TG TV ep2, s27: Le Mansfield, and Tesla Model 3 vs rivals

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)

The 24 minutes of Le Mansfield

The future of cars, we’re told, is electric. Problem is, most electric cars out there at the moment are a) very expensive or b) very boring, or c) both. The TG presenters reckon that for the world to get really excited about EVs, what we need is a budget electric sports car. Something cheap, battery-powered and, most importantly, fun. With no such cars forthcoming on the market, Paddy, Freddie and Chris each set out to build their own electric sports cars for a very small amount of money, which they then set about testing with a tour of some of the Midlands’ finest industrial locations, a tour culminating in Top Gear’s inaugural urban electric endurance race: the 24 Minutes of Le Mansfield. Just like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but shorter. And battery-powered. And in Mansfield. Cue several minutes of zero-octane, wheel-to-wheel endurance racing, one unscheduled crash test of a market stall (Flintoff, naturally), and a small amount of actual electrocution.

Tesla Model 3 vs Everything

If you follow Elon Musk on Twitter, you’ll know the Tesla boss spouts quite a few outlandish claims. And when Musk boasted his new car, the Model 3, was faster than “anything in its class”, well, that was a claim we couldn’t allow to pass unchecked. So Chris assembled the class, and set about putting Mr Musk’s boasts to the test.

Episode 2's stars are 'Yesterday' director Danny Boyle and actor Himesh Patel. Catch up on BBC iPlayer (in the UK)