- 3 months ago
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May pay tribute to the legendary Italian carmaker Lancia — once one of the most innovative and successful manufacturers in motorsport. The team celebrate iconic models like the Stratos, Delta Integrale, and Fulvia, exploring how Lancia changed rallying history. The Chevrolet Camaro SS also makes its Top Gear debut.
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
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
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00:00.
00:00:01Tonight, James wears a stripy jumper.
00:00:15Richard drives a stripy Lamborghini.
00:00:18And we name the greatest car maker in the world.
00:00:21Oh, thank you. Thank you so much, everybody.
00:00:31Wow. Amazing.
00:00:34Now, as we know, as we know, you can never get rid of a baddie, okay?
00:00:42No matter how much you kill them.
00:00:44Remember Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction?
00:00:47She was stabbed, she was drowned, half an hour later,
00:00:51reared up out of the bar.
00:00:52And then you've got the Daleks, and then you've got Blofeld,
00:00:54then you've got Peter Mandelson.
00:00:56They just keep coming back.
00:00:59And then there's Top Gear's perennial baddie.
00:01:06Yes, it's the caravan.
00:01:10Now, as regular viewers of Dave will know,
00:01:12we have, over the last 24 hours,
00:01:14done our very best to rid the world of the caravan menace.
00:01:22I think there's one more, actually.
00:01:27That is, I think you'll agree, sterling work in our battle
00:01:30to free the roads of these mobile traffic jams.
00:01:34Sadly, it's a battle we're losing.
00:01:36There are now almost half a million caravan on UK roads.
00:01:41And the British are the most prolific caravanning nation in Europe.
00:01:45A title we've held for almost four years,
00:01:47according to the Caravan Council.
00:01:49In short, they're building them faster than we can destroy them.
00:01:53So, we need a scientific approach to getting them off the roads.
00:01:56And I may have found it.
00:01:58.
00:02:03.
00:02:11.
00:02:13.
00:02:15.
00:02:17.
00:02:19.
00:02:30.
00:02:32.
00:02:36.
00:02:38.
00:02:40.
00:02:42.
00:03:05.
00:03:06.
00:03:07.
00:03:08.
00:03:09.
00:03:10.
00:03:17.
00:03:19.
00:03:20What you're witnessing here, viewers,
00:03:21is the maiden voyage of the world's first caravan airship.
00:03:24And I believe this is the solution to all our problems.
00:03:29There are only two ways to go caravanning.
00:03:31You can have your 2 litre diesel, tow your caravan,
00:03:34obscure the view of all the people you're annoying,
00:03:36or you can bring it up here.
00:03:38Everybody wins.
00:03:40Driving is more fun.
00:03:41Caravanning is more exciting.
00:03:43However, as with all cutting-edge engineering projects,
00:03:47there are teething problems.
00:03:49Normally, you drive along with your caravan and your car, and when you get to your caravan site, you have a car to use.
00:03:56Now, I don't, of course, so I need somebody to take the car to the caravan site for me.
00:04:02And for that, I'm calling on my old caravan destroying mate, Mr. Richard Hammond.
00:04:07Yes, and because it doesn't have to lug the caravan around, it can be a nice car.
00:04:18This car will never ever hitch itself to a swift repeat.
00:04:22It's a Lamborghini, probably the least caravanished car company ever.
00:04:26And this is their new Gallardo Balboni.
00:04:31It's a tribute to Valentino Balboni, Lamborghini's most famous test driver.
00:04:36Now, although he wore a cardigan to work, he was a mentalist.
00:04:42And as a tribute to his mentalness, this particular Gallardo is the most mental Lambo there's been for a while.
00:04:49But more of that later, because first, I shall ring James and offer him some encouragement.
00:04:54Hammond, May.
00:04:58Hello, that thing is going to crash and burn and explode and you'll be scattered in a million pieces across the English countryside.
00:05:05Oh, don't be so defeatist.
00:05:07Anyway, listen, I've got an address for you.
00:05:09It's Hunter's Moon Caravan Club, which is just outside Wareham in Dorset.
00:05:14I've made the booking, they're expecting an airship and I'll take you for lunch by the river.
00:05:19Right, I'll see you in a bit.
00:05:21Caravanning in a Lamborghini.
00:05:24I think he might actually be on to something.
00:05:33Well, let me tell you a bit about the Caravan airship.
00:05:35It's 125 feet long with 110,000 cubic feet of hot air holding it up.
00:05:41And it's a very, very ingenious solution because all the Caravan attachments are still here.
00:05:46Instruments flip up out of the table.
00:05:48The gas burners go where the cooker would be and can be used for cooking.
00:05:51The bed's fit where I'm sitting here.
00:05:53It is still a Caravan.
00:05:54It's just a flying Caravan.
