One of my quirks is my fondness for the distinctly non-green, carbon-laden guilty pleasure that is Top Gear. Last night I caught up with Sunday’s edition where, after poking fun at the self-righteousness of the cycling community (of which I am one), they flew Richard Hammond to Dubai to race the new Porsche 918 super car which can exceed 210mph and will do 0-62 in 2.6 seconds.

So what’s the planet-frying carbon hangover of this beast?

79g/km.

Yep, I typed that right. I didn’t miss a ‘2’ off the front end. This chunk of testosterone on wheels is a plug-in hybrid with lower emissions than that icon of green motoring the Toyota Prius (not at 200mph, obvs).

Somehow I think a sustainable future is about to get a lot more exciting…

Photo © Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de