Neil Young's Beloved LincVolt Saved From Fire

Neil Young’s LincVolt – the electric car which he has been working on for many years – was indirectly responsible for the fire which destroyed his warehouse in California last week.

A statement issued by Young reveals that the car had been left unattended to charge overnight when the power source, which had not been tested properly, caught fire.

Here’s the statement in full:

"We are thankful that no-one was hurt in the fire at our Warehouse last week,' Neil said in a statement. 'My wife Pegi and I would like to thank the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Dept for doing such an exemplary job. A lot of archival items were threatened and the Fire Department did a First Class job protecting them. We are lucky to have these professionals in our area. Rest assured that we have the very best Fire Rescue and Protection with the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Dept'.

"However LincVolt suffered a disastrous accidental fire stemming from human error. The car was plugged in to charge and left unattended. The wall charging system was not completely tested and had never been left unattended. A mistake was made. It was not the fault of the car”.

"We are rebuilding. The reason we started this project has not changed. As a nation we are still excessively burning fossil fuels, doing damage to our planet that will hurt our children's lives and future generations as well. Our project is to demonstrate alternative energies for transportation that are clean. We're still in a race against time. On a project like this, setbacks happen for a reason and we can see that very well from here. "Barn's burnt down. Now I can see the moon."

"Now she's back in her staging area and pieces are being assembled,” Young says. "We have done this before and know much more now. Our accumulated knowledge will help this process. We have a solid committed team. This is an opportunity.”

"Our rebuilding LincVolt at Brizio's is beginning now. We have already started the preparation process.”

The LincVolt is a 1959 Lincoln Continental that was converted into a more fuel-efficient, hybrid demonstrator vehicle.

It has been the subject of a documentary, which was released earlier this year, and it inspired Young’s 2009 album Fork In The Road.

Meanwhile, a Neil Young tribute show has been announced for Carnegie Hall in New York next February.

The 10 February concert will see artists such as Patti Smith, The Roots, Aimee Mann and others playing songs by young with all proceeds going to a charity that funds music and arts programs for underprivileged youth.