00:05:56It floats in the infinite blue.
00:06:00It's superb.
00:06:02Meanwhile, on the ground, this was turning into the best drive to a caravan site ever.
00:06:10According to Tom Gear Research, 37% of caravanners enjoy wife swapping.
00:06:15Well, think what's going to happen when the keys to this baby come out of the pot.
00:06:20Hell yeah.
00:06:22Now, as I was saying, because this is a tribute to their looniest test driver,
00:06:26Lamborghini have ditched the usual four-wheel drive for a Gallardo
00:06:29and gone back to the old, hairy-chested rear-wheel drive.
00:06:35That makes it 120 kilograms lighter.
00:06:38Ordinary steel brakes instead of carbon-ceramic fancy ones,
00:06:41it's Lamborghini's Punk Arnold.
00:06:43Kevin, it's me.
00:06:44Oh, hello.
00:06:45You're alive!
00:06:46How are you?
00:06:47I'm very well.
00:06:48How's it going?
00:06:49Uh, pretty good.
00:06:50Slight issue on the horizon, though.
00:06:52What?
00:06:53It's not the fastest aircraft in the world.
00:06:57How not quick, is it?
00:06:59Well, top speed's about 17.
00:07:0170 miles an hour's not bad, in a straight line.
00:07:03No, mate.
00:07:04No.
00:07:0517 miles an hour.
00:07:07Oh, God.
00:07:08But look, I think Dorset might be a bit far,
00:07:10so I've got a new address for you.
00:07:11Are you ready?
00:07:12What?
00:07:13Another address?
00:07:14Dale Acres Caravan Club site.
00:07:16That's in Kent.
00:07:17Kent?
00:07:18Probably not my first choice of caravanning destination.
00:07:20I know, but it's not miles from here, mate.
00:07:22I'll buy you an ice cream.
00:07:23I'll see you there.
00:07:27Right.
00:07:28Campsite number two.
00:07:29Here we come.
00:07:33It's now time for a spot of airborne loads.
00:07:40This is unquestionably the most powerful cooker ever fitted to a two-boat caravan.
00:07:47Very well cooked on one side.
00:07:52Okay, we've got the B road through another village somewhere.
00:07:55It's all part of the adventure of caravanning.
00:07:58Back to the Balboni.
00:07:59The thing is, the basicness just makes it better to drive.
00:08:05The steering feels so much quicker because there's no four-wheel drive in the way.
00:08:10And this gear change, the manual box, it just feels.
00:08:14It's like shaking hands with an old friend.
00:08:16The only thing that isn't the basic is price.
00:08:22Because weirdly, this stripped out, strictly functional Gallardo across 163,000 pounds,
00:08:29which is 18 grand dearer than the ordinary four-wheel drive one.
00:08:34So maybe less really is more.
00:08:36The Balboni propelled me towards our campsite in Kent.
00:08:42And then James rang again.
00:08:45Hello.
00:08:46Hello.
00:08:47Are you ringing from the grave?
00:08:49No, not at all.
00:08:50It's going marvellously up here, mate.
00:08:51You'd love it.
00:08:52There is one slight hitch though.
00:08:54All right, what's up now?
00:08:55The performance is slightly marginal.
00:08:57If I get a headwind of more than 13 knots, I sort of...
00:09:00Well, I start to go backwards, really.
00:09:02What, you can't go into a wind more than 13 knots?
00:09:05No.
00:09:06What's the wind speed now?
00:09:08Well, it was 12.
00:09:09So what you're telling me is you've just been blown around Britain?
00:09:12Er, it takes too long to get down to Kent, so I'm going to turn around and go the other way up to Suffolk.
00:09:18Right.
00:09:19Anyway, listen, I've got an address for you.
00:09:21Why didn't you just ring up and book us into every caravan site in Britain before we left?
00:09:25Stop nitpicking, will you?
00:09:27What a Norbert.
00:09:32If this airship caravan scheme of his catches on, what we'll have is the skies full of airships crashing into each other whenever the wind gets up.
00:09:41And then the roads full of cars crashing into each other because they have to keep turning round.
00:09:46Okay, campsite number three.
00:09:48With the wind behind me, I headed for our new destination.
00:09:58Good morning, Caravan Club Chris speaking. How can I help?
00:10:00Oh, hi. I was wondering if there were any pictures available at the White House Beach Club this afternoon, please.
00:10:06What's your surname?
00:10:07Er, May. M-A-Y.
00:10:09Can I just ask if you have facilities for people arriving by airship?
00:10:12By airship.
00:10:13By airship?
00:10:14Right.
00:10:15Okay.
00:10:16Er, are you actually a member of the Caravan Club?
00:10:19Here I am in the village of, of, er, here, this village.
00:10:29And it's somewhere I would never have seen.
