does 193mph, 110 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:06,080 goes from 0 to 60 in under four seconds. It's amazing. 111 00:06:06,120 --> 00:06:08,080 And it runs on petrol. 112 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:11,440 As indeed did the world's first true car. 113 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:15,600 Back in 1885, when Karl Benz ran the engine of his Motorwagen 114 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,320 for the first time, he described the sound it made 115 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:20,560 as "the music of the future." 116 00:06:22,120 --> 00:06:23,280 He was right, wasn't he? 117 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,280 Because if the music of the 20th century has a dominant note, 118 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,120 it's that of the internal combustion engine. 119 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:31,280 'And that's odd, 120 00:06:31,320 --> 00:06:35,880 'because the internal combustion engine is rather demanding.' 121 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,240 The petrol engine in this car has to have sophisticated electronics, 122 00:06:39,280 --> 00:06:42,560 it has to have an oil pump, it has to have lubrication, 123 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:44,960 it has to have valves going up and down and springs 124 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,200 and it has to have a gearbox, blah, blah, blah. 125 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:51,520 So, why? Why have we ended up relying so much on this thing 126 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,840 when an electric motor in particular is so simple? 127 00:06:56,240 --> 00:06:59,000 The answer is not to be found in the engine, 128 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,680 but at the other end of the car. 129 00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:06,080 In here is a petrol tank holding around 80, 85 litres of fuel. 130 00:07:06,120 --> 00:07:07,840 Not a very big volume, to be honest. 131 00:07:07,880 --> 00:07:10,400 That much beer would only keep the production crew 132 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:13,520 of this programme going for about an hour and a half, two hours. 133 00:07:13,560 --> 00:07:16,960 But as petrol, it will drive this high-performance car 134 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:18,840 all the way from my house in London 135 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,080 right up into the Highlands of Scotland. 136 00:07:21,120 --> 00:07:23,200 That is very energy dense. 137 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,960 Fossil fuels were a great gift from nature. 138 00:07:26,000 --> 00:07:27,320 If that were to be a battery, 139 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,600 it would have to be about three or four times the size of the car 140 00:07:30,640 --> 00:07:31,920 to do the same job. 141 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,800 The energy that a few gallons of oil can yield 142 00:07:35,840 --> 00:07:38,360 would send cars far across the world. 143 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:42,320 And filling stations were quick to spring up everywhere. 144 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,120 By contrast, national electricity grids simply didn't exist, 145 00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:49,160 leaving the electric car confined to the city. 146 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:53,720 But what about the people's favourite, steam? 147 00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:58,600 Railways had conquered the globe. Surely the steam car would prevail. 148 00:07:58,640 --> 00:08:00,680 The steam car of the early 20th century 149 00:08:00,720 --> 00:08:02,480 was doomed by several factors. 150 00:08:02,520 --> 00:08:05,960 Ford's moving production line meant that his Model T, 151 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,640 his car for the great multitude, came down in price constantly, 152 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:12,720 so by the time this car came out, the Model T could be yours 153 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:15,120 for not much more than a 10th of the price. 154 00:08:15,160 --> 00:08:16,320 And the Model T, of course, 155 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,040 as well as making the car an affordable proposition, 156 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,440 also cemented internal combustion as the accepted way. 157 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:25,920 Pish. 158 00:08:25,960 --> 00:08:27,800 Infrastructure, economics 159 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,120 and Ford's mass production methods, then, 160 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,360 would decisively tip the balance. 161 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,480 By the 1920s, the battle was as good as settled. 162 00:08:35,520 --> 00:08:39,880 The petrol age had dawned and its god was the piston engine. 163 00:08:41,640 --> 00:08:43,960 Clean or not, oil had got us hooked 164 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:46,160 and had given us the mobility we craved. 165 00:08:47,760 --> 00:08:51,200 And, while engines slowly grew more powerful and reliable, 166 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:55,240 the car itself became a catalyst for rapid change. 167 00:08:55,280 --> 00:08:59,640 Towns, cities, even nations were built around its requirements. 168 00:08:59,680 --> 00:09:02,000 COMMENTATOR: Roads are getting better. 169 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:05,840 Many highways have been designed that eliminate dangers and delays. 170 00:09:05,880 --> 00:09:09,320 But, by the early '50s, there was a new kid on the block, 171 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,080 leaving the piston engine trailing wistfully in its slipstream. 172 00:09:14,240 --> 00:09:15,560 Welcome... 173 00:09:15,600 --> 00:09:17,160 to the jet age. 174 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:18,960 PLANE ROARS 175 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:22,440 MUSIC: Richard III by Supergrass 176 00:09:25,840 --> 00:09:30,120 The jet engine would advance aviation in one giant leap. 177 00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:34,600 But no-one would be daft enough to suggest a jet-powered car. 178 00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,400 ENGINE WHOOSHES 179 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:39,160 This must be one of the world's rarest cars. I think it is. 180 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:42,080 Certainly one of the world's rarest production cars. I think it is. 181 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,360 ENGINE WHOOSHES It's a great noise though, isn't it? 182 00:09:44,400 --> 00:09:47,560 It must have seemed very futuristic then. It still does. 183 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,200 MUSIC: Apache by The Shadows 184 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,840 'This is the world's last working example 185 00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,720 'of the Chrysler turbine car. 186 00:09:54,760 --> 00:09:56,600 'And, if you haven't already guessed, 187 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,040 'it belongs to the superstar comedian Jay Leno.' 188 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,200 The car is 100% original. 189 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,400 Most jet cars of the period, 190 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,040 like, General Motors had two or three jet cars, 191 00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:11,280 and they had the bubble top. And they looked like fighter planes. 192 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:16,560 'The car works by sucking in air to mix with a fine spray of fuel, 193 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,880 'which, when ignited, drives a turbine, 194 00:10:18,920 --> 00:10:21,200 'sending power to the wheels. 195 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:23,920 'Only 55 were ever built.' 196 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,160 I mean, this does look outrageous to us now, 197 00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:30,280 because this is a bit of very flamboyant 1960s American design. 198 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:31,920 Yeah. But this would have been 199 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,160 a mainstream-looking car, wouldn't it? Sure, yeah. 200 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,480 You could have built this car with a V8 engine 201 00:10:36,520 --> 00:10:37,920 and it would have sold. Yeah. 202 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:40,720 They weren't trying to propose that the gas turbine car 203 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,840 was an exotic, rarefied supercar or anything like that. 204 00:10:43,880 --> 00:10:47,040 It was going to be the way your normal family car was powered. 