Top Gear S05E05 | Jaguar S-Type Diesel Push & Classic Car Laughs w/ Christian Slater

4 months ago

Follow our channel for more car crazed mayhem. Alot more episodes to come that you don't want to miss. Like our videos and share with other car lovers!!
Thank you for supporting our channel

In Episode 5, Jeremy pushes the Jaguar S-Type Diesel to its limits, while the team also tests more exotic and classic cars, including a laugh-inducing run with the Morgan Aero 8GTN. Christian Slater joins as the guest in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. Rugged testing meets high-end style in this standout episode.

Transcript

00:00On tonight's show, James celebrates 50 years of guitar music in a Mercedes, a Broken Arrow star in our reasonably priced car, and I tackle the world's most formidable racetrack in a diesel.

00:16Hello. Now, in the last series, we did this item where we all had to go off and choose our favourite British car.

00:25Now, Hammond made a bit of a fool of himself and chose a Morgan, and now he's going to make a fool of himself all over again.

00:34This car costs £72,000, but just £11,000 will be made, and that makes it rather special.

00:48Now, I know, you're thinking, special? I should think so, looking like that, like it's already been crashed at the front.

00:55It looks like another time piece from memory lane motors.

00:59You get the impression it's been designed by some old bloke, Morgan Keep, locked in a shed, hidden away from the outside world, still believing it's the 1940s.

01:10Every now and again, they fly a spearfire overhead.

01:14Forget Pininfarina. This is styling by Godfrey and Captain Mannering.

01:20Look at that. A side-hinged bonnet. I should be doing this in black and white, with brill cream in my hair.

01:29OK, so it may not have the same sophisticated look as a Ferrari, but I'll tell you what it has got. Big boots.

01:42It's called the Aero 8 GTN, and it was inspired by Morgan's Le Mans racer.

01:47It has 330 brake horsepower, and it weighs just one tonne, which means, maths fans, 330 brake horsepower per tonne.

01:56It's not just more than a Ferrari 360. It's more than a 575.

02:01More than a Porsche 911 GT3.

02:06Make no mistake, this car is seriously quick.

02:10It's got a 4.6 litre BMW V8.

02:20It's got a 4.6 litre BMW V8.

02:24But even those figures don't do it justice.

02:31It's a rocket ship.

02:32And whereas normal Morgans have the look of the Devon country lane about them, this one is full of menace.

02:44With black OZ wheels, side exhausts, and semi-slick tyres.

02:51There's a good reason for all this testosterone.

02:55Morgan needs to sell more cars in America.

02:58And so the Aero 8 is about to get bigger, wider, softer and comfier.

03:04So think of this as a big, bruising bulldog.

03:09Having a last hump of your leg before the Americans need to it.

03:12So far, so good there.

03:20But by now you must be thinking, there's a catch.

03:23You might assume that the GTN won't be able to go around corners without dislocating its hip.

03:29But you'd be wrong.

03:31Very wrong.

03:37It is fabulous.

03:39Make no mistake, this Morgan handles like a proper sports car.

03:44And there's a good reason for that.

03:46Because underneath this last of the Summer White bodywork, there's a modern car.

03:56It's got a lightweight aluminium space frame chassis, just like the one of the new Jaguar XJ.

04:00And they designed it with a computer.

04:04And it wasn't one of those with big tape reels on the front, either.

04:08It's got other modern materials, too.

04:10The roof is made from lightweight carbon fibre, no less.

04:14So what we've got is a thoroughly modern car, dressed in a D-Mob suit.

04:19It's like those films they made in the 1920s about what life would be like in the future.

04:24They got all the ideas right.

04:26The world would be full of aeroplanes and robots.

04:28But the aeroplanes were all biplanes.

04:31And the robots were just, well, rubbish.

04:33It all still looked like the 1920s.

04:36But I don't care, because I love this car.

04:38It's all about sensations and the feel of it.

04:43This wood is real wood, and all the metal is real metal.

04:49Flash Gordon enjoyed engineering like this.

04:55But the best sensation of all is the noise.

05:00Yes!

05:03The noise!

05:05I will be hearing this for days.

05:08I'm smiling about it.

05:11The sound is so old school.

05:14And the steering wheel up front in your chest.

05:16But at the same time, that modern chassis is coping with all that power.

05:22This is absolutely fabulous.

05:26It's a wolf in codger's clothing, with the bark of a Spitfire.

05:33I'm turning to a bit of a rotter.

05:35I am Mr. Toad, with an AK-47.

05:45The thing is, though, it looks like it was designed by someone in a shaving mirror.

05:50Oh, the concave side.

05:51I'm just wondering, you can see it's cross-eyed, yeah?

05:54I wonder if we look at it like it's looking at us, if it would improve it.

05:59All right, hang on.

06:04What do you think?

06:06No, it's twice as horrible.

06:07It is twice as it is.

06:08Just the pair of you, leave it.

06:10You're wrong, okay?

06:10Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and, I mean, your mother probably thinks you're reasonable to look at.

06:15Stop doing that, Jamie.

06:16I could just adjudicate.

06:17Now, I think the problem is, this is a Marmite car.

06:20You love it.

06:21I do.

06:21It makes us go...

06:23Well, you're just wrong.

06:25I'm sorry.

06:26I would rather spend £72,000 on a dose of diphtheria.

06:29Look, you will change your tune when you see what it can do on the track.

06:33Now, you go away, and we'll put this into the hands of Stiglis Bader.

06:38And away he goes.

06:40Listen to that sound.

06:41Honestly, I'd never get bored of that.

06:42We're down to the first corner coming up now.

06:45Let's see.

06:46Ooh, it looks flat and controlled.

06:48There is a little bit of a steer on the way out.

06:51Very nice.

06:52Very controlled.

06:53Okay, down towards Chicago.

07:00Let's see.

07:00There is a bit more roll in there, but the Stig is definitely keeping it all in shape.

07:06Now, towards the Hammerhead.

07:07What'll happen here?

07:08Will it understeer?

07:09Finally.

07:10Not really.

07:10Just the tail out all the way.

07:12You can see through his visor.

07:14I think the Stig would be smiling at this point.

07:19Now, remember, the Morgan is on semi-slick tyres.

07:22If it was as wet as when I drove it out there, I think it'd be in trouble.

07:25But it is flying on this dry track.

07:27Look at that!

07:29I think it might have hit the tyre wall, actually.

07:31No, here we go.

07:33The penultimate corner we're through up towards Gambon's site.

07:36Very sideways.

07:37Backwards.

07:38In fact.

07:39And the time was?

07:40Ready?

07:411.25.9.

07:44That is pretty quick.

07:46For the 1940s.

07:48Hey, get off!

07:48That's quick anyway.

07:49Look, that puts it up here.

07:51So that's just behind the Lamborghini.

07:52It's faster than a Mitsubishi Evo 8, a Ferrari 575, an Aston Martin vanquished.