00:10:32Okay, that's a really, really big tower over there.
00:10:36That's...
00:10:37Well, that's clearly just a danger to caravaners, isn't it?
00:10:40I mean, look at it.
00:10:41Nice for a moment to tell James about that.
00:10:44As it turned out, at that moment, James had more than a tower to worry about.
00:10:51Mayday, mayday, mayday.
00:10:53Norwich Golf, Papagolf, I am about to enter your airspace.
00:10:57Golf Tangorska, Papagolf, Norwich, you are entering an area of intense aerial activity at the moment.
00:11:05It is imperative that you remain clear, well clear.
00:11:09Er, Norwich Golf, Papagolf, sorry, cannot comply.
00:11:12Have no control over airship owing to wind conditions.
00:11:15Tangorska, Papagolf, remain well clear.
00:11:19Norwich cannot comply.
00:11:21Papagolf, you have traffic left, 11 o'clock, range of half a mile, fast moving, similar level.
00:11:26Roger, have visual, Gold, Papagolf.
00:11:28Gold, Papagolf, further traffic in your right, 3 o'clock, right, left.
00:11:34I've been talking.
00:11:36BBC Radio 1.
00:11:38Newsbeat.
00:11:39Right, that's the news report.
00:11:40No news of a massive fireball burning over Northamptonshire,
00:11:44or of people in the streets being hit by pieces of long burning hair and bad jumper.
00:11:50Anyway, I'm probably being pessimistic.
00:11:53I'm sure it's going very well.
00:12:01No! Stay where you are, man!
00:12:03Er, Golf, Papagolf, I'm heading very close to the KLM city hopper.
00:12:06Can you advise the police not to start up or take off?
00:12:09From Papagolf 9, the police helicopter will surely be approaching.
00:12:14Golf, Papagolf, police helicopter, really not necessary.
00:12:16I will attempt to clear your zone at this altitude.
00:12:19Golf, Papagolf.
00:12:20Please don't call the police.
00:12:24Northamptonshire police helicopter.
00:12:25Oscar India 9-9 to Golf.
00:12:27Sorry, Oscar, Paul, Golf, stay with her.
00:12:31Roger, Golf, Papagolf.
00:12:33Can't.
00:12:34Yeah, Oscar India 9-9.
00:12:36Not really aware of your intentions, but you straight into the controlled airspace at Norwich Airport.
00:12:43I may be about to get a colossal aviation bullet hit.
00:12:46It's a colossal aviation bullet hit.
00:12:55Suffolk.
00:12:56Popular holiday destination.
00:12:58Just a few miles away now.
00:13:02James will have landed.
00:13:05Set the van up.
00:13:06Organised our little home from home.
00:13:09Probably got the kettle on.
00:13:10With the wrath of the sky cops still ringing in my ears, finally I reached a caravan site.
00:13:20I didn't know if it was the one I'd booked into, but it'll do.
00:13:24Here we go.
00:13:26A landing you won't even notice.
00:13:28This is a lovely approach over the trees.
00:13:31Just a matter of arresting descent with a little burst of gas.
00:13:35What I'm actually doing here is helping to realise the dream that was held by many great men.
00:13:41People who envisaged the elegance and the majesty of lighter than air flight.
00:13:46Count Zeppelin, Neville Shute, Barnes Wallace.
00:13:49This is for them.
00:13:53A bit of drift.
00:13:55Drifting.
00:13:57Oh God.
00:13:58Chocking Nora, this is typical.
00:14:00Gas.
00:14:02It's going down.
00:14:04No!
00:14:08Keep it upright.
00:14:10I may be going sideways slightly.
00:14:15Mayday!
00:14:18No!
00:14:21Oh bloody hell, stop!
00:14:23Stop!
00:14:25Stop!
00:14:26We're not Papa Charlie Echo.
00:14:27Seriously.
00:14:28Charlie Charlie Whisker Echo.
00:14:29Papa what?
00:14:30I think that idea has a lot of promise.
00:14:31James, airships don't and never have worked.
00:14:32You can't land any aircraft that flies by being full of hot air.
00:14:33I've been in a hot air balloon once and it landed by dragging itself sideways through a hedge and a field and I ended up jammed on top of the lady mayoress in the basket.
00:14:45Wrong story but I did.
00:14:46Ridiculous.
00:14:47Anyway, I want to talk about lighter than air transport.
00:14:48I want to talk about the Lambo.
00:14:49Bah!
00:14:50Bah!
00:14:51Because...
00:14:52Oh it's...
00:14:53It's heroically daft.
00:14:55It's because by going down from four wheel to rear wheel drive, it's just a bit more bonkers.
00:14:56It's like free climbing rather than with all those ropes and harnesses on.
00:14:57It's fabulous.
00:14:58But compared to...
