RAY MASSEY: Rakish electric sports car aimed at children aged four to 11

Now here’s something to get young motorists really inspired to learn to drive — a rakish electric sports car aimed at children aged four to 11. 

Built and sourced entirely in Britain by a UK team of motor industry veterans, this new battery-powered Firefly Sport is produced by UK-based Young Driver Motor Cars — a sister company to Young Driver, the world’s largest under-17s driving school. 

Firefly Sport will be available for four to ten-year-old drivers at 45 Young Driver training centres across the UK, costing £20 for a 15-minute test drive. 

Feeling flush?: The Firefly Sport can be purchased outright for £11,700 each by families who have space for children to drive the car on private land

But if you’re feeling flush, they can also be purchased outright for £11,700 each by families who have space for children to drive the car on private land. Top speed ranges from 7mph for the youngest drivers up to a maximum 25mph, youngdriver.com. 

The Firefly Sport’s body comes from Huddersfield, the chassis from Coventry, two cleverly packaged and recyclable 12-volt batteries from Bromsgrove near Birmingham, and twin 24-volt electric motors from Bournemouth.

Built on an aluminium chassis the 2.1 metre-long car is engineered and built by a team of British motor industry veterans who have worked for firms including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and MG.

The new battery-powered Firefly Sport is produced by UK-based Young Driver Motor Cars

Firefly Sport will be available for four to ten-year-old drivers at 45 Young Driver training centres across the UK, costing £20 for a 15-minute test drive

Top speed ranges from 7mph for the youngest drivers up to a maximum 25mph

The car is engineered and built by a team of British motor industry veterans who have worked for firms including Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW and MG

It also has a remote cut-off facility with a 200-metre range, as well as an automatic cut-off if it senses obstacles in its path, making it ultra-safe for first-time drivers.

The car can be specified in a wide range of colours and options. It can also be re-charged using solar power. Its battery cells are bolted in, making them easy to remove and recycle.

Managing director Ian Mulingani said: ‘Firefly Sport is a fully-fledged, scaled-down motor car. It will allow 4- to 10-year-olds the chance to get behind the wheel and have an authentic motoring experience.’

He said: ‘Its sophisticated design and componentry fundamentally mirror the way a road car behaves, but at fully manageable speeds.

‘Being electric and looking like a junior supercar, it also aligns with the type of vehicle that children see themselves driving when they pass their test. 

‘And it’s precisely this kind of engagement we need at our Young Driver training centres to start them on a journey towards improved road safety – and ultimately, preventing unnecessary road deaths’.

Alpine Alpenglow catches the eye

Some of the most fun I’ve had behind the wheel of a two-seater sports car was in the new generation Alpine revived by parent company Renault. 

I was at the launch of the reborn marque in Monte Carlo in February 2016 and for the first test drives in the South of France. What a hoot. 

What a hoot: The Alpine range costs from £49,990 for the standard 252hp A110 to £59,440 for the GT and £60,940 for the S version

At the Paris Motor Show this week, a concept electric supercar called Alpine Alpenglow caught my eye — and that of French President Emmanuel Macron who was photographed with it. 

Its styling is ‘the starting point for all future Alpine designs, technologies and breakthroughs’. 

Its styling is ‘the starting point for all future Alpine designs, technologies and breakthroughs’

The Alpine range costs from £49,990 for the standard 252hp A110 to £59,440 for the GT and £60,940 for the S version

Also on show was a ‘radical’ and more powerful A110 R with 300hp and rest to 62mph in 3.9seconds. 

The Alpine range costs from £49,990 for the standard 252hp A110 to £59,440 for the GT and £60,940 for the S version, alpine-cars.co.uk.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk