Hard Cell

You've probably heard a lot about electric supercars. Huge horsepower, mega-cost, acceleration figures that will cause instant decompression of your lungs. But there's been a conspicuous lack of challenge to the wild claims – and an absence of real, physical cars that anyone can actually buy. In this episode we visit Lotus, Pininfarina and Rimac, who each promise 2000bhp electric supercars, but are they myth or reality? And if they do exist, besides being silly fast, do any of these vehicles actually provide the noise, fury, smell and theatre that it's just as much a part of the whole supercar experience?

Porsche has a rich heritage unlike any other manufacturer. From the legendary 911 to some of the most memorable moments in motorsports, its back catalogue of cars and achievements is second to none. But will its first production electric car, the Taycan, ever achieve the same significance? This new EV super-saloon is groundbreaking, yet in the context of a journey around Porsche's museum, a trip to a racetrack and a visit from a very special 911, does it have the right ingredients to ever be seen in the same lights as Porsche's iconic sports car?

Electric motorsport has taken a lot of flak. Formula E gets criticised for a lack of noise and weird computer game-inspired regulations, for instance. Yet Porsche and Mercedes have joined this season's championship, competing against the likes of Audi and BMW, and Formula 1, the ‘pinnacle' of motorsport, already runs hybrid engines. But what about the plethora of other championships around the world, whose regulations aren't dictated by a commercial need to promote a company's latest electric road car? We look at circuit racing, rallycross, ice racing and an EV dragster to see whether electric can ever truly compete,

This one is obvious, right? You can't have a ‘proper' adventure in an electric car, because you'd be too far away from any power source – there aren't plugs out in the wilderness, and you can't carry electricity around in a jerry can. Yet the attributes of an EV make it perfect for off-roading, the founders of Formula E will launch an equivalent adventure series in 2021, and there's already a company out there that might have the perfect solution for every adventure enthusiast. In this episode we visit Rivian and Bollinger to see their future EV pick-up trucks, drive the new Extreme E race car in Saudi Arabia, and see just how far you can get in the desert without an internal combustion engine…