00:14:59Oh we must now compare it because it's rear wheel drive to a Ferrari 430.
00:15:00Yeah.
00:15:01It's not as good.
00:15:02But it's not as good.
00:15:03But it's not as good.
00:15:04I mean, I'm going to go through a hedge and a hedge and a field and I ended up jammed on top of the lady mayoress in the basket.
00:15:06And I ended up jammed on top of the lady mayoress in the basket.
00:15:07Wrong story but I did.
00:15:08Ridiculous.
00:15:09Anyway, I want to talk about lighter than air transport.
00:15:10I want to talk about the Lambo.
00:15:11Bah!
00:15:12Because...
00:15:13Oh, it's heroically daft.
00:15:14It's not as good.
00:15:15But it's better.
00:15:16I know what you mean.
00:15:17It's the Panto.
00:15:18It's the white stripe.
00:15:19Yeah, supercar.
00:15:20Oh, it's just amazing.
00:15:21And of course you've got to drive it a lot more than you thought because of the freak weather conditions that blighted James.
00:15:26The light breezes.
00:15:27Light breeze.
00:15:28It was more like a ruddy hurricane.
00:15:29Anyway, let's go.
00:15:30It was a breeze.
00:15:31It was a breeze.
00:15:32It was a breeze.
00:15:33It was a breeze.
00:15:34It was a breeze.
00:15:35It was a breeze.
00:15:36It was a breeze.
00:15:37It was a breeze.
00:15:38It was a breeze.
00:15:39It was a breeze.
00:15:40It was a breeze.
00:15:41It was a breeze.
00:15:42It was a breeze.
00:15:43It was a breeze.
00:15:44It was a breeze.
00:15:45Anyway, let's do the news.
00:15:46Yes.
00:15:47Now, the Danes have made an announcement.
00:15:49They're going to start making a supercar.
00:15:51This is it.
00:15:52That has got a V8 that's supercharged and turbocharged.
00:15:57And they say that all of the components, where possible, are going to be made and sourced by companies in Denmark.
00:16:04Really?
00:16:05Yeah.
00:16:06Is it going to be made of bacon?
00:16:08Will it be lubricated with Lurpak?
00:16:10Because that's Danish.
00:16:11I'll tell you what it'll be like.
00:16:12You know Bang & Olesen?
00:16:14Beautiful Danish design.
00:16:16And then inside, as far as I'm aware, it's all Philips electronics.
00:16:20So that's what it'll be like.
00:16:22Extraordinary.
00:16:23It doesn't stop you buying pretty much everything they make, does it?
00:16:26No, I am a bit of a sucker for Bang & Olesen.
00:16:28Oh, a bit?
00:16:29No, you've been in the new Audis, right?
00:16:30The new Audis have got Bang & Olesen speakers that rise up out of the dashboard when you turn the stereo on.
00:16:34Oh, and I should think you're rising up a long time.
00:16:36I am.
00:16:37I am.
00:16:38I don't know what it is, but it works like catniff on him.
00:16:41Honestly, if you give him a Bang & Olesen stereo, his front legs grab it to his chest, and his back legs kick it like that.
00:16:46I love it, I love it.
00:16:48What's catniff?
00:16:49What is catniff?
00:16:50What if you've got a cat, you know, it's like a sort of herb, and you give it to your cat, and they just go...
00:16:54The only thing I ever want to give a cat is its name and address to my dogs.
00:16:59I love the idea that your dogs are going to hunt down cats just from a name and address.
00:17:02They are.
00:17:03He said the other day when I said I was going to set my dog on his cat, oh, it won't be able to do it.
00:17:07What, your gay dog comes around to see my cat?
00:17:11Get his bloody head kicked in.
00:17:13Anyway, listen, the point is Bang & Olesen brings me back to that car, because I think that looks absolutely fantastic.
00:17:19I don't care if it is made of bacon.
00:17:21What's it called?
00:17:22Bang & Lurpak, something like that.
00:17:25Now, I don't know if you saw in the papers this week, a woman had a baby while she was on her way to hospital in a kia, okay?
00:17:32Now, they've called the baby, kia.
00:17:37It could have been worse, it could have been proton.
00:17:40Because these people called their baby kia, kia, the people who make the cars, have actually given them a kia car, yeah?
00:17:49We've got a picture of the handover, I think, there you go, look.
00:17:52Now, this brings us on to a very important top gear, top tip.
00:17:56If you're on your way to hospital, in labour, and you're in a kia, for God's sake, get out.
00:18:02Let a child be christened, skip, bus stop, phone box, anything, just get out.
00:18:09I christened this child, doorway of curries, because at least that way you'd get a free microwave and not a hideous car like that.
00:18:17I reckon this whole story, and baby kia here, it could spark a whole load of copycats, couldn't it?