205 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:49,200 Right. That was the idea, wasn't it? 206 00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,120 'I'm desperate to see under the bonnet 207 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:58,560 'and to soften Jay up, so that he lets me drive it.' 208 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:01,440 Here she is. This is all air filter right here. 209 00:11:01,480 --> 00:11:05,280 This is what keeps it quiet. They're massive things. Yeah. They are huge. 210 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,840 Well, the programme ran for a long time. It started in the early '50s. 211 00:11:08,880 --> 00:11:12,400 And in '54, they drove a turbine car, disguised as a regular car, 212 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,280 across the country. So the idea was to come up with something 213 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:17,080 that could get the job done 214 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:18,680 and still be reasonably, er... 215 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:21,560 ..sensible in price. 216 00:11:21,600 --> 00:11:23,840 'The turbine, however, could not compete 217 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:26,520 'with the cheap and reliable piston engine.' 218 00:11:26,560 --> 00:11:30,680 This was hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars more. 219 00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:33,880 And plus, the V8 had been... 220 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:35,200 pretty much perfected. 221 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:38,160 It is interesting actually, the V8 engine, well, the piston engine, 222 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,840 is actually a bit like the burger, cos you have other... 223 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,720 We started to eat Japanese food in Britain and America. 224 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:45,240 And we had Chinese food 225 00:11:45,280 --> 00:11:47,280 and we experimented with Indian and wholemeal. 226 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,880 But the burger doesn't go away, doesn't it? No. There's still 227 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,800 millions of burgers every day. You'll always have the burger. Yeah. 228 00:11:52,840 --> 00:11:54,800 The V8 is a burger. 229 00:11:54,840 --> 00:11:56,840 With cheese. 230 00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:59,280 'Now that I've managed to subtly shift Jay's attention 231 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,240 'onto the best baps in LA, it's time to hit him with the big one.' 232 00:12:03,280 --> 00:12:06,320 This is a question one man shouldn't ask another, 233 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:08,120 I know, but... 234 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,960 can I have a go in your turbine car? 235 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:13,000 It's a bit unorthodox, but... 236 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:15,360 ..I guess it'll be OK. Thanks. 237 00:12:15,400 --> 00:12:17,560 Thanks, buddy. We won't tell anybody. 238 00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,600 Right, quick situation report. 239 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:25,760 I'm doing 3,300rpm. 240 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:27,680 No, 33,000. Sorry, 33,000. 241 00:12:27,720 --> 00:12:30,040 It's difficult to get your head round, isn't it? 242 00:12:30,080 --> 00:12:31,760 Listen to that! Yeah. 243 00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,200 The great advantage to this car was it could run on any fuel 244 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:38,680 that burned with oxygen. 245 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:41,480 But when they took it to Mexico, they ran it on tequila. 246 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:42,720 When they took it to France, 247 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:44,680 they filled the tank with Chanel No.5. 248 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:45,720 Quite pleasant driving around. 249 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,720 The disadvantage was the turbine could not run on lead, 250 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:51,360 so you couldn't fill it up at the normal gas station, 251 00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:54,280 cos the only gas available in America at the time was leaded gas. 252 00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:57,240 Right, so the only thing it couldn't tolerate was the lead? Right. 253 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,280 Cos that would damage the blade. That's a shame. 254 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:01,960 It's one of those things that, 255 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:05,520 given a few slight tweaks to history, 256 00:13:05,560 --> 00:13:06,760 it might have worked. 257 00:13:06,800 --> 00:13:09,560 We might all have been driving something like turbine cars. Yeah. 258 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:12,440 MUSIC: Tequila by The Champs 259 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,000 So, like the early electric car, 260 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,760 thwarted by an electricity grid that wasn't there, 261 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:24,240 the turbine car came just too soon for the advent of unleaded petrol. 262 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:29,320 In the end, Chrysler recalled and crushed 263 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,480 almost all of these experimental cars. 264 00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:34,400 265 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:38,920 But surely innovation would be the way to go? 266 00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:43,200 Especially for carmakers facing slow-off-the-mark competitors. 267 00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,440 There now follows a tale of two sports car makers - 268 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,280 British and German. 269 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:52,200 One of them would plug away bloody-mindedly at outmoded ideas 270 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:55,400 about car design from the middle of the 20th century 271 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,200 and keep redesigning the same basic car over and over again 272 00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:01,560 for decade after decade. 273 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,800 But the other, the other one was an innovator, 274 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,160 experimenting with new materials, lightweight design, 275 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:10,840 flexible, small volume manufacturing. 276 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,600 It would develop compact, powerful engines of its own 277 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,080 and push at the boundaries of contemporary styling 278 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,560 and even contemporary colour schemes. 279 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:20,720 'One would go on to greatness. 280 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,480 'The other would disappear. 281 00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:24,680 'And you can probably guess how this goes.' 282 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:26,000 Or can you? 283 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:27,560 Because the radical freethinkers 284 00:14:27,600 --> 00:14:29,760 were TVR of Blackpool. 285 00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:31,840 And the stuck-ists were Porsche. 286 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:39,120 It's in 1963 that things become interesting, 287 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:41,480 because that's when Porsche revealed this - 288 00:14:41,520 --> 00:14:43,360 the first of the 911s. 289 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,200 Now, Porsche would go on to make many different cars, of course, 290 00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:52,400 but this is the one that would cement their reputation 291 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:54,800 over five decades and counting. 292 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:01,440 'For a new sports car, the 911 was already pretty old-fashioned. 293 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:04,080 'Not least the air-cooled rear-mounted engine - 294 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,600 'a layout that dated back to the 1930s.' 295 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:10,240 This was thought to be the right way to do it. 296 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,960 Engine at the back, so the drivetrain is simple. 