07:58That is a very fast car.

08:00It's almost as fast as some of these modern cars we've got.

08:03Get off!

08:03Leave it alone!

08:04It's a fast car in its own right.

08:07Okay, now, before we do the news, I've got an apology I'd like to make.

08:10Last week, it was Remembrance Sunday, and we weren't wearing poppies.

08:15Brought them down here, and then left them in the dressing room rather stupidly.

08:18Yes, we did.

08:18So I would like to say big sorry for that.

08:20Yes, I'd like to say sorry.

08:21I'm sorry.

08:22Um, what is interesting, however, is that the number of people who rang up and complained

08:26about me driving the Land Rover Discovery up a mountain is this long.

08:31That's a lot.

08:31That's how many people complained.

08:33The number of people who complained about us not wearing poppies?

08:36That's no.

08:39Not one.

08:41Right.

08:41So hang on, that means nobody bothered to complain that we haven't commemorated our fallen soldiers,

08:47the people who gave us freedom to do what we want, but then they write in to complain

08:51that you've, what, run over some moss or something?

08:53Yeah, that's basically it.

08:54I've killed moss.

08:56It's a weird world.

08:56It's a strange world we live in, isn't it?

08:58Weirdest world in the world.

08:59In fact, I think I might drive up it again next week.

09:02Right, news.

09:03Yes, right, now, European Car of the Year has been revealed.

09:07Oh, good.

09:07Really?

09:08Yes.

09:08This is 57 independent motoring journalists who every year name the European Car of the

09:12Year, and every year get it wrong.

09:14Wrong, completely.

09:15They do, every single year.

09:16I've got a list here of previous winners, or some examples of them at least.

09:19Citroen XM.

09:21In 1990, they decided that was the best new car launched, ignoring the fact that the electrics

09:26didn't work, ever.

09:28And that while you were signing your name on the order form, it was disintegrating out the

09:32back.

09:32So this year, they've gone for?

09:35The Toyota Prius.

09:36There you go, you see?

09:37Perfect.

09:37Have you seen the Toyota Prius?

09:39Oh, yes.

09:39Look at it.

09:40This is a car with two engines.

09:42Both of them minutely small.

09:44Yeah, then neither engine is big enough.

09:46It's hideously ugly.

09:47It's kind of supposed to be green.

09:49That's the...

09:49I might drive that up the mountain.

09:51I could drive that up the mountain.

09:53That would give the environmentalists something to think about.

09:54That's good.

09:55No, it isn't good.

09:56It's bad.

09:57It's quite good.

09:58If you drive it where you drove the Discovery, it might heal the mountain as it went past

10:02and make it better.

10:03That's a whole car, that.

10:05We're actually reviewing that in a couple of weeks' time, and you'll find out that it's

10:08my car of the year, too, but for very different reasons.

10:12Yeah.

10:12Um, I'd like to move on.

10:13Richard Brunstrom, big friend of Top Gear, big friend of the programme, the Chief Constable

10:17of North Wales.

10:18There he is.

10:19The Chief Constable of North Wales.

10:22He's been in the news because, and I want to get this right, he's got so many speeding

10:27cases outstanding on people in North Wales, you know, he's been very busy with his cameras,

10:31that supposedly sworn police statements issued to the court have been found to have been

10:37generated by a computer.

10:39In fact, the prosecuting officers that are supposed to have signed these things, the

10:42policemen are supposed to have signed it on the bottom, have never even seen those statements.

10:46It was somehow copied onto them from a computer.

10:49Yeah, the signatures are just photocopied, aren't they?

10:50The signatures have just come off a photocopied.

10:51So what he's basically done is he's taken the very fabric of Britain in his war on speed,

10:55he's thrown away the Magna Carta.

10:57He's thrown away everything we stand for.

10:59He's photocopied the Magna Carta.

11:01It's just unbelievable.

11:02The thing is, is that the judge said, in this case, that if it happens again, he'd have

11:06no hesitation in reporting this activity to the Director of Public Prosecutions, which

11:11could mean Brunstrom would end up in jail.

11:13Oh, no.

11:15We'd like to, we like the idea of that, because we think he should be befriended by a special

11:19friend.

11:19A big guy.

11:21Just, no, no, to get close to him in prison.

11:23Tattoos, exactly.

11:24Anyway, of course, this is the BBC.

11:26We have to, we have to provide balance and we have to say, of course, that speed cameras

11:30are good.

11:31So, speed cameras are good.

11:32There we are.

11:32Hey, now, you remember, uh, you remember last year, Hammond here, went and drove a Dodge

11:38Charger and he loved it so much, he came back and he said, I've got to buy one of those.

11:41I've got to buy one.

11:42Problem is, he didn't have the money.

11:44So, um, there's nothing that he hasn't opened in the last 12 months to try and make up for

11:49it.

11:49I mean, there's been the Eastbourne Motor Show, which you hosted.

11:52Great event.

11:52I like this one.

11:53Black Tide do awards for people who organize awards.

11:56That was a good one.

11:58Hey, that was a good, that was a good man.

11:59This is the Buffet one, the National Car Park Award.

12:03How do you judge a car park?

12:05Well, you know, how good the parking is.

12:08There's not much urine in this lift.

12:11That's not the difference.

12:12Only 40% of my car was nicked and I was only stabbed once by a heroin addict while walking

12:17across it.

12:18It was a great event and there were nice people.

12:20And you got a check.

12:21I did.

12:22And you got enough checks.

12:24Yes.

12:24And he's done it.

12:25It's here.

12:26He's got his charge for everyone.

12:27Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

12:29Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

12:30I don't know why you're clapping.

12:32I don't know why you're clapping, but I'm very pleased with it.

12:37I brought it all the way over from America and there's actually a guy in Plymouth that

12:41kind of modernises old muscle cars.

12:43So I've had more modern suspension-ish put on it and brakes.

12:47And I've had those great big alloys, custom-built in Japan.

12:50I've gone for a kind of bling modern look.

12:53No, the thing is, is that you brought this car down here today and I was all set.

12:56Well, the colour is a bit poor.

12:57It is a bit greener.

12:58I had wanted a black one, but I missed, if I'm honest.

13:01It's not black.

13:01What do they call that colour?

13:02They call it sublime.

13:04What?

13:05Don't laugh at my car.

13:06I'm touching.

13:06I have to say, there are environmental concerns about it.

13:10It's not.

13:10It's somebody there said it.

13:12What was that?

13:12Somebody there mentioned the environment word.

13:14And it is green, but not green like you're thinking.

13:17It's just...

13:18How many miles to the gallon?

13:19Not many.

13:20How many do we think?

13:20Five, six, something like that.

13:22Five.

13:22Something like that.

13:23Six.

13:23I reckon it'll give your GT a run for its money.

13:26Maybe we should have a competition.

13:27Yeah, who can use the most fuel?

13:31Hey, that's a game.