00:18:23Because a load of dads waiting until the very last minute on the due date, and then secretly hiring a Lamborghini Merchelago.
00:18:29And driving really slowly to the hospital. You all right, darling? You can hang on.
00:18:34Yeah, why are you called Pagani Zonda with the optional ceramic brake package?
00:18:39Now, last weekend, the three of us were in Middlesbrough, okay?
00:18:44And on Saturday night, we had to drive back to England.
00:18:46Okay, which might go...
00:18:48You know what I mean.
00:18:50It's going back down the M1.
00:18:51Now, the truth of the matter is that all three of us have been away from home for, what, six weeks or something?
00:18:55We're kind of looking forward to seeing our families.
00:18:57And so, belting down the M1, and you arrive in Leicestershire, and there is a 20-mile set of roadworks there.
00:19:0320 miles, which have average speed cameras set at 50 miles an hour for the entire length.
00:19:10Traffic's light, there's no rain, it's three lanes, but you're forced to do 50.
00:19:15Now, I don't know who the Minister of Transport is, but I want him to find the man who came up with that idea,
00:19:21go round to his office on Monday morning, and punch him really hard in the side of his head.
00:19:25Just boof!
00:19:26Because if he doesn't, I'm going to find the man, and I'm going to attach him to a milling machine,
00:19:31and I'm going to see if it's possible to turn a man's head into a perfect cube.
00:19:36Do you know why they have the 50-mile-an-hour speed limit?
00:19:38To protect the workforce, who weren't there!
00:19:41They were in bed, where I wanted to be!
00:19:44No, I agree with you entirely, but the answer is not cubing people's heads.
00:19:47The answer is, when the workforce isn't there, do 70.
00:19:50Well, you're just going to get nicked.
00:19:53No, but if everybody does 70...
00:19:54Okay, who here would just do 70 through a set of roadworks with an average speed camera?
00:19:58Nobody, James!
00:19:59Yeah, but that's exactly the problem!
00:20:00You're going charging through, and you're just going to get booked!
00:20:02No, but that's fine, but you contest it.
00:20:03Stay to 70, because that is the speed limit.
00:20:05You take it to court, in front of a jury, and you argue, correctly,
00:20:10that it is wrong to apply the 50-mile-an-hour speed limit when there's no one there to protect.
00:20:14So you're saying it's logic?
00:20:16It is logic.
00:20:17It's logic to kill Peter Mandelson.
00:20:18No, it isn't.
00:20:19It is!
00:20:20No!
00:20:21It is, but you can't do it!
00:20:22Killing Peter Mandelson is a grey area.
00:20:24Doing 70 miles an hour on the motorway is an absolute.
00:20:27How many people went on the anti-war march?
00:20:29A million, we went to war.
00:20:31How many people went on the countryside march?
00:20:33400,000.
00:20:34And fox hunting was still burned.
00:20:35The government's not interested in the will of the people.
00:20:38Particularly if it was just one pedantic long-haired old queen,
00:20:41standing up in court saying,
00:20:43Oh, I did 70 because it's logical.
00:20:45You're absolutely right.
00:20:46Speed limits on motorways can be a pain,
00:20:48and there's two solutions outlined for you.
00:20:51Revolution, or cubing people's heads.
00:20:54Alternatively, you could just leave a bit earlier.
00:20:57No, cube their heads!
00:20:59Say off five minutes earlier.
00:21:00I haven't got five minutes!
00:21:01It's not five minutes, anyway.
00:21:03It's five minutes a day.
00:21:04If you have to come...
00:21:05Anyone here from Leicestershire?
00:21:06Is anyone here?
00:21:07How did you get it?
00:21:08Jesus!
00:21:09Jesus is from Leicestershire!
00:21:12He's...
00:21:13Jesus!
00:21:14Come here, Jesus!
00:21:15Come and tell me!
00:21:16Congratulations for...
00:21:18It's slightly bigger news than the M1,
00:21:20but nevertheless,
00:21:21we'll gloss over the second coming.
00:21:23Do you commute on that bit of road?
00:21:24No, I got the back way.
00:21:25Because of that?
00:21:26Yeah.
00:21:27So how much is it adding to your transport every day?
00:21:29About ten minutes, quarter round.
00:21:31Ten minutes a day?
00:21:32Each way.
00:21:33Each way?
00:21:34Five days a week?
00:21:35That's an hour and forty minutes a week.
00:21:37The government is stealing from Jesus.
00:21:40That's right.
00:21:41Now that is an issue.
00:21:42Just a small point.
00:21:43Yeah, that's...
00:21:44Thank you, Jesus, for sharing that with us.
00:21:49Gordon Brown is stealing an hour and forty minutes from Jesus.
00:21:54Anyway, time to move on.