297 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,760 Nice, a lot of space inside 298 00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:16,640 and a more aerodynamic nose. 299 00:15:16,680 --> 00:15:18,640 This layout is also... 300 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:20,440 What would be the right word? 301 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:21,960 Er, wrong. 302 00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:24,960 Because the engine is right at the back, behind the rear wheels, 303 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:27,840 it acts as a sort of pendulum when you're going around bends. 304 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:32,320 This is at the root of the 911's reputation for handling trickiness. 305 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:33,920 TYRES SQUEAL 306 00:15:33,960 --> 00:15:37,080 'But what about the boy racers from Blackpool?' 307 00:15:39,640 --> 00:15:42,520 This is a 1965 TVR Griffith. 308 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,280 I know what you're thinking - 309 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:46,920 you're thinking, "Here he goes again! 310 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:48,360 "He's going to kick the wheels off 311 00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:50,480 "another great British motoring institution." 312 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:52,240 But no. 313 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:53,800 I liked TVR. 314 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,200 TVR are a bit left-field. 315 00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:59,120 TVR were a laugh. 316 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,560 But, look, we're in the same year. 317 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,360 Porsche has given us a rather archaic and very expensive car 318 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:09,880 that does 131mph 319 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,920 and takes over eight seconds to get to 60. 320 00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:16,080 The TVR does 160mph. 321 00:16:16,120 --> 00:16:19,240 It gets to 60 in less than half the time 322 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:20,680 and it costs less. 323 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,320 'TVR were all about new thinking, new design 324 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,640 'and affordable power and performance. 325 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:31,440 'Their aim was to appeal directly 326 00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:33,680 'to the young male driver of the time. 327 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:35,440 'Cars were certainly thrilling, 328 00:16:35,480 --> 00:16:39,320 'but TVR would be in a permanent state of revolution. 329 00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:42,840 'There was the Tasmin, the 400, the Griffith, the Cerbera, 330 00:16:42,880 --> 00:16:46,040 'the Tuscan and the outrageous Sagaris. 331 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,160 'Models came thick and fast, 332 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,120 'costing the company a fortune in start-up costs.' 333 00:16:54,160 --> 00:16:56,480 Meanwhile, boring old Porsche 334 00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,560 just continue to make the 911. 335 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,640 I mean, the wheel arches swelled a bit, 336 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:04,440 the engine got a bit bigger, but nothing really changed. 337 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,760 It took them until 1987 338 00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:09,960 to fit a decent gearbox, for Pete's sake. 339 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:12,800 This one, in the 1964 car... 340 00:17:12,840 --> 00:17:15,920 is rubbish. And I mean rubbish. 341 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:17,960 I can't even find it half the time. 342 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:23,640 'Finally, in 1993, it was completely restyled. 343 00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,040 'But it came out looking exactly like a 911, 344 00:17:27,080 --> 00:17:29,480 'with the engine at the back.' 345 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:31,880 I mean, this has been going on for decades. 346 00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:35,040 Other people have realised the folly of the rear-engined car 347 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,360 and thought, "No, actually, we were wrong about that. 348 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,400 "It needs to be in the middle or at the front." 349 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:40,600 But Porsche would just go, 350 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,000 IN GERMAN ACCENT: "Nein, nein. 351 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:43,320 "Nein, should be at the back. 352 00:17:43,360 --> 00:17:45,040 "We will stick with it and make it work." 353 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,280 And they have done, all credit to them, 354 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:48,400 but why not just... 355 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:50,920 ..put it up there! 356 00:17:55,000 --> 00:17:57,160 'TVR may have had the engine right, 357 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,400 'but that was the only part of the business plan that worked. 358 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:03,480 'The constant chopping and changing lead to confusion, 359 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:07,600 'profit warnings and a string of failed attempts to revive the name. 360 00:18:07,640 --> 00:18:10,000 'The result was chaos.' 361 00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,400 TVR folklore is a bit too good to check, to be honest. 362 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:16,760 It includes stories about windows falling out, 363 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:21,600 about the owner's dogs taking a bite out of a polystyrene styling model 364 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:24,800 and then the results being incorporated in the final car. 365 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:27,960 And then there's the one about the workforce scrawling rude messages 366 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,880 about each other on the bare glass fibre body works on the inside. 367 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,800 So that, one day, when the car came to be repaired or restored, 368 00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,360 you'd take a piece of trim off and then, yes, 369 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:40,440 you'd discovered that Yozza was indeed a right... 370 00:18:42,400 --> 00:18:45,600 'Porsche, on the other hand, would spend over half a century 371 00:18:45,640 --> 00:18:48,520 'cautiously evolving the 911. 372 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:50,800 'And earning billions in profit. 373 00:18:50,840 --> 00:18:55,320 'Today, a 911 is one of the world's most coveted artefacts. 374 00:18:55,360 --> 00:18:56,440 'Who'd have thought it?' 375 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:02,360 Just have a look at the astonishing variety that TVR produced 376 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:05,360 over the years. Model after model. 377 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:07,880 Modification after modification, ever bigger engines. 378 00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,080 Incredible, dinosaur-inspired paint schemes. 379 00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:12,760 And, if you went back to the 1960s, 380 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:15,800 the other end of history's telescope, you would say, 381 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,680 "Yes, TVR is going to win this one. 382 00:19:18,720 --> 00:19:21,080 "Not Porsche, with the dreary old 911. 383 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:24,520 "TVR with all its innovation, all its soul, all its spirit." 384 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:28,200 And yet, nothing has been made by TVR 385 00:19:28,240 --> 00:19:29,960 since 2006. 386 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:35,520 'But it's nowhere near as dicey as copying that rear engine idea 387 00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,280 'and doing it really badly. 388 00:19:38,840 --> 00:19:41,440 'This is the Chevrolet Corvair, 389 00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:44,760 'a car that paved the way for some of the most important 390 00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,600 'safety innovations in history of the car. 391 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:50,600 'Although, that wasn't Chevrolet's intention.' 