13:32I think we should do that.

13:33Buy shares in Shell.

13:35Um, no, I was going to take the mickey out of you for that car.

13:38The problem is, I think it's fantastic.

13:41Don't you think?

13:41I'm just very scared of what it's going to be.

13:42It's a seriously cool...

13:43No, there's nothing coming.

13:44I think it's a very cool car.

13:46I think you've done very well.

13:46I've even had a t-shirt made for you that you can wear while you're driving it.

13:49I've got a charger in.

13:50Yeah, there you are.

13:51Look.

13:51Look at that.

13:53Big car, small Richard.

14:02Um...

14:03Mmm.

14:05I've got a beef this week.

14:07You know the local traffic interrupt thing that comes onto your radio

14:11to tell you about a broken pelican crossing

14:13in a street you're not going to in a town you've never heard of?

14:17Yes.

14:17And you miss the news and you miss your favourite bit of song.

14:20It's driving me up the wall.

14:21It's absolutely driving me potty.

14:23Because then he just does all that, and then they forget to turn it off.

14:27So you have to sit and listen to this cheerful local radio DJ who then plays a Phil Collins record.

14:32No, I'm not having this.

14:33See, I know how this worked, because I started in local radio.

14:36We can tell, actually.

14:38From the moors to the shores, from the veils to the dales, across North Yorkshire, Richard Hammond,

14:43till 2 o'clock in the morning.

14:47It's good.

14:47It's good training.

14:48Don't knock it.

14:49I was sitting there.

14:50I remember the day this traffic system arrived.

14:52I was sitting there at my desk.

14:53A man came in with a button.

14:54He said, here you go, new button.

14:55When you're going to do your traffic, press this button,

14:57and all the radios across the whole county will be switched to you.

15:01Really?

15:02Well, look, I'll just say.

15:03I mean, you're not going to leave it.

15:05You know what I mean?

15:06You have that.

15:06They just will not turn them off.

15:08After they've told you the useless traffic report, they won't turn them off.

15:11So I've had this idea.

15:12Wait for the local radio DJ to be getting married,

15:16you know, when they allow homosexual marriage.

15:18When that's happening, all right?

15:20They're not all...

15:21Just as they're about to do their vows,

15:23barging there and go,

15:26there's a complete tailback all the way up the high street,

15:28left of the tabby lights, right down there, they're broken.

15:30And here's Phil Cohen.

15:32I can feel it coming.

15:35You're funny.

15:37Just leave local radio,

15:38and it provides a much appreciated and valued service

15:40for literally tens of people across the country.

15:43So leave it alone.

15:44All right?

15:45In this series so far, we've seen Jeremy...

15:49I'm just showing you what it's like.

15:51And if you do it again, I'll kill you. Stop it.

15:54Stop.

15:54See, in this series so far,

15:56we've already shown that a child on a skateboard can't beat a car

16:00and that caravans are best used as conquers.

16:03Now I think it's time for Top Gear to revolutionise motorsport.

16:09And we start, oddly enough, with the Renault Espace,

16:12one of the least sporty cars ever made.

16:15But it was one of the most important.

16:18Like the Ford Model T, the Espace was one of the great seismic shifts in the history of the car.

16:27Today, people carry a cell in their millions,

16:30and they're slowly killing off the hatchback and the saloon.

16:34And in Europe, it all began 20 years ago with this car.

16:37The upholstery may have been ugly.

16:43The car may have been ugly.

16:45But its lack of boot and bonnet and its flexible seating was a complete revolution.

16:49And you can tell this car was a revolution.

16:56Because when it hit the showrooms in 1984, no-one got it.

17:01At first, Renault were confident.

17:06In fact, one of the creators called the Espace the silk underpants car

17:10because he believed it would make everyone involved rich enough to afford posh undercrackers.

17:16But when the early sales figures came in, their underpants were in fact brown.

17:22Because in its first month, the Espace racked up worldwide sales of nine.

17:28That's it. Nine.

17:31But the rest is history.

17:33And today, the world is full of people carriers.

17:36And this car is an icon.

17:39So, how do we celebrate it?

17:45Well, you can't say a car has ever really arrived

17:48until it gets its own classic racing series.

17:52There's the historic Ferrari Maserati Championship.

17:55And Aston Martin's got one.

17:56And Jaguar.

17:57They all do them.

17:58And so we come to the inaugural historic People Carrier Racing Championship race.

18:05We think this sport has great promise.

18:11It'll be cheap, exciting, and it's open to minicabbers and dads.

18:16Just look at the line-up.

18:17It should also be a good laugh, especially when you see what's taking part.

18:27As well as two Espaces, we've got the Toyota Space Cruiser.

18:32A car once described by consumer experts as highly unstable.

18:36The Mitsubishi Space Wagon.

18:40The lowest car here, and that's got to be good for handling.

18:44And then we come to this, the Toyota Previa.

18:46Now, this one has an ace up its sleeve,

18:49because it's mid-engined.

18:53Just like a Ferrari.

18:55And finally, the Nissan Serena.

18:58For many years, Britain's slowest accelerating car,

19:01with a 0-60 time of 28 agonising seconds.

19:06All of them picked up for a few hundred quid apiece.

19:10One, two, three.

19:12Now, we really do want to put this race series on the map.

19:15And to show we're not messing about,

19:17we've got some serious driving talent.

19:21Tim Harvey, former British touring car champion.

19:24Matt Neill, former independent British touring car champion.

19:31Anthony Reid, reigning independent touring car champion

19:34and race of champions champion.

19:37Rob Huff, Seat Cupra Championship champion.

19:42And Tom Chilton, who one day probably will be a champion.

19:48Champion!

19:54This is very, very exciting.

20:04I'm with some of the country's top racing drivers.

20:09I was in Silver Espace number one,

20:12but Rob Huff in the Diesel Serena went from a jugular right from the off.

20:15Oh!

20:16Really a pretty brutal start.

20:20The racing rules were simple.

20:2215 laps and no body contact.

20:26But touring car drivers always forget that last bit.

20:30Obviously, you do get a bit of lead if people carry a racing.

20:37As I go into the top turn, a bit of a four-wheel drift.

20:41I am getting understair, if I'm honest.

20:43I'm being let on heavily by the Toyota.

20:47The Serena now, just a great big lump.

20:49But it's like somebody's left a barn on the track.

20:52How am I going to get around that thing like that?

20:57Pretty soon, both Espaces were fighting for the lead.

21:00I'm trying for third gear.

21:01That's cost me...

21:03Oh!

21:04That's cost me two places, that mistake.

21:07And Matt Neill's space cruiser was more like a space hopper.

21:10I'm using the Toyota to steer this bus, countering my terrible understeer problems.

21:22This is not, obviously, the usual way to drive an otherwise sensible family vehicle.

21:28Whoa, this is big!

21:33Yes!

21:37That's two of them gone.

21:38By now, it has to be said, there was a smattering of body contact.