00:21:56Because, last week, we asked you to nominate the car maker that you thought, over the years,
00:22:01has made the largest number of great cars.
00:22:05Now, there have been a couple of quite interesting nominations.
00:22:08One was Matchbox.
00:22:09That was a surprise.
00:22:10Quite clever, actually, I thought.
00:22:11The other was James May.
00:22:13He actually tied with Chrysler.
00:22:17And it was weird, because he's only ever made one great car, James.
00:22:20The Eagle Ham Thrust.
00:22:22Yeah, but it was a really great car.
00:22:23Anyway, this is the top ten.
00:22:25As you can see, we've got Ferrari, we've got Lamborghini.
00:22:27And coming up now, we have the top three.
00:22:30Here they are.
00:22:32Automatic board.
00:22:33Automatic sign.
00:22:34Costs a lot of money.
00:22:35My tech.
00:22:36And in third place, according to you, the voters, BMW, third place.
00:22:42In second place, even though they made the worst car in the history of the world ever, the Beetle.
00:22:47Correct, yes.
00:22:48It's VW.
00:22:49It's Volkswagen.
00:22:50No, applauding that.
00:22:51Yeah.
00:22:52You can applaud this if you like.
00:22:53The winner.
00:22:54It's Ford!
00:22:55So that is it.
00:23:03The thing is, though, you're wrong.
00:23:05No, you are.
00:23:06Ford hasn't won this at all.
00:23:08No, because we reckon Ford's made four great cars over the years.
00:23:11Yeah.
00:23:12But the car company we think is at the top of this list has made seven.
00:23:15Exactly.
00:23:16Now, the car company we've got in my decay, there were 350 million people watching last week's show when we asked for you to vote.
00:23:24The number of people who voted for what we think is the greatest car company in the world was nine.
00:23:29Not, not nine million.
00:23:31No.
00:23:32Just nine.
00:23:33Just nine.
00:23:34No ideas?
00:23:35Made some of the prettiest cars ever.
00:23:37Let me put it this way, okay?
00:23:38Mitsubishi has won the World Rally Championship once.
00:23:42Subaru three times.
00:23:43Ford three times.
00:23:44The company we've got in mind won it ten times.
00:23:48No?
00:23:49Silence.
00:23:50Silence.
00:23:51Okay, then.
00:23:52Watch this.
00:23:56This is a collection of art, of madness, of brilliance.
00:24:02This is a collection of pornography.
00:24:05This is a collection of Lancias.
00:24:09But this, annoyingly, is the Lancia people remember best of all.
00:24:15The beater.
00:24:18It was made from steel so thin that on a windy day it would actually change shape.
00:24:24And it wasn't much cop in the rain either.
00:24:27I mean, this was fine yesterday, but then this morning we had a bit of a shower and now look at it.
00:24:33The fact is, though, that all Lancias had problems.
00:24:39The Gamma, for instance, exploded every time you turned the steering wheel.
00:24:45And then, there was the Fulvia.
00:24:55It is a fantastic little car, this.
00:24:58It's like driving.
00:25:01A rorty Solbay.
00:25:04With its clever V4 engine, a Fulvia was actually the first Lancia to win the World Rally Championship.
00:25:12The thing is, though, when all is said and done, it was a very small, 1.3 litre, front-wheel drive, two-door saloon car.
00:25:20But it cost, when it was new, more than an E-Type Jaguar.
00:25:24We forgave the Fulvia's silly price tag, though, because of what made it great.
00:25:32The same thing that made almost all Lancias great.
00:25:36The way it looked.
00:25:37It really is as pretty as the sun setting over Charlize Theron.
00:25:48In its day, this was, too.
00:25:50The streamlined Aprilia, the first car ever to be designed in a wind tunnel.
00:25:55But inevitably, there were problems.
00:26:00For example, the doors opened like this, and that was lovely.
00:26:03It meant getting in and out was very easy.
00:26:05However, when they were closed, they didn't quite meet.
00:26:08So quite a lot of weather could get inside as you drove along.
00:26:11And it was only made with right-hand drive, which is fine in Britain and Sweden,
00:26:17which drove on the left at the time, but it was quite annoying everywhere else.
00:26:22And then there was the Monte Carlo.
00:26:28This was a wonderful car, a mid-engined mini Ferrari.
00:26:33But because it was actually a Lancia, the things that were right
00:26:37were balanced out by the things that were wrong.
00:26:41If you so much as looked at the middle pedal, the brakes would lock up
00:26:44and you'd crash into a tree.
00:26:46Lancia took the thing very seriously.
00:26:48So much so that they stopped production for two years
00:26:52whilst they looked for a solution.
00:26:54And they found one.
00:26:56What they did was remove the brake servo.
00:26:59So then it had no brakes at all.
00:27:04And...