392 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,240 This is actually the second generation of the Corvair 393 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,000 and it is quite a pleasant, nicely sorted car, 394 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:00,400 but it wasn't always that way. 395 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,320 MUSIC: Bonanza Theme 396 00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:03,880 'The first generation Corvair 397 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,160 'was deftly launched in 1960 by Michael Landon...' 398 00:20:07,200 --> 00:20:08,480 Hi, I'm Mike Landon. 399 00:20:08,520 --> 00:20:11,760 '..from Bonanza and The Little House on the Prairie. 400 00:20:11,800 --> 00:20:15,560 'The trouble was, the real cowboys weren't the ones behind the wheels.' 401 00:20:15,600 --> 00:20:17,560 Yippee-yow! Corvair! 402 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,600 That earlier car had a couple of horrific design flaws. 403 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,280 One was that it had the obvious rear weight bias 404 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,280 that you get with a rear-engined car. 405 00:20:29,320 --> 00:20:32,320 But it also didn't have a much-needed antiroll bar 406 00:20:32,360 --> 00:20:34,160 on the front suspension. 407 00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:36,680 And that was because that would have added a bit of cost, 408 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:38,680 so the management at Chevrolet thought... 409 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:40,720 "Well, we'll just leave it off." 410 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:46,080 'As a result, the handling was a nightmare, especially on bends. 411 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:50,360 'But, rather than fix the problem, Chevrolet simply improvised.' 412 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,680 They addressed this, to some extent, by fiddling with the tyre pressures. 413 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:57,560 They actually recommended tyre pressures outside of the limits 414 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:00,600 advised by the tyre manufacturer. 415 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,080 'And this cavalier approach meant that Chevrolet 416 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,400 'would start losing their customers...permanently.' 417 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:09,720 Under certain conditions going round corners, one of the rear wheels 418 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:13,560 on the rather crude swingarm suspension could tuck under 419 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,640 and you would suffer sudden and catastrophic oversteer. 420 00:21:21,160 --> 00:21:23,520 And if you're not familiar with these technical terms, 421 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:27,000 oversteer is when you go through the hedge backwards. 422 00:21:27,040 --> 00:21:29,920 'Things got so bad that even the ads for this deathtrap 423 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,840 'seemed to be offering you a one-way trip to the afterlife.' 424 00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:34,720 VOICEOVER: There's a car down there 425 00:21:34,760 --> 00:21:37,720 that can make you feel you're way up here. 426 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:42,040 'By 1965, Chevrolet faced over 100 separate lawsuits 427 00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:43,840 'from the Corvair's victims. 428 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:46,080 'But still they did nothing. 429 00:21:46,120 --> 00:21:48,800 'Until one man decided to take them, 430 00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,240 'and the entire motor industry, to task.' 431 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:56,920 Now I must bring up the most famous, or perhaps notorious, 432 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,960 bit of consumer campaigning in the whole of history. 433 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:01,920 Not just the history of the car. 434 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,720 It was the publication in 1965 435 00:22:04,760 --> 00:22:08,160 of Ralph Nader's Unsafe At Any Speed. 436 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,400 Now, Ralph Nader believed that the American carmakers 437 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,800 knew about many of the dangerous failings of their cars, 438 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:16,960 but couldn't be bothered to deal with them. 439 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:18,520 He talked about all sorts of things, 440 00:22:18,560 --> 00:22:20,560 from sharp edges on interiors, 441 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,080 to gearboxes that could be pushed into reverse 442 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:25,800 while you were going along and so on and so on. 443 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,520 But, most famously, he addressed the issue of the Corvair. 444 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,680 'And, with road deaths from all vehicles 445 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,200 'topping 47,000 in the US alone, 446 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,040 'Nader had the people's overwhelming support. 447 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:40,720 COMMENTATOR: When the New York motor show opened this Easter, 448 00:22:40,760 --> 00:22:42,960 the city's doctors paraded with placards of protest 449 00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:46,680 about the lack of safety features on the new models from Detroit. 450 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:53,400 What he effectively investigated was legislation covering the design, 451 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,440 especially the safety features, of cars. 452 00:22:56,480 --> 00:23:00,720 For the first time, he forced the authorities to take an interest 453 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:03,440 in what car manufacturers were getting up to. 454 00:23:05,640 --> 00:23:09,600 'As a result, the Corvair, and many other lethal cars, were modified. 455 00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,560 'So it's thanks to Ralph that I can happily drive this one 456 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:14,320 'around this bend without the need 457 00:23:14,360 --> 00:23:17,520 'for my emergency pair of brown trousers.' 458 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:21,200 What was becoming clear was that the honeymoon of our love affair 459 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:23,560 with the car was coming to an end. 460 00:23:23,600 --> 00:23:25,240 It would no longer be allowed 461 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:27,840 to blunder through the world unchallenged. 462 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,680 'But the biggest safety innovation of them all was made by a man 463 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:34,400 'from a far-off country 464 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:36,960 'abusing eggs from his company's fridge. 465 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:41,920 'And what he'd achieve would save more lives 466 00:23:41,960 --> 00:23:45,400 'than any single innovation in the history of motoring.' 467 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,520 The year 1959 saw a great leap forward 468 00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:50,960 in the safety of a car's occupants. 469 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,840 Something that is reckoned to reduce the risk of death in a collision 470 00:23:54,880 --> 00:23:57,400 by at least 50%. 471 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,360 And you ought to be able to guess what it is, 472 00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:01,560 because you can see it in this picture. 473 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:05,880 Yes, man on the sofa in his underpants, 474 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:07,280 eating the takeaway pizza. 475 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:08,320 Yes, correct. 476 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:09,920 It is the safety belt. 477 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:13,040 Most specifically, the three-point safety belt. 478 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,200 And this car, the Volvo Amazon, 479 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:19,080 was the first car to have such a thing fitted as standard. 480 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:25,440 'Volvo's seatbelt pioneer, Nils Bohlin, thought long and hard 481 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:27,760 'about where the straps should go. 482 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:31,000 'And he'd worked out that the three-point system was the best way 483 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:34,640 'of comfortably restraining the human body during an impact.' 484 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:38,400 It is a very, very simple idea 485 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:42,440 that is reckoned to have saved over a million lives already. 486 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:47,560 'Volvo's gift to the world was a generous one, but it also created 487 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,840 'a new marketing strategy that the people's car hadn't known before.' 488 00:24:51,880 --> 00:24:55,680 The standard seatbelt was the beginning of a peculiar initiative 489 00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,680 by Volvo, which is... 490 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:01,160 the idea of selling safety. 491 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,280 Volvo's invention came just at the right time. 492 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:07,240 'As the '60s progressed, car ownership was mushrooming 493 00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:09,800 'and that meant rocketing accident rates. 494 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:20,200 This car is the Series 2 Dodge Charger RT. 495 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:21,840 And it kicks butt... 496 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:22,880 big time. 497 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:27,320 on a sleepy little town... 498 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,640 'This 7.2 litre, 440 horsepower monster 499 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,400 'was a shameless celebration of the petrol age, 500 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:38,000 'the US auto industry and America itself.' 501 00:25:38,040 --> 00:25:42,400 It was a bit of a golden era for massive cars with massive engines. 502 00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:43,480 And it was all... 503 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,200 Well, it was rather fantastic. 504 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,680 MUSIC: Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd 505 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:53,600 'The Dodge Charger was a perfect car for late '60s America - 506 00:25:53,640 --> 00:25:57,000 'a time when cheap oil flowed like running water.' 507 00:25:57,040 --> 00:26:00,600 In 1968, gas - that's petrol - 508 00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:04,600 in the US was typically 34 cents a gallon. 509 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:07,400 Now, that sounds cheap, of course, because it was a long time ago. 510 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,520 Actually, it was quite cheap even at the time. 511 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,040 And there was probably a good reason for that. 512 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,400 Detroit depended on the oil companies to support them. 513 00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,840 The oil companies depended on Detroit to make a car like this 514 00:26:19,880 --> 00:26:22,040 that would use a lot of their stuff up. 515 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,520 So everybody was happy. 516 00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,360 'Well over half a century since the dawn of the petrol age, 517 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:34,880 'oil was still king and the piston engines was still providing 518 00:26:34,920 --> 00:26:37,040 'the soundtrack for the world.' 519 00:26:38,120 --> 00:26:42,400 This car comes from a high point in the Detroit motor industry's story. 520 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:46,280 A time when all that mattered was the pursuit of power and majesty 521 00:26:46,320 --> 00:26:49,120 and it didn't matter what was consumed in achieving it - 522 00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,040 how much fuel it burned, how much raw material was used, 523 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,320 how much it weighed, how much space it took up, how much noise it made, 524 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:57,800 how many instruments you've got on the dashboard. 525 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:00,240 And here is a measure of just how profligate 526 00:27:00,280 --> 00:27:02,400 the American motor car had become. 527 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,200 The average size of the four-leaf clover highway interchange 528 00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,400 being built on American roads at the same time as this car 529 00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:13,920 occupied the same area as the mediaeval port of Dubrovnik. 530 00:27:13,960 --> 00:27:17,040 And you can take that one down the pub and have it on me. 531 00:27:19,160 --> 00:27:21,640 'The muscle car, like Detroit itself, 532 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:24,440 'had become an American icon. 533 00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:26,280 'And, like all true American heroes, 534 00:27:26,320 --> 00:27:29,440 'it was eulogised in song and on-screen.' 535 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:31,480 MUSIC: General Lee by Johnny Cash 536 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,000 537 00:27:33,040 --> 00:27:35,160 538 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:37,200 539 00:27:37,240 --> 00:27:39,640 540 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:42,160 'Of course, America's gleeful waste 541 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:45,360 'and conspicuous consumption couldn't last. 542 00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,840 'The carefree days of "howdy, pardner" 543 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,600 'would soon be ended by their Saudi partner.' 544 00:27:50,640 --> 00:27:53,760 MUSIC: Gimme Shelter by The Rolling Stones 545 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:57,360 'In 1973, after yet another squabble in the Middle East, 546 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:00,320 'the Saudis and others banned oil sales to America. 547 00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:03,360 'Even when the embargo was lifted, 548 00:28:03,400 --> 00:28:05,600 'petrol prices stayed high 549 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,240 'and cars like the Charger were left gasping. 550 00:28:10,640 --> 00:28:14,200 'And, so, people began exploring cheaper and cleaner alternatives 551 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:16,000 'to their beloved gasoline. 552 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,560 'And that reopened the door to some old thinking. 553 00:28:19,600 --> 00:28:22,440 'Remember the Baker Electric we saw earlier? 554 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:24,760 'Let's see how that idea was coming along.' 555 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,880 It's bad news, I'm afraid. 556 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,360 By the 1980s, battery technology had not really moved on 557 00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:33,360 from the state it was in back when the Baker was built. 558 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,080 The big revolution that was brought about by mobile phones 559 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:39,160 and laptops and that sort of thing, that hadn't happened yet. 560 00:28:39,200 --> 00:28:42,400 And, anyway, electric power was still for milk floats 561 00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:46,240 and meals on wheels delivery vans and nutty professors. 562 00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:49,760 So an electric car of the people would have to be very light 563 00:28:49,800 --> 00:28:52,440 to make the most of the feeble battery technology of the time. 564 00:28:52,480 --> 00:28:55,760 It would also have to be simple, it would have to be very cheap 565 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:58,480 and it would have to be cool, because being cool 566 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,120 was very important in making a new idea catch on. 567 00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:06,080 COMMENTATOR: Imagine a vehicle that needs no petrol. Just a battery. 568 00:29:06,120 --> 00:29:11,040 'Yes, in 1985, that height of cool was hoped to be achieved by this.' 569 00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:12,800 ELECTRONIC FANFARE PLAYS 570 00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:16,800 COMMENTATOR: The Sinclair C5. 571 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:19,480 It's a new power in personal transport. 572 00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:24,600 Well, here it is. 573 00:29:24,640 --> 00:29:28,280 Six foot of plastic with foot pedals and an electric motor, 574 00:29:28,320 --> 00:29:31,320 not unlike the one that drives your washing machine. 575 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:35,640 This is brilliant. 