21:44Yes!

21:45He's dead!

21:47But you always get teething problems in the early days of any historic race series.

21:54Oh, f***!

21:55Come on!

21:59Right.

22:01I'm happy for that.

22:02Here we go.

22:08My Espace made mincemeat of Tim Harvey's space wagon as we headed for the finish.

22:13This is the best form of racing ever devised.

22:20Now, it's Espace on Espace.

22:25Stay to the front.

22:28It's second.

22:29First and second for the Espaces.

22:31What a great victory.

22:34What a great day.

22:39Now, you see, they were a multi-purpose vehicle.

22:43And we tried pretty much everything with these things, carrying families, dogs, businesses

22:46using them.

22:47But there was one purpose we left unexplored until now.

22:50And I think we've started something brilliant here.

22:52Historic people-carrier racing could be the way forwards.

22:56Not with this one, though.

22:57Obviously, that's a bit spent.

23:00Well, that's good fun.

23:03Yes.

23:05Well, can I just ask?

23:08Did yours have the V6 engine?

23:11Did you notice that?

23:12My car was so much faster than ever.

23:14It was a bit embarrassing.

23:15It was.

23:15But I will say this.

23:16There was more action in that one race than a whole year of Formula One, I would say.

23:20And it was quite a lot cheaper.

23:21But look, I don't want to get caught up because I really do think we are actually onto something

23:26here with historic people-carrier racing.

23:28Now, I rang the BRDC, that's the British Racing Drivers Club, and they said, and I quote,

23:32it's mega.

23:33It is.

23:34I've got it all worked out.

23:35I'm going to do the TV rights and the tobacco sponsorship.

23:38You get a pudding base and haircut.

23:40Marry someone a lot taller than you are.

23:42Yeah.

23:42We'll be super rich.

23:44And you will all have a great racing series to watch.

23:47Everybody wins.

23:48Right.

23:48Now, we've got to meet our guest.

23:50He's a proper Hollywood star this week.

23:51Really is.

23:52He's been in Austin Powers.

23:54He's been in Broken Arrow.

23:55But he's never been in a Suzuki Liana.

23:58Until now.

23:59Ladies and gentlemen, Christian Slater.

24:01How are you?

24:04Hello.

24:05Hello.

24:06Good morning.

24:07How special have you seen?

24:10Ah.

24:14Very nice.

24:17Not bad, eh?

24:18Oh, God.

24:19On top gear.

24:20Wait until you see my lap time.

24:21Then we'll be able to start.

24:21Well, we're going to come to that later.

24:23I'm very grateful you could come on.

24:25My pleasure.

24:25Really?

24:25Uh, big honor for us to have a proper Hollywood person here.

24:28I mean, we can do the thawning.

24:30Um, of course, you're over here on the stage, aren't you?

24:32Yes, yes.

24:33Doing, uh, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest here at the Gielgud Theater.

24:36That's the plug over with.

24:38That's like they got that out of the way.

24:39January 22nd, ladies and gentlemen.

24:41No, that's enough.

24:42There we go.

24:42That's enough now.

24:43Okay.

24:44The thing I want to talk about is this new film you've got coming out, which is not a plug.

24:48It's just something I'm fascinated by.

24:49When is it?

24:49Later this month, isn't it?

24:51Uh, December 3rd.

24:52December 3rd.

24:52Oh, well, that's the latest month.

24:53What's it called?

24:54Uh, Churchill, the Hollywood years.

24:56See, this is fantastic.

24:57Yeah.

24:58Because Hollywood has a reputation, really, for mangling history.

25:01Yes, yes.

25:02You would agree with that?

25:03Uh, well, from what I understand, uh, yeah, that they have, in certain circumstances,

25:07taken credit for certain historical English things that have happened.

25:12Quite a few, actually.

25:13Quite a few.

25:13All of them.

25:14Yes.

25:14You saw U571?

25:16Yes, yes.

25:16A brilliant American story.

25:17A brilliant American story.

25:18True patriotism.

25:19It is, it is true that the Americans did capture an Enigma machine, but the date was

25:24June the 1st, 1944, six days before D-Day, when the Germans were giving them away in car

25:27boot sales.

25:28Oh.

25:30We got the difficult one in about 1940.

25:32Well, in this one, in, in Churchill, the Hollywood years, I, uh, well, I play Winston

25:36Churchill, so that right there is, uh...

25:39We've actually got a clip.

25:40This one really destroys it.

25:42Yeah, we've, we've got a clip here, which I'd love to show for you now.

25:44So you've got an idea of what it is.

25:46Yeah.

25:46When the winds of war blew through the sands of time, only one man could turn the tide.

25:56Lieutenant Winston Churchill, the U.S. Marines, you got a problem with that, pal?

26:00All about pizza and I'll tell him.

26:02Yeah, I'll give you a piece, a piece of Hitler's ass.

26:04Now, you wind up trying to prevent the British joining in with the Germans in this.

26:18Yes, correct.

26:19As Winston Churchill, the, the, uh, American G.I., I come in, I single-handedly, uh, steal

26:27the Enigma machine myself and, uh, introduce it to the, to the English and, uh, basically

26:32try and help them to, to win the war.

26:34And you end up married to...

26:36Well, I end up having a toured romance with, uh, Princess Elizabeth, yes.

26:41Later becomes Queen Elizabeth.

26:43No, I'm really, there's Harry Enfield's in it as well, isn't it?

26:46Right, thanks.

26:46And Vic Reeves.

26:47I understand Harry Enfield did, uh, uh, he has, uh, a lot of time.

26:50He's been here.

26:50Yeah, he's been here.

26:51He's been here.

26:52There we go.

26:53That's not, that's not a desperately hard target for you.

26:57Okay.

26:58Um, now let's just, I'm going to stick with Hollywood if I may.

27:01In Get Shorty, John Travolta ends up hiring a Oldsmobile Silhouette people.

27:07Minivan, yeah.

27:08Minivan.

27:08Yeah.

27:09And then the film, basically, everybody ends up in the film having one of these cars.

27:13Sure, sure, sure.

27:14Is that for real?

27:14Does that actually happen there?

27:16Um, I think it, it, it, in certain circumstances, it, it, it does, absolutely.

27:20I mean, that movie was very cool.

27:22I mean, I, honestly, after seeing that movie, was, was highly interested in a minivan for a little while.

27:26I thought it was a really cool car and liked it a lot.

27:29But I guess right now the, the trend seems to be the, uh, the, the, the Prius, or the Prius, however you guess.

27:35Oh, God, DiCaprio's got one.

27:37Yes, yes.

27:37I mean, a lot, a lot of people are driving the, the hybrid cars.

27:40I'm on the waiting list for the, the Lexus hybrid, you know, that's, that'll be.

27:44What for?

27:45I don't know, some sort of environmentally conscious thing.

27:48Oh, for crying out loud, Christian.

