Electric supercar on sale, but not in UK

Lotus has begun production of the world's first electric supercar, although it's unlikely youll be able to get your hands on one.

Costing $98,000 - roughly 48,000 - the Tesla Roadster runs entirely on electricity, and is capable of 0-60mph in just 3.9 seconds. It has a range of 221 miles from a single charge, which is enough to get from London to Liverpool.

However, despite being developed by Lotus and partially built in East Anglia, US-based Tesla Motors has no plans to sell the Roadster in the UK, or in any other European markets.

Instead, it will only be available in America - even then, all the 2008 models have sold out, and the order books for the 2009 models are reported to be filling up.

Tesla Motors also has plans for a five-seater sports saloon, to be introduced by 2010.