576 00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:38,480 I like it. 577 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,400 'The Sinclair C5 wasn't actually fitted with a washing machine motor, 578 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,960 'although it was made in a factory that built them. 579 00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,000 'The 12-volt motor it did have could completely burn out 580 00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:49,880 'on even a mild hill, though, 581 00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:53,880 'so it was fitted with these user-unfriendly pedals, too. 582 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,400 'It might make you look like a kamikaze reject from a Tron movie, 583 00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:00,760 'but it was actually the product of some incredibly forward thinking 584 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,840 'by its genius inventor - Sir Clive Sinclair.' 585 00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,560 It's ideal for shopping, for, you know, going to the office, 586 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:09,720 going to the station, going to school. 587 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:11,760 Any relatively short-range trip. 588 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,400 'He was so proud of his baby that he even named after himself. 589 00:30:15,440 --> 00:30:17,400 'That C stands for Clive. 590 00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:19,720 'Yes, it's the Clive 5. 591 00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:21,760 'I told you it was cool.' 592 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:24,960 Sir Clive Sinclair gave many of us our first pocket calculator. 593 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:28,840 He also introduced my generation to the marvels of computing, 594 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:32,440 with the ZX81 and the ZX Spectrum, and they were brilliant. 595 00:30:32,480 --> 00:30:34,400 He was a clever man. 596 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:36,520 Sorry, I mean he IS a clever man. 597 00:30:36,560 --> 00:30:39,000 Cos, despite this, he's still alive. 598 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,160 'In fact, he wasn't just smart, 599 00:30:43,200 --> 00:30:46,280 'the man was damn near clairvoyant.' 600 00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:49,200 I believe firmly that all cars 601 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:51,560 ought to be electric by the next century. 602 00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,480 Back in 1985, when this was launched, 603 00:30:55,520 --> 00:30:59,680 the environment hadn't yet become a mainstream force in politics 604 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,600 and fashion, so this was very modern thinking. 605 00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:04,600 'There were plenty of advantages. 606 00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:07,960 'It was under 400 quid and five miles on this thing 607 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,280 'would only relieve you of one penny in running costs. 608 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,200 'You didn't have to tax or insure it 609 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,000 'and you didn't need an MOT or number plates. 610 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,120 'Plus, if you were a feckless youth, it got even better.' 611 00:31:19,160 --> 00:31:21,960 Strictly speaking, the C5 is not a car. 612 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:24,960 In the eyes of a law, it's an electric tricycle, 613 00:31:25,000 --> 00:31:28,440 which means anybody aged 14 or over can drive it. 614 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:30,920 Ride it. No, drive it. Whatever you do. 615 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:33,520 'For some reason, though, 616 00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:36,600 'not everyone was thrilled about the idea of unlicensed kids 617 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:39,400 'hammering around the highways on a plastic tricycle. 618 00:31:39,440 --> 00:31:40,720 Argh! 619 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:41,960 I'm very unhappy 620 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:43,120 that it's being sold 621 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:44,840 without essential safety equipment. 622 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:46,720 I wouldn't like to let my children out in it. 623 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:49,080 REPORTER: Are you happy at the thought of 14-year-olds 624 00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:51,040 taking this onto the road? No. 625 00:31:51,080 --> 00:31:52,840 There are one or two other issues. 626 00:31:52,880 --> 00:31:55,520 Because you are so low, a lot of people don't see you. 627 00:31:55,560 --> 00:31:58,080 They only feel you as they run over you. 628 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:02,320 Your head is at about the same height as a lorry's exhaust 629 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:03,480 and, er... 630 00:32:03,520 --> 00:32:06,320 there's no reverse gear. Did I mention that? 631 00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:09,240 It is catastrophically slow as well. 632 00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:10,880 But it's quite good fun. 633 00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:15,240 Because it's so small, the sense of terror at 50mph 634 00:32:15,280 --> 00:32:18,320 is like nothing I've ever experienced before. 635 00:32:18,360 --> 00:32:21,080 DRAMATIC MUSIC 636 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:22,400 Oh, for God's sake! 637 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:25,600 Engaging pedals as well. 638 00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:29,360 I can see why it's got the little drain holes in the seat. 639 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:31,480 I thought that was to let the rain out. 640 00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:33,760 Th... 641 00:32:33,800 --> 00:32:34,800 Agh! 642 00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,080 DRAMATIC MUSIC CONTINUES 643 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:39,760 LORRY HORN BEEPS Yes, all right! 644 00:32:39,800 --> 00:32:41,680 LORRY HORN BEEPS REPEATEDLY 645 00:32:41,720 --> 00:32:43,760 Oh, come on! 646 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:47,000 Agh, I can go in this lane, cos I'm technically a bicycle! 647 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:49,960 Stick that in your tipper! 648 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:52,360 HE LAUGHS MENACINGLY 649 00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,320 'So forward thinking alone, alas, just wasn't enough.' 650 00:32:57,360 --> 00:32:59,600 REPORTER: The critics say it's not safe. 651 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:01,400 REPORTER: The C5 has been a flop. 652 00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:04,640 REPORTER: Eight months later, retailers have slashed prices 653 00:33:04,680 --> 00:33:08,120 of the C5 trike to try and shift their stocks. 654 00:33:08,160 --> 00:33:09,880 HORN BEEPS 655 00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:12,040 THEY SHOUT Keep going. 656 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,880 'To try and keep his much-abused electric dream alive, 657 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,040 'Sir Clive even sold his computer business 658 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:19,880 'to that bloke off The Apprentice.' 659 00:33:19,920 --> 00:33:22,280 REPORTER: It was confirmed today that the assembly line 660 00:33:22,320 --> 00:33:24,960 has reverted to producing washing machines. 661 00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:27,880 'The Clive 5 was not alive.' 662 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,400 So, in the end, everybody suffered, 663 00:33:30,440 --> 00:33:32,760 because Sir Clive lost a load of his money, 664 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:36,880 we didn't get the low-cost, electric urban transport solution we wanted, 665 00:33:36,920 --> 00:33:40,880 and we also ended up with Alan Sugar barking at us from television. 666 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:42,200 What a bum deal! 667 00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,560 One of the criticisms regularly levelled at Sir Clive Sinclair 668 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:51,520 and his Clive 5 is that he never did any market research. 669 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:54,400 Well, good for him, I say, because market research 670 00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,640 wouldn't have given us the home computer, 671 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:58,680 or television, for that matter. 672 00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:01,440 Progress, as George Bernard Shaw once said, 673 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,320 "depends on the unreasonable man". 674 00:34:04,360 --> 00:34:07,640 If he'd done any market research, he'd never have built this 675 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:10,480 and then we wouldn't know what a daft idea it is. 676 00:34:10,520 --> 00:34:12,240 THAT is progress. 