27:50Well, my, my, my plan is to have maybe the, the, the, the Lexus hybrid, so I feel environmentally conscious,

27:56and then I've got a 67 GTO that I'm in the process of purchasing back.

28:00So I'll drive that on the weekends and drive the.

28:02So when you go on an American chat show and they say, what do you drive?

28:04You can say, a hybrid.

28:06Yeah, exactly.

28:06And then drive home with a big muscle car.

28:08Here, GTO.

28:08Yeah, with a big muscle car.

28:10Exactly.

28:10Because you have actually been in a proper police chase, haven't you?

28:13Yes, yes, yes.

28:14Back in 89, I, I, uh, I did go to a club, had a couple too many, and the cops wanted to pull me over,

28:21and I was like, well, it was also the year that Batman had come out.

28:24So I just sort of, I had a, a, a delusion that I was Batman for a moment.

28:29And, uh, just put the pedal to the metal, and, and it wasn't a very long chase.

28:34I, I, it wasn't, it wasn't really, it was kind of sad and pathetic, but they, they eventually

28:37How did it end?

28:38It ended, uh, happily.

28:40We all hugged and embraced, and they said, well, that's usually how it goes, isn't it?

28:45Yeah.

28:45It's funny, though, because American policemen don't embrace me when they catch me speeding.

28:49They don't, huh?

28:49No, they don't.

28:50They shout and scream and pull guns out.

28:52Well, the, the, the point is, is that there's certain, you know, in America, there's, there's,

28:56there's, you know, a policeman's ball you can go to.

28:58There's a lot of, uh, ways you can invest and, and, uh, you know, make charitable contributions

29:03so that when something like that does occur, they are much more gracious and much more receptive.

29:09I prefer to just fly home, actually.

29:11Fly home, yeah.

29:1216 speeding tickets in Nevada.

29:14All I'm paid is just come home.

29:16Oh, my God.

29:17That's fantastic.

29:17That's the way to go.

29:18You better be able to stay.

29:19You've got to pay this within three days.

29:20Exactly.

29:22See ya.

29:24Your car history is quite interesting, I have to say, because we've had, there's been a Nissan Pathfinder

29:29and a Volvo.

29:30Yeah.

29:31Which would set you up as a bit of a bull, frankly.

29:33Well, the Volvo was, uh, uh, really for covert purposes, you know, I mean, no, nobody looks

29:39at a Volvo, you know, I mean, Volvos are very subtle, very kind of inconspicuous vehicles.

29:44Oh, so why did you get a Porsche Carrera, then?

29:47Because I didn't want to be inconspicuous anymore.

29:49I see.

29:49Have you seen Hammond's new car?

29:51Uh, yes, I saw him posing next to it, yeah, yeah, yeah.

29:54What do you think of that?

29:55I think it's, it's a beautiful color.

29:57It's a, it's a, it's a, um, I thought you'd all have SUVs over in America now, isn't it?

30:04Well, yeah, I mean, you know, when, uh, when you do tend to have a family, either you do

30:08get a minivan or, uh, an SUV, some kind of Escalade, and, uh, we, we did go for the Escalade

30:13for a little while.

30:14And then you've done the big Cadillac?

30:15Yeah, we've, we've done the big, big Cadillac and, and felt, uh, you know, started to feel

30:20very guilty about that.

30:21And, and so now we've let that go as well.

30:23Because in America, you've now got San Francisco, haven't they just banned SUVs from the center?

30:27I think so, yeah, they were, they were supposedly, they were so heavy that they were cracking

30:30the roads.

30:31Yeah.

30:322.7 tons, I think, is the limit.

30:33You're not allowed to have one over 2.7 tons.

30:35But most pedestrians weigh that much in San Francisco.

30:38You'll set the San Andreas Fault off!

30:42There you go.

30:43Go on a diet!

30:44Don't eat cheese!

30:45Anyhow, how was it out there on the track?

30:48Uh, out there on the track, well, first of all, the Stig was genius.

30:51I mean, he was absolutely brilliant and, uh, uh, a great coach.

30:54Uh, I had a few, uh, few rough goes around the first turn.

30:58I think that was, that was a little rough.

31:00But I enjoyed it.

31:01Should we have a look?

31:02Yes.

31:03Okay.

31:04It's sad.

31:05Here we go.

31:06Oh, now you see, that's an impressive start.

31:08Look at that.

31:09It's a good start.

31:10It's not a bad start.

31:11And that's the first corner.

31:13Whoa!

31:14Look at that!

31:15Off the wheel!

31:16It's too f***ing fast!

31:18And the car's not going fast enough.

31:20I was really frustrated with that.

31:21Yeah, you are driving into these corners really aggressively.

31:24I'm really taking them, aren't I?

31:25How often do you get to do something like this, buddy?

31:27Not often!

31:28We'll let you off cutting that corner, since you are on the proper side of the car.

31:37Yeah.

31:38Nice and easy.

31:39Casual.

31:40I know where I'm going.

31:41So, it's all right.

31:42Look at this.

31:4376 miles an hour going in there.

31:45Did you lift off through there?

31:46Keep your foot on it?

31:47I kept my foot on it.

31:48Oh, yeah.

31:49Zoom!

31:50Look at that.

31:51Wow.

31:52Now I'm breaking here.

31:53We are second to last corner.

31:54Oh, back wheel off the ground again.

31:55That is not bad, actually.

31:56Yeah, look at that.

31:57Now we're going.

31:58And I like that line through there.

31:59That is the Michael Gambon line.

32:01And there we are across the line.

32:02Yay!

32:03Well done.

32:04Thank you for making me look good.

32:05Well done.

32:06Thank you for making me look good.

32:07Well done.

32:08Thank you Steve.

32:10Now then, where do you think you've done?

32:13Um, hopefully above Harry Enfield.

32:15That was my...

32:16Well, yeah, look.

32:17Who else is there?

32:18You had the back wheel off the ground.

32:19Yeah, that's pretty good, right?

32:20So you were definitely going to do that.

32:21You're a big Star Trek fan, aren't you?

32:23Uh, well, where's Patrick?

32:24Patrick Stewart is there at 1.50.

32:27Whoa!

32:28He is really nice.

32:29God.

32:30Well, he's used to driving the Enterprise.

32:31That's right.

32:32He went warm speed.

32:33Yeah.

32:34The one there said, make it so, and it all happened.

32:36Exactly.

32:37You, of course, didn't have that.

32:38Yeah.

32:39So, well, hopefully, somewhere between Patrick Stewart and Harry Enfield, I'd walk away

32:43here a happy man.

32:44Well, you're going to walk away a happy man because you did it in 1 minute 51.4 seconds.

32:50Yay!

32:51Which means...

32:55Wow.

32:56You're there.

32:57And I think I'm right in saying...

32:58What's that?

32:59I think I'm right in saying that you are, therefore, the fastest American we've ever had.

