First sighting of Paul McCartney's new eco-car that was flown 7,000 miles from Japan

1st July 2008

Paul McCartney was spotted with his much-talked about eco-car for the first time today.

The former Beatle was said to be furious after the vehicle was flown 7,000 miles from Japan.

Paul ordered the £84,000 hybrid to be shipped to Britain but the delivery instead created a carbon footprint almost 100 times larger by arriving on a jet.

The Lexus LS600H produces just 219g in carbon emissions per kilometre.

A car of similar size, such as an XJ Jaguar, has much higher emissions of 249g per kilometre and Sir Paul, 65, has applauded the manufacturer for its green commitment.

But his efforts to help save the environment were frustrated by the fact that the air journey created 38,050kg of carbon dioxide instead of the 297kg for the three-week voyage by boat.

According to environmental firm CO2balance.com, it was the equivalent of driving the car around the world six times.

Thumbs up: Paul McCartney in North London Today

A source told The Daily Mirror: "It defies sense. Paul was offered a Lexus as a gift and ordered the hybrid limo because it helps to reduce emissions.

"But he'll be horrified after learning it was delivered by plane. Paul has always campaigned for green issues and he can't understand why anyone would send an enormous car from Japan to Britain on a plane.

"He didn't have anything to do with the delivery, that was all organised by the company." The car arrived at Heathrow on 1 May on a Korean Air flight.

CO2balance.com said: "We couldn't believe the hypocrisy of flying an environmentally friendly car in from Japan."

Lexus refused to comment.