www.ecovelocity.co.uk/

The UK's first-ever low carbon event and eco-friendly show held at the iconic open-air Battersea Powerstation in the heart of London. Me and my friend, Diana Goss, drove, tested and hopped around with electric, hydrogen and hybrid cars which has caught Britain and Europe by storm.

A car show with a difference - you can actually drive the cars (as long as you hold a British or International driving license) - around a makeshift track about 2.8 miles as long as you want or until the batteries run out.

So far, we have driven :

Nissan Leaf
Vauxhall Ampera (or Chevrolet's equivalent Volt)
Tesla Roaster
Lexus 450h
Lightning GT
Peel P50
Toyota Prius Plus
GM Hydrogen4


The queue was tremendous and we ran out of time to test drive some funky looking Peugeot, Hyundai, Kia and the diminutive Aston Martin Cygnet.


Yes - they let me drove the world's smallest car - Peel P50.


...and the groundbreaking Vauxhall Ampera - European's Car of the Year 2012.


Not a fan of Vauxhall Ampera's (or Volt - depends on wherever you are) instrument panel - they reminds me of those Pop Cola billboards in the 80s.


Diana driving the white Nissan Leaf which only sold less than 300 units in Britain last year due to electric charging limitations.


Lexus 450h seemed really out-of-place and out-of-depth in these company.


Inside Toyota Prius Plus that drives like a ... Prius.


Lithium-powered Tesla Roadster that'll do 0-60mph in 3.9 seconds! Laptop power at breakneck speed.


'Some says he never changed his racing helmet - but here he is - The Eco Stig!'

These photos were taken September last year, 2011. I thought I've lost all the RAW and jpeg files - but for some magic, I've found it on my old laptop drive that I've sent to Manila and was discovered by a friend.

The 2012 show will feature some longer tracks and new technologies. It also has moved to a bigger location in Excel London, where Top Gear Live is always held annually.

Great story and fun read! How does the Peel P50 drive?

Peel P50's ride is like a getting back on a bicycle. The suspension was bouncy yet hard and the steering is child's play. All in all - a really fun car.

More of the cars...


Vauxhall's Ampera (Chevy Volt) took centre stage - it's a normal driving saloon running on electric power. Selling at rock-bottom price of £30,000 (around Php 2.1M)


Kia Rio shared the same stage as the Ampera's, Prius Plus' and the Leaf's.


Nissan Leaf heralded the arrival of electric power in Britain. Only to be squashed by Clarkson and Hammond when they did the real-life test last year in Top Gear.

Amidst all the electric charging limitations - Nissan Leaf drives, feels and acts like a proper normal car unlike its early rivals. At the moment, the British government is installing 35,000 charging points around the UK and Europe will follow soon.


The Leaf is the iPad of electric cars - stylish, compact and oozes with technology.


Even Hummer jumped at the bandwagon and gatecrashed the event with its cute and tiny all-electric HX.


Hummer HX was an advertising hit with the Brits. Loved it!


London is going electric - this electric bike are so popular with Pizza Hut deliveries.


Citroen fetched their chrome-ladden DS4 hybrid. It smacks between opulent and vulgar. Tacky, I supposed.


Remember the name - Lightning Car Company (LCC) - this Lighting GT boast of an all-electric 700bhp sports saloon equivalent. Bloody bonkers!


Battersea Power Station, Battersea, London - quite an ironic venue as this place is a decommissioned coal-fired power station built in 1929 and is the largest brick building in Europe - yet its ground was used to showcase the advent of electric-powered cars signalling the fall of the combustion engine. Or is it?


I dunno why these models are walking on stilts. I can't see the relation between electric cars and women on tall poles, can you?