33:09Hey!

33:10That's a good record.

33:11You are.

33:12Wow.

33:13You are, of course, the only American we've ever had.

33:18Oh, no, wait.

33:19David Soule up there.

33:20David Soule.

33:21He was useless.

33:22Useless, was he?

33:23Oh, God.

33:24Yeah.

33:25And Lionel Richie, who is...

33:26Yeah.

33:27Where is Lionel Richie?

33:28I called him Rich T because I couldn't spell his name.

33:31Oh, no, wait.

33:32No, wait.

33:33150.

33:34You are not the fastest American.

33:35Oh, come on.

33:36Lionel beat me.

33:37You're slower than...

33:38Hello.

33:39Yeah.

33:40Nevertheless, it's been a pleasure having you here.

33:41Great pleasure.

33:42Thank you, thank you, thank you.

33:43Thank you, thank you.

33:44Thank you, thank you.

33:45Thank you, thank you.

33:46Thank you so much.

33:47Thank you so much.

33:49You're welcome, aren't you?

33:51Right.

33:52Restoration rip-off.

33:53Now, this week, there will be no Restoration rip-off.

33:58Instead, we thought we'd have a little celebration because, you see, this year marks the 50th anniversary

34:07of two very remarkable engineering achievements.

34:11This was one of them, the Fender Stratocaster guitar, the instrument that launched Jimi Hendrix

34:17and changed the face of rock and roll.

34:20But I can't drive around the countryside on an old guitar.

34:25Thankfully, however, 1954 also gave us this.

34:30One of the most revered cars the world has ever seen, the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing.

34:48So now we're going to try and kill two birthdays with one stone.

34:51All the music you hear in this film has been made with the Stratocaster and, unsurprisingly,

34:56not much of it is German.

34:58See if you can spot the one track that is.

35:05So, while the Americans were creating a music legend, the Germans, mercifully, were concentrating on cars.

35:15Only 1,400 SLs were built, and today they fetch over £200,000 apiece.

35:21Now, why is that? Why do car lovers crawl across broken glass to get one?

35:28Well, one reason might be that it has pedigree.

35:32This car re-established Mercedes as the king of road racers,

35:36as this softly spoken gentleman explains.

35:40Mercedes 300 SL is the newest construction of Daimler-Wenzwerke.

35:44But what he didn't explain was that Mercedes were broke,

35:49so the SL was based on the engine, gearbox and suspension of a plodding saloon car.

35:56It used drum brakes when others were already using discs,

35:59and the handling was terrifying.

36:02Lift off the throttle in a fast bend,

36:04and the SL would just snap and spin away out of control.

36:08Absolutely no warning.

36:10And this gave it something of a reputation as a widow-maker.

36:15So, if this car was such a shocker,

36:17well, that brings me back to my original question.

36:19Why is it so special?

36:21I think I have the answer.

36:24It was a first. That's what all the fuss is about.

36:27This car, I believe, was the world's first true supercar.

36:31Forget Ferrari and Lamborghini and all that stuff.

36:34This is Genesis.

36:46Here comes my argument.

36:48First, performance.

36:50A supercar should always push the outside of the envelope.

36:54And in 1954, this one definitely did.

36:56It would do 150 miles per hour.

36:59And that was at a time when an average saloon car

37:02would struggle to crack half of that.

37:04It was very light.

37:05It was aerodynamic.

37:06And with this three-litre fuel-injected straight six,

37:10it was comfortably the fastest road car in the world.

37:20The other requirement of a supercar is a truly terrifying price tag.

37:25And in Britain, in 1955, this car cost over £4,000.

37:30Now, I know it doesn't sound very much,

37:32but back then, £4,000 would have bought you a very, very nice house.

37:38And there's one other thing.

37:43And this is absolutely vital in a supercar.

37:49All the greats had this, like the Lamborghini Countach

37:53and the Jaguar XJ220.

37:55And it is a really rubbish boot.

38:00Oh, yes.

38:01It'd be years before Ferrari could offer that sort of poor luggage space.

38:06But above all, a true supercar should look like nothing else on earth.

38:19Now, because of the way it was built,

38:21the door sills on the SL were very high,

38:24and yet the roof was very low.

38:26This meant there wasn't much room for the doors.

38:29The solution came from engineers simply being practical,

38:36but it gave this car the most famous frontal silhouette in motoring history.

38:42Even today, in the most modern hypercars,

38:45you can see the DNA of the SL lingering on.

38:48The Gullwing looked outrageous.

38:51It cost a heartbreaking amount of money.

38:53It had a very poor boot.

38:54And in its time, nothing on the planet, at any rate,

38:57could get even close to it.

38:59And remember, while all this was going on,

39:01Ferrari was still in short trousers.

39:04Lamborghini badges were still on tractors.

39:08The supercar.

39:09You saw it here first.

39:11OK, it's time now for the Top Gear Down to Earth board.

39:19An idea we introduced last week

39:21to provide an island of sanity

39:23in the usual Top Gear world of testosterone and tyre smoke.

39:27We did small cars last week,

39:29and we said the two best are the Toyota Yaris and the Honda Jazz.

39:32That was for people with cardigans.

39:34Now, this week, on the Down to Earth board,

39:37it's cars for people whose kids are at private school.

39:40Why not?

39:43Obviously, you need to have a lot of space

39:46for the stereo and the trunks and so on,

39:48but the most crucial thing is,

39:50vital, don't buy a flash car.

39:52Really, you know?

39:54Just gonna get bullied.

39:56We've driven all of them,

39:58and we think two best,

40:00Land Rover Discovery and Subaru Legacy.

40:04Spec B.

40:05Now, we've got one here,

40:06and it is, actually, strictly speaking, a rally car,

40:08because underneath it has the suspension and the gearbox

40:12from the Impreza.

40:14It has a flat-six engine, a proper Subaru trademark,

40:16and four-wheel drive.

40:18Absolutely.

40:19It is very good.

40:20There's another very good advantage to it,

40:21is there's room in the back for a schoolboy.

40:22We can demonstrate that.

40:23No problem at all.

40:25The thing I really like about these, there,

40:26is that they're actually superbly put together, these cars.

40:29Oh, they are.

40:30Okay, listen to this.

40:31Listen to the sound a door makes.

40:32Ready?

40:33Isn't that unbelievable?

40:34Listen.

40:35That is the exact noise that a dead pheasant makes

40:37when it hits the ground after you've shot it.

40:39It does.

40:40Do you know what I think it is?

40:41I mean, I don't know if that's the effect

40:42that we're going for when it did that.

40:43But you're right, it is.

40:44Point is, the car costs about £27,500,

40:46so you're going to have to be quite wealthy to buy one.

40:48But nobody will ever know it.

40:49It's so discreet.

40:50That's the whole point of the car, Rick.

40:51It is.

40:52It's one of our very favourite cars of the moment.

40:53Yeah.

