Aberdeen University has been forced to defend its research after an electric vehicle project it worked on was mocked by presenters on The Grand Tour.
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May compared the Esprit car sharing project to B-movie horror film “The Human Centipede”, a “Dignitas collection service”, and a series of airport trolleys.
Esprit (Easily Distributed Personal Rapid Transit) was developed with the help of Aberdeen University and transport business First Group and involves the use of “stackable” lightweight electric vehicles to save space.
The university and First are among a number of partners for the EU-funded project, which aims to reduce congestion and pollution in city centres and suburban areas.
A spokesman for Aberdeen University said they were “flattered” the Grand Tour took notice of their work and wanted to “improve their understanding” of the project.