00:27:05The Monte Carlo then was quite dangerous.
00:27:12But in that Lancia way, it was so pretty.
00:27:15I wanted one more than I wanted my next breath.
00:27:24Sometimes though, Lancia's lunacy did produce results.
00:27:29Did you know Lancia was the first car company ever to sell a car with a monocoque?
00:27:35They were the first to offer a five-speed gearbox.
00:27:38First to ever sell a car with supercharging and turbocharging on the same engine.
00:27:44First to sell a car, road car, with a V6 engine.
00:27:47First to sell a car with an electric boot spoiler.
00:27:50So they did all these significant mechanical firsts.
00:27:53Yeah.
00:27:54And yet still, if you say to anyone Lancia, they just snigger and say they just fall apart.
00:27:59I know. It's ridiculous.
00:28:01Holy moly.
00:28:04Has the bumper come off?
00:28:05Is that what it was?
00:28:06I believe it has, yes.
00:28:08You need to define greatness and that's the important thing.
00:28:12And just because something's unreliable...
00:28:15...doesn't mean it isn't great.
00:28:19Stephen Hawkins, great bloke, even though a lot of him doesn't work.
00:28:22Yeah. I wouldn't break it to him like that.
00:28:26No, but that's...
00:28:27But the principal stands, yeah, it does.
00:28:30Meryl Streep.
00:28:32Everybody says she's a great actress.
00:28:34And then she goes and appears in Mamma Mia, the worst film ever made by...
00:28:38But she's still a great actress.
00:28:40Still a great actress.
00:28:42Have you seen Mamma Mia?
00:28:44Yes, I have.
00:28:45You big girl.
00:28:47To prove that even the tattiest Lancia is tougher than you might think,
00:28:52we have bought this 1982 HPE.
00:28:57And I shall now drive it non-stop through the night on a rough rally stage.
00:29:03And I shall be racing...
00:29:08No, not racing, been told about that. Dangerous.
00:29:11Driving at the same time, on the same track, in a similar vintage car.
00:29:16This, Morris Marina.
00:29:18Right, Hammond, winner, last one still running.
00:29:22Yep, fair enough.
00:29:24Let's do it!
00:29:34This is not a promising start.
00:29:37In dispelling the myth that Lancia's weren't very good.
00:29:45Yes!
00:29:46Never doubted it!
00:29:48Obviously the marina won't work because these vile, hateful things are hopeless.
00:29:52Now you might be saying,
00:30:06it's a Morris Marina, a piano's going to fall on it.
00:30:09Yeah, the more eagle eye viewer may have spotted, I've taken the precaution.
00:30:14Buying a marina that's already had a piano level.
00:30:17So, job done.
00:30:19Since we were doing serious research, we'd agreed that there would be no childish racing.
00:30:25Don't hit Hammond.
00:30:27I've hit Hammond.
00:30:29Well, that's okay, that's okay.
00:30:31Proving what a fine and strong breed of car the Lancia always was.
00:30:37I hope I don't hit Jeremy just as he goes round this really difficult corner.
00:30:42Oh, he's got the outside there he'll never get by, and he hasn't.
00:30:45Ha ha!
00:30:47But we're not racing, we're not racing, we're not racing.
00:30:50This is driving mad.
00:30:52He's through while I got my sun visor out of the way!
00:30:59For hour after hour, we continue to not race round the rally stage.
00:31:04It's now, as you can see, pretty close to dark.
00:31:09Still, literally, no faults to report.
00:31:12Absolutely none.
00:31:14Eventually, after not racing some more...
00:31:17Come on!
00:31:19The marina began to pull ahead.
00:31:24There's, of course, a well-known fact that a piano on the roof aids traction, gives you more speed on a rally special stage.
00:31:33But then, predictably, it broke down.
00:31:38So I went to get some tools to try and fix it.
00:31:41There he is, it's Hammond! He's out! He's down!
00:31:46Ha ha ha ha!
00:31:55The Lancia soldiered on alone.
00:31:58But then I got a warning light.
00:32:00Literally.
00:32:02Oh, no! Yes, look!
00:32:04I can't see through the flames!
00:32:07I've got to blow this out some.
00:32:09Oh, God.
00:32:10Maybe if I sped up, like in Memphis Belle.
00:32:14Come on!
00:32:16No, that's not working.
00:32:18I can't see anything!
00:32:20No matter, though, because here's proof that Lancia's are tough and strong and dependable.
00:32:26It's quite bad now.
00:32:29So now, can we please move on?
00:32:37This is a Stratos.
00:32:40It had a 2.4 litre Ferrari V6 mounted in the middle.
00:32:45It was Italian.
00:32:46It was styled by Bertone.
00:32:49And it was completely impractical.
00:32:53It therefore ticked all the supercar boxes.