40:54But we must move on and talk about this.

40:56It's the Jaguar S-Type diesel,

40:57and it's getting hugely good press.

41:00Everyone is saying that it's a twin-turbo 2.7-litre engine

41:02is a paragon of refinement and quietness

41:06and, of course, fuel economy,

41:07none of which is a good price.

41:08It's not worth putting on the price of this,

41:10but the car costs about £27,500.

41:12It's not worth it.

41:13It's not worth it.

41:14The price of this car costs about £27,500,

41:16so you're going to have to be quite wealthy

41:17to buy one.

41:18But nobody will ever know it.

41:19It's so discreet.

41:20That's the whole point of the car, Rick.

41:21fuel economy, none of which matters to us.

41:24What we're bothered about is power and performance.

41:37This is the Nürburgring in Germany,

41:40the longest and most terrifying racetrack in the world.

41:45It twists and turns for 13 miles through the Eiffel Mountains.

41:50It's so vast that entire villages nestle in its midst.

41:58The Top Gear test track has eight corners.

42:01Silverstone, which is a big Grand Prix circuit, has 12 corners.

42:05The Nürburgring has 147 corners.

42:11Over the years, this track has claimed more than 200 lives.

42:21Despite this, though, anyone can drive round it.

42:24You roll up with your own car or bike, pay 14 euros, and off you go.

42:30How many laps do you do a year?

42:33A thousand.

42:34A thousand laps?

42:35Yeah, come here every day.

42:36Because it's like a disease. It's like a disease that won't go away.

42:39You want to come back here and drive it like every weekend, every day.

42:45Even though you smashed your car to pieces?

42:46Yep.

42:48So how long do you think it would take me to learn my way round here?

42:5250 laps, roughly, to know which way it goes.

42:55Yeah.

42:56And then the rest of your life, you'll actually learn it.

42:59This chap, who was disabled and drove with hand controls, offered to show me round.

43:03Look, your car's too slow, man.

43:07If you really know the track, and you're a professional racing driver, and you have a Ferrari Enzo, you can get round here in around eight minutes.

43:17Now, what I'm going to try and do is get the Jag diesel round in ten minutes.

43:24Doesn't sound like much, but I do have several problems, only one of which is the Arga under the bonnet.

43:29I don't know my way round this track at all. It's a complete mystery.

43:33It rained last night, so it's very slippery out there.

43:37And I'm afraid I was out last night with Johnny Vegas, so I'm not feeling all that fresh.

43:43To help me get my diesel round this place, I have a teacher, Sabine Schmitz.

43:50She was born in the village of Nürburgr and knows the track better than anyone else alive today.

43:58I'm so nervous.

44:01I have no idea where this track goes.

44:04At the moment, it's quite easy.

44:06Okay, and now accelerate, accelerate, accelerate, accelerate, accelerate!

44:10It's not really a corner.

44:11It's a huge corner!

44:14How many times have you been round this track?

44:1615,000 laps, maybe.

44:18You're kidding.

44:19Yeah.

44:20And there's a golf coming.

44:21I know, yeah, I'm going to let him go.

44:22Turn in now.

44:23Now.

44:24Perfect.

44:25And you were how old when you first came round here?

44:26What?

44:27You were how old when you first came round?

44:28Three years, maybe.

44:29Number three?

44:30Yeah.

44:31And now what?

44:32What, what, what, what, what now?

44:33Straight.

44:35Very good.

44:36Now stay left.

44:38Turn in.

44:40Turn that bloody traction control off.

44:41Turn it off.

44:42No, really, no.

44:43Here's two meters here.

44:44Here's a count.

44:46For God's sake, woman.

44:47Turn in.

44:48Stay left, left, left, left.

44:50What's that?

44:52I told you, stay left.

44:53I was ignoring you, I'm a man.

44:55I think it, it will be hard work to get you on the 10th.

44:58This is so, you think, you don't think I can do 10 minutes?

45:01Take, I've...

45:02This is my first lap.

45:03It will take years.

45:04Don't break so much.

45:06Is this the carousel?

45:08Yeah, now the carousel is coming.

45:10Turn in more later.

45:12Your driving style is really funny.

45:17It's very different.

45:18Why?

45:19Tell me what to do.

45:20It's very different.

45:21Turn and turn.

45:22No, don't, don't break.

45:23Don't break.

45:24Oh, a girl overtook you.

45:25Have you seen that?

45:26Yeah, I'm not feeling proud.

45:28Finally, we came to the scaffold bridge, which is the finishing line.

45:33Okay, how quick was that, do you reckon?

45:3515.

45:36Oh, come on.

45:37Yeah.

45:38And I have to average 78 miles an hour.

45:41Average 78.

45:42Average 78.

45:45Which is...

45:47I'm not entirely certain that's doable.

45:51Doable or not, it was time for my first solo flight.

45:55And just to fill me with a little more confidence,

45:57a timely reminder that I was tackling a killer.

46:04Here we go, look, ambulance.

46:07Can I have his spleen?

46:09Yes.

46:20Right, coming up to the start.

46:23And ready, steady, go.

46:29My reporting skills immediately went to pieces.

46:32Everything was just a blur.

46:35I'd love to be able to give you some decent commentary here about what's going on, but...

46:40I just don't know.

46:42I've got a bike up my chancy.

46:45Actually...

46:46Whoa!

46:47God, that bag keeps kicking out under braking.

46:52I feel a bit sick.

46:54Oh!

46:55Oh, my God.

46:57I've got an average 78.

46:5878.

46:59I haven't even reached 78 at this point.

47:02I don't know where I am.

47:03I don't know what's happening.

47:05The track all looks the same.

47:07You never have any idea what's coming up next and what speed you should be going.

47:12When will it end?

47:15God.

47:17That's it.

47:19My time's up.

47:20It's beeping away now to tell me I've done the 10 minutes.

47:2316 seconds over.

47:2618 seconds.

47:2820 seconds.

47:30Coming up to the bridge again.

47:32Coming up, ready to stop it.

47:34And...

47:3626.

47:38Absolutely everybody here was faster than me.

47:42Yes, that's true.

47:44Do you think I'm going to be able to get around in 10 minutes?

47:47No.

47:51Don't sugarcoat it like that.

47:52Tell me straight.

47:54You're not 100% talent free, but...

47:5780%.

47:5980% talent free.

48:00Right.

48:04That's the wrong gear.

48:06I don't know where I am.

48:07God.

48:11Exactly.

48:12He's coming.

48:14God.

48:15My second lap was even slower, but I had a pretty good excuse all lined up for teacher.

48:20It's a nightmare.

48:21Nightmare?

48:22There was this tiger.

48:23Yeah.

48:24And it leapt out.

48:26And it was going for these school children, so I had to stop.

48:29I had to save the school children's life.

48:32Of course, you're probably thinking the slowness is all my fault, but actually, it was the cars.

48:38You see, these all just don't work on racetracks.