677 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:15,520 The C5 was just a stepping stone. 678 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,200 It's a learning exercise. 679 00:34:17,240 --> 00:34:19,960 But what it leads to is very much more important. 680 00:34:21,160 --> 00:34:24,600 'And, fast forward 30 years, and we appear to have solved 681 00:34:24,640 --> 00:34:28,840 'the feeble battery issue that bedevilled Clive's invention. 682 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,120 'Today, there are electric vehicles out there 683 00:34:31,160 --> 00:34:34,480 'that have side-stepped the battery issue altogether.' 684 00:34:34,520 --> 00:34:36,960 Now, this is something I approve of immensely. 685 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:39,280 It's a hydrogen fuel cell car. 686 00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:43,480 It's the Hyundai ix35. 687 00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:46,040 It's actually the first truly commercially available 688 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:47,560 fuel cell car in the world. 689 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:52,680 It will cost you £53,000, but new stuff is expensive. 690 00:34:52,720 --> 00:34:55,760 Remember the first video players, the first digital cameras. 691 00:34:57,000 --> 00:34:58,680 A few rich people have to buy them, 692 00:34:58,720 --> 00:35:00,920 then the idea will catch on and we can all have them. 693 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,760 Then it becomes a car of the people. 694 00:35:08,800 --> 00:35:11,840 Anyway, look, the interesting thing about a fuel cell car 695 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:13,640 is that it's really an electric car. 696 00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:15,760 The wheels are driven by an electric motor. 697 00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:18,640 But, instead of having a battery that has to be recharged, 698 00:35:18,680 --> 00:35:21,520 it has a hydrogen fuel cell, which is... 699 00:35:21,560 --> 00:35:24,520 well, you can think of it as a sort of on-board, miniature 700 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:26,720 electricity generating station. 701 00:35:26,760 --> 00:35:30,440 And a very good one, because the one in this car makes 100 kilowatts, 702 00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:33,280 which means you could run your house off it. 703 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:41,680 And the great thing about the fuel cell car 704 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:44,560 is that you simply fill it up with liquid hydrogen, 705 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:48,200 which takes about the same amount of time as it does to fill a petrol 706 00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:50,640 or a diesel car up with conventional fuel. 707 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:52,800 And the range of this car on one fill-up, 708 00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:56,000 if you drive carefully, is 350 miles or so. 709 00:35:56,040 --> 00:35:59,680 And then you can fill it up again, which will take you three minutes 710 00:35:59,720 --> 00:36:02,680 and then you can do another 350 miles. 711 00:36:02,720 --> 00:36:03,840 What's not to like? 712 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:08,520 'How does it work? 713 00:36:08,560 --> 00:36:10,480 'Brace yourselves.' 714 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,600 Look, this does all get a bit "double chemistry with Mr Stink", 715 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:16,200 so I'll try and keep it reasonably simple. 716 00:36:16,240 --> 00:36:19,120 Hydrogen in the tank at the back of the car 717 00:36:19,160 --> 00:36:22,600 combines with oxygen in the air to make electricity. 718 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,040 So, in that sense, it's a bit like a fossil fuel, 719 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,400 it relies on the atmosphere to work. Good. 720 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:31,560 The other interesting thing is that the hydrogen in the tank 721 00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:35,640 combines with the oxygen in the air to give us, as an exhaust, 722 00:36:35,680 --> 00:36:39,320 er...water, which is H2O, remember. 723 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:40,720 Hydrogen and oxygen. 724 00:36:42,920 --> 00:36:44,960 You can drink it. 725 00:36:45,000 --> 00:36:48,240 This all sounds very Friends Of The Earth, 726 00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:50,240 but there is a catch. 727 00:36:50,280 --> 00:36:53,320 Currently, there are only four hydrogen filling stations 728 00:36:53,360 --> 00:36:56,720 open to the public in Britain. And one of them's in Hendon. 729 00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:59,680 And that's awful, because the know-how has been around 730 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:01,440 for longer than you think. 731 00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:05,160 There are two bits of technology on this car that predate 732 00:37:05,200 --> 00:37:08,960 the flatulent internal combustion engine in Benz's Motorwagen. 733 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:12,040 To be honest, they predate the original Rover safety bicycle, 734 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:15,480 which was the inspiration for every bike you see over there. 735 00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:17,240 Now, one of them is the electric motor. 736 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:19,080 That's not such a surprise, maybe. 737 00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,040 But the other one is the fuel cell itself. 738 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,560 The basic principles of which were worked out 739 00:37:24,600 --> 00:37:26,920 back in the middle of the 19th century. 740 00:37:26,960 --> 00:37:29,480 The technology is perfectly understood, 741 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:32,280 it's perfectly reliable, it's perfectly usable. 742 00:37:32,320 --> 00:37:34,880 The only thing we are waiting for to make this 743 00:37:34,920 --> 00:37:37,760 fabulous dream of hydrogen happen... 744 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:40,680 is a hydrogen infrastructure. That's all we need. 745 00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:43,360 Everything else, like this Hyundai... 746 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:46,280 ..is ready. 747 00:37:49,080 --> 00:37:51,040 It's extraordinary, really, 748 00:37:51,080 --> 00:37:55,440 to think that we may be on the brink of a people's car revolution. 749 00:37:55,480 --> 00:37:57,440 But, despite this exciting progress, 750 00:37:57,480 --> 00:38:00,480 there's still one deeply unreliable component in this. 751 00:38:00,520 --> 00:38:02,400 And all cars. 752 00:38:02,440 --> 00:38:04,080 That component, of course, 753 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:06,120 is me. Or you. 754 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,240 Whoever. The driver. 755 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:09,480 CRASHING 756 00:38:09,520 --> 00:38:11,920 Most leading carmakers are already experimenting 757 00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,680 with elements of driverless technology. 758 00:38:14,720 --> 00:38:16,920 And tech giants Google have gone the whole hog 759 00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:19,760 and are trying to eliminate the steering wheel altogether. 760 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:23,400 All you have to do is sit in it and look stupid. 761 00:38:23,440 --> 00:38:24,960 ENGINE REVS 762 00:38:26,520 --> 00:38:30,360 Now, Audi think rather differently about all this. 763 00:38:34,240 --> 00:38:37,280 They say the car will be autonomous. 764 00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:40,080 It will be a robot car for all the boring bits. 765 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:43,080 So driving along the motorway, heavy stop-start traffic, 766 00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:45,640 all that sort of thing. But then... 767 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:48,240 when it comes to fun time, you can take over. 768 00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:56,360 I'm in my Audi RS7 with 552 horsepower 769 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,200 and I'm on a track day in Spain, 770 00:38:59,240 --> 00:39:01,000 in Catalunya, in fact. 771 00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:10,560 ENGINE DIES 772 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:11,720 DOORS BEEP 773 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:13,320 Ooh! 774 00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:14,600 How did I do? 775 00:39:14,640 --> 00:39:18,160 2 minutes, 20. 2:20? Yep. 776 00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:20,520 Yeah, I think it'll go faster than that. 777 00:39:22,000 --> 00:39:24,640 ENGINE REVS 778 00:39:27,560 --> 00:39:29,200 'This, if you haven't guessed, 779 00:39:29,240 --> 00:39:32,560 'is the experimental autonomous version of the RS7.' 