Watch: Noodle from Gorillaz drives Jaguar’s Formula E car

If you think there’s something a little unreal about a race series powered by electricity, get ready for an unexpected addition to the Panasonic Jaguar Formula E team – Noodle, the guitarist in animated ‘Brit hop’ collective Gorillaz.

Speculation has been growing for some time among music fans that a fifth album from the multi-million selling outfit is imminent, and a recent burst of social media activity would appear to support that the follow-up to 2010’s ‘Plastic Beach’ is good-to-go. A multi-media project called ‘The Book Of Noodle’ was announced on Twitter a few days ago, with the cryptic post, "She drifted away from Plastic Beach to safety, or so she thought. Years later Noodle is face to face with pure evil…"

Watch the video above, though, and you’ll see that what Noodle has actually been face-to-face with – spoiler alert – is the steering wheel on Jaguar’s Formula E car.

Jaguar has form when it comes to celebrity ambassadors, but this has to be the most imaginative yet. As ever, Gorillaz visual main man Jamie Hewlett has done a magnificent job, and it kick-starts the whole Formula E adventure with exactly the right attitude.

There’s a serious message, too. Jaguar, we know, is seriously investigating an EV, and it sees the whole electric panorama as a way to establish thought leadership. But as the UK’s top investor in R&D, the company has a vested interest in stoking the fire in the new generation. Says Fiona Pargeter, JLR’s comms boss: "By 2022 we’re facing a shortfall of 300,000 skilled engineers in the UK alone. It’s our responsibility to change this future by inspiring young people.

"Yes we want to be successful on track, but Formula E can be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to inspire the future generations of engineers. Through Panasonic Jaguar Racing’s partnership with Noodle we hope to inspire millions of young people to help invent the future."

As for Noodle, well she had this to say: “The young minds of today are the engineers of tomorrow. We are in the driving seat and our imaginations are the fuel. It’s time to lead the charge and build a better world!”

Check back on TopGear.com for a report from the first Formula E race of the 2016/2017 season