48:41206 brake horsepower, and all of it comes, of course, being a diesel in a great big lump.

48:47Ugh.

48:48Nothing.

48:49Nothing.

48:50Nothing.

48:51206 horsepower.

48:52Time for a gear change.

48:53All gone.

48:54And he's just always on the red line.

48:55It's just constant.

48:56He only revs up to 4,500.

48:58Half expecting in a minute to be overtaken by my mother.

49:02And overtaken by everybody else.

49:03Brakes.

49:04Very good for pulling up outside a butcher's shop to buy a nice pork chop.

49:11Not so good when you're hammering into Ex-Muller for 120 miles an hour.

49:16There we go.

49:17There's the beep.

49:19Eight seconds over.

49:21Here comes the bridge.

49:2319.

49:2420.

49:26I'm faster.

49:27I'm six seconds faster.

49:28Well, if I can keep doing that at this rate, by about, ooh, February, I'll have this cracked.

49:34Erm.

49:35On that occasion, it was amazing.

49:36There was a whole elephant.

49:37They were out hunting for, you know.

49:38But although the lap times were going in the right direction, my luck wasn't.

49:47Oh, God.

49:49Cocky.

49:50I'm going to overtake one of the home motorcyclists here.

49:54Get out of the way, sonny boy.

49:56God, this is quick.

49:58This is very quick now.

50:00120.

50:02But then, as I was coming up to the famous Adnau Bridge...

50:05Whoa, we've got an accident.

50:08He's gone in.

50:11Oh, God, it's the disabled guy in the Z3.

50:14I hope he's okay.

50:18He was.

50:19But I wasn't.

50:20I just couldn't hook up one good lap.

50:22And it turned out I wasn't alone.

50:26I learnt it on a computer game on the Xbox.

50:29And what it didn't realise was the gradients, the bumps, the bits where you're getting the bars shaking

50:35because you think you're on a perfect straight bit of road and you wind it on and it's like,

50:38Oh, my God.

50:40It wasn't like that in the game.

50:42Because I brought diesel to try and get round in ten minutes.

50:46Which...

50:47As the sun was setting on the final lap of the day, though, it looked like I'd make it.

50:57This was a hot one.

51:00This is the trouble. You start to get cocky. You start to think you might know it.

51:05Get out of the way, bikes!

51:08Get a car and some proper clothes, for God's sake.

51:12I'm a man on a mission here.

51:14The trouble was that after just one day, I didn't know it at all.

51:21I'm off the road. I'm off the bloody road.

51:24Whoa, yes, but I'm back on again.

51:28Oh, God, look at this golf. Look at the state of this golf.

51:30There's a guy who lives here. That was quick through there. 110 miles an hour through that bend.

51:37Despite the off, despite being overtaken by a golf, I was still on for a good time.

51:42But then, disaster.

51:45It's gone.

51:48I've got no power. I've got no drive.

51:51Restricted performance. Got an engine management problem.

51:55I really, really thought I was going to crack it on this lap.

51:58Why have you broken down? Why won't you work?

52:13I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses here, but I didn't have the best of luck this afternoon.

52:18Cos, on a couple of times when I think I could have broken the 10-minute barrier, someone had crashed through yellow flags, had to slow down.

52:26Then there was the time, I admit it was my fault of changing to second gear at about 110 miles an hour, and that's why the engine went,

52:31and flicked into safety-get-your-home mode.

52:37And I've got to do it. I've got to prove to Sabine that I can do this.

52:42So, I'm no more of that.

52:46Get thee behind me, juice of Johan Vegas.

52:50I'm going to study my map, I'm going to get an early night, and a very, very early start tomorrow, and I'll be ready.

52:57Unfortunately, in the morning, the weather was terrible.

53:14I decided to go out anyway and see what I could learn, but all I learned was, when it's wet, avoid the curbs.

53:21Soon, though, it dried out, and I began, once again, to pick up speed.

53:36What? Brake. Turn it. Clip the apex. Let it run wide.

53:41I was feeling pretty good and felt sure that Sabine would be pleased with my progress as well.

53:47He looks a little bit lazy behind the steering wheel.

53:51Turn it late.

53:52Ah, too soon.

53:53Oh, damn at the last.

53:55Like, he can do everything. He's the best driver the world has ever seen.

54:00Michael Schumacher from Britain, maybe, but I think he isn't.

54:07Listen, love, Michael Schumacher doesn't use a diesel, whereas I am using a diesel, and time is running out,

54:13so I've got to forget about being on the telly and go for it.

54:17Start the clock.

54:20This really is, I suppose, a bit like golf.

54:23Play it once, and you're destined to spend the rest of your life fruitlessly chasing perfection.

54:30It's a disease I shall call ringworm, and I have it very, very badly.

54:36Out the way. I'm much quicker than you now.

54:39But that didn't cost too much time.

54:41Oh, missed it.

54:43I'm sure this corner's flat out.

54:49And this is it. Break, and then break after the hill. Damn it.

54:56Whoa! God!

54:59With ten miles gone, there'd been no breakdowns, no accidents, so maybe, just maybe...

55:06Here we go, whoa!

55:08Losing the back a bit in.

55:10I don't have to be allowed I lost his ears.

55:12Whoa!

55:13I don't want to lose mine.

55:15I've never felt more alive than I am now.

55:18Yes, yes, yes!

55:21A bit of dust there!

55:22Now, first lap, I remember the beeper was going here in the mini carousel.

55:28As it is, I've got 30 seconds left, probably another, I don't know, six hours to go.

55:33None of which I can remember from 120 miles an hour.

55:38Oh, come on, come on!

55:40No, there's the end, there's the end.

55:42Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one...

55:49I did it! I did it! A 9.59!

55:57Yes!

55:59Yes!

56:02I did it!

56:04I did a 9.59!

56:08Where is Sabine?

56:19Thank you very much.

56:22All right, all right, that was pretty impressive, but some of it is down to this car.

56:27Two, three percent down to the car, perhaps?

56:29No, no, no, no, no.

56:31But I know what you mean about driving a diesel, because I've always thought that it's a bit like, you know those little children's glockenspiels you get?

56:37Yeah.

56:38With about five notes on it. You start playing one of those, you think, hey, I've got a good tune going here, and you run out of notes.

56:42It's exactly like that.

56:43That's a very good metaphor. That's exactly what does happen to you, because you just got all that power comes, and then you're on the red line, you have to change gear, and there's no power.

56:51It's an extraordinary thing, but I will say, having taken this car around, if you're going to buy a diesel, it has to be one of these. It really is very good.

57:00Can I just get back to something here, your time?

57:03I knew you did. I knew this was coming.

57:05I don't know if it was just me, but nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds. It's a bit Hollywood, mate. Come on.

57:12It was a bit Hollywood. The director said, oh yeah, and said, I don't believe you, and he checked the timecode on the camera on the side, which doesn't lie.