780 00:39:34,640 --> 00:39:38,520 So, Thomas Muller, very briefly, please. How does it work? 781 00:39:38,560 --> 00:39:41,040 James, the car works like a professional race driver. 782 00:39:41,080 --> 00:39:42,880 You know, it knows the track already. 783 00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:46,120 Through differential GPS and through cameras, it's a complex technology. 784 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,560 Depending on the stability of the car, 785 00:39:48,600 --> 00:39:50,160 depending on the driving dynamics, 786 00:39:50,200 --> 00:39:53,360 it's going to choose the best path to go through all this course. 787 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:55,840 But, in the end, it's like a professional race driver. 788 00:39:55,880 --> 00:39:58,160 What, so it makes excuses all the time? 789 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:02,520 'So, can a car capable of analysing track conditions 790 00:40:02,560 --> 00:40:04,480 'to follow the best racing line 791 00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:07,680 'beat a car journo with years of experience? 792 00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:10,560 'To find out if it can better my time of 2:20, 793 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:14,640 'it's going to take me captive for a high-speed lap.' 794 00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:19,040 All I actually need to do is keep my thumb on that button 795 00:40:19,080 --> 00:40:22,440 and the car will drive me round. That's it. 796 00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:25,480 And I was about to say I'll just get the seat in the right position 797 00:40:25,520 --> 00:40:27,800 for the pedals and everything, but I don't need to. 798 00:40:27,840 --> 00:40:30,280 Technically, I could sit in the back and do this. 799 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:31,600 But they won't let me. 800 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:32,960 So... 801 00:40:33,000 --> 00:40:34,600 goodbye, cruel world. 802 00:40:39,720 --> 00:40:42,240 Right. If I hold this button, 803 00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:43,640 the car will go. 804 00:40:46,160 --> 00:40:47,840 And I mustn't touch anything. 805 00:40:49,040 --> 00:40:50,120 ENGINE REVS 806 00:40:50,160 --> 00:40:52,960 MUSIC: Lonely Boy by The Black Keys 807 00:40:53,000 --> 00:40:54,080 That feels weird. 808 00:40:55,640 --> 00:40:58,360 Don't brake. Don't brake. Don't brake. 809 00:40:58,400 --> 00:41:01,160 It's braking for me. Excellent. That's a result. 810 00:41:03,200 --> 00:41:06,640 Actually, this is the hardest thing I've ever done. 811 00:41:06,680 --> 00:41:10,920 Don't touch the steering wheel. I'm not touching the pedals. 812 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,080 Into the right-hander. 813 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,840 It's drifting across. It's done that properly. 814 00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:19,800 Brakes! Brakes! Argh, that's the hairpin. 815 00:41:19,840 --> 00:41:21,240 That's slowed right down now. 816 00:41:21,280 --> 00:41:23,560 It's going to give it the beans as it comes out of there. 817 00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,480 ENGINE ROARS 818 00:41:25,520 --> 00:41:26,960 70, 80. 819 00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:28,600 Agh, I don't like this one! 820 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:30,000 Don't touch the brakes! 821 00:41:33,320 --> 00:41:35,160 Oh, God. This is the long straight. 822 00:41:35,200 --> 00:41:37,320 Here we go. 88, 88, 90, 91. 823 00:41:37,360 --> 00:41:38,760 Now it's 100. 824 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:41,680 That's about 120. 825 00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:47,360 Ooh. 826 00:41:47,400 --> 00:41:49,960 Ooh, might have to edit some of that out. 827 00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:52,520 Come on, I've just done the vorsprung. 828 00:41:52,560 --> 00:41:55,360 And now on the home finish straight. It's going straight. 829 00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:57,280 I'm going to take my finger off the button. 830 00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:59,280 And there it is. It's a car. 831 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,000 I wasn't scared in the slightest. 832 00:42:08,040 --> 00:42:09,040 'Maybe not, 833 00:42:09,080 --> 00:42:12,800 'but the car's own lap was eight seconds faster than mine. 834 00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,960 'In racing terms, that's the difference between 835 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:18,560 'a night out with James Hunt and a night in with James May. 836 00:42:18,600 --> 00:42:20,880 'And that's a slightly depressing thought.' 837 00:42:20,920 --> 00:42:24,440 A lot of people say, the autonomous car will be the end of driving. 838 00:42:24,480 --> 00:42:28,600 I think, actually, it could be the end of the car, as we know it, 839 00:42:28,640 --> 00:42:31,960 as a means of just getting around, because, if we can develop a system 840 00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,440 that clever, that keeps us all apart, 841 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:37,560 why not use it to get around up there? 842 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:39,840 Because that's where all the space is. 843 00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:42,920 And then the car can become a hobby. 844 00:42:44,240 --> 00:42:45,280 Excellent. 845 00:42:46,960 --> 00:42:50,880 'All right. So maybe I'm getting carried away with the flying thing. 846 00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:54,200 'But autonomous technology is already with us. 847 00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:56,680 'My i3 can park itself, remember. 848 00:42:56,720 --> 00:43:00,360 'However, just as in 1900, we still don't know for sure 849 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:03,600 'what the people's car of the future will be. 850 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:06,320 'Even the old ideas refuse to go away. 851 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:07,760 'Remember steam cars?' 852 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:09,920 Chuffa-chuffa-chuffa-chuffa... 853 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:12,320 'People are still experimenting with those. 854 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:14,720 'This one does 160mph. 855 00:43:16,040 --> 00:43:17,520 'And turbines? 856 00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:21,120 'The fastest car on earth is powered by a jet engine. 857 00:43:21,160 --> 00:43:23,040 'With some help from a rocket.' 858 00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:24,680 ENGINE REVS 859 00:43:24,720 --> 00:43:27,680 'Good old TVR has risen from the ashes...' 860 00:43:27,720 --> 00:43:29,560 Blackpool uber alles! 861 00:43:29,600 --> 00:43:33,680 '..and has plans for an all-new car, again. 862 00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:36,200 'And Clive Sinclair - he still dreams 863 00:43:36,240 --> 00:43:39,160 'of an elegant, electric transport solution. 864 00:43:39,200 --> 00:43:41,520 'Until that happens, he's funding this - 865 00:43:41,560 --> 00:43:43,560 'the electric A-bike. 866 00:43:43,600 --> 00:43:46,360 'So, where does this leave the man in the street?' 867 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,480 I actually think we're in a golden age of the car, 868 00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:52,040 because, for about 120 years or so, 869 00:43:52,080 --> 00:43:54,080 it developed very slowly. 870 00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:56,160 It just crept along incrementally. 871 00:43:56,200 --> 00:43:58,160 But, all of a sudden, we're looking at things 872 00:43:58,200 --> 00:44:01,280 like new methods of propulsion, new materials, 873 00:44:01,320 --> 00:44:04,120 possible autonomy, connectivity. 874 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:08,480 It's all really fantastic stuff, but it is very much work in progress, 875 00:44:08,520 --> 00:44:11,960 because - here is a slightly depressing statistic - 876 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:15,720 the real-world range of my electric BMW i3 877 00:44:15,760 --> 00:44:17,960 is about 75 miles. 878 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,400 The real-world range of the electric Baker 879 00:44:20,440 --> 00:44:23,120 we saw right at the beginning of the programme... 880 00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:24,840 it's about 75 miles. 881 00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:27,840 Hm. 882 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:29,200 Right, to the Batmobile. 883 00:44:29,240 --> 00:44:32,080 MUSIC: Batman Theme 884 00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:41,600 HE LAUGHS MENACINGLY 885 00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:44,800 POLICE SIREN WAILS 886 00:45:13,280 --> 00:45:15,640 Subtitles by Red Bee Media