00:32:57But unlike any other supercar before or since, it wasn't designed to be parked in Monte Carlo.
00:33:04It was designed to get there.
00:33:07Like this.
00:33:10It's absurdly short wheelbase meant it was agile.
00:33:14And the Ferrari power meant it was fast.
00:33:16So fast that it won the World Rally Championship three times.
00:33:23And joy of joys, they made 500 Stratos' for people to buy.
00:33:28Oh, that's a proper noise!
00:33:40What a fantastic car!
00:33:43Of course, there were a few problems with it.
00:33:48Chief among which was a lack of space inside.
00:33:53A gynecologist would get in here and go,
00:33:55God, I'm at work!
00:33:56Yeah!
00:33:57It's like climbing into a giant, somebody else's giant red posing pad.
00:34:03James Mays.
00:34:04James Mays.
00:34:06Don't forget change.
00:34:08Stop touching my knee!
00:34:09You've tried changing gear!
00:34:10You've crossed all of my knee!
00:34:12You've got to!
00:34:13I'm going to change gear now.
00:34:15This will involve man touching.
00:34:17And the list of faults doesn't end with the tiny cockpit.
00:34:21Why did they give the passenger the pedals and the driver the wheel?
00:34:25I don't know, they are, they're definitely over to the right hand side.
00:34:28Yeah.
00:34:29You're sort of sitting a bit sideways.
00:34:30These window wind, is it?
00:34:33It's hand-based.
00:34:34It's not, not very good.
00:34:37The other thing I really like as well is,
00:34:39you know a Porsche puts the rev counter right in front of you?
00:34:42Yes.
00:34:43Lancia in this put the oil pressure right in front of you.
00:34:46The temperature, what does that tell you?
00:34:49So, not perfect.
00:34:51But then you look at it, and there's the thing.
00:35:02Because it just sort of is.
00:35:06This is one of the best cars ever made.
00:35:09Yeah, I'd go with that.
00:35:11On the grounds of its achievement,
00:35:13but also that slightly more subjective thing of how gorgeous it looks.
00:35:16This would stop doing that to my knee.
00:35:18Just move your leg.
00:35:19That was a stroke.
00:35:20Actually, it's a stroke.
00:35:21I can't.
00:35:22I can't.
00:35:25After the Stratos came the 037,
00:35:28the last two-wheel drive car to win the World Rally Championship.
00:35:36And the only two-wheel drive car to beat the mighty Audi Quattro.
00:35:40The thing is, though, no one really remembers the 037.
00:35:56Then there's the FEMA 832, Lancia's answer to the BMW M5.
00:36:01No one really remembers this either, even though it had a fully fledged Ferrari V8 under the bonnet.
00:36:12We don't really remember any of Lancia's seven great cars.
00:36:16And all because of what happened in 1980.
00:36:19Lancia was forced by pressure from the media to spend a fortune buying back rusty beaters, scrapping them and giving their owners brand new cars.
00:36:32It was a PR disaster.
00:36:38In Britain, Lancia's reputation was ruined.
00:36:42And in 1994, they pulled out of the market altogether.
00:36:45However, before the most charismatic carmaker of them all finally went,
00:37:02they left us with one final reminder of what they can do when they try.
00:37:07This is the Delta Integrale, a four-wheel drive turbocharged rally car that picked up where the Fulvia, the Stratos and the 037 left off.
00:37:30This thing won the World Rally Championship six times on the trot.
00:37:34And you can feel that DNA in here.
00:37:41The steering is so neat, precise.
00:37:45Feel that there.
00:37:49Feel it settle into a turn and just grip, just pull itself back into the corner.
00:37:55Turbo comes on song.
00:37:59It comes on song.
00:38:00Oh, ho, ho, ho.
00:38:02Oh, ho, ho.
00:38:17Having learnt their lesson with the Aprilia, Lancia weren't going to be stupid enough to make these only in right-hand drive.
00:38:25So they made them left-hand drive.
00:38:28Only.
00:38:32You know.
00:38:34Only Lancia.
00:38:35Despite this, a good one of these today is worth 25,000 pounds.
00:38:44And I'm not surprised.
00:38:47Because this is a very unusual Lancia.
00:38:51It wasn't very pretty.
00:38:53But, God, it was good.
00:38:54It's so pretty.
00:38:55It's amazing.
00:38:56I actually want one.
00:38:57I'm standing here thinking, I want this.
00:38:59I know.
00:39:00But, what I love about Lancia is that they never once said, let's just make a medium car.
00:39:06No, they were always doing experiments.
00:39:07Some of the experiments worked and some didn't.
00:39:08But that's the nature of it.
00:39:09They might think, I know, can we make an engine with seven and a half cylinders?
00:39:12Well, let's see if we can make the windows go up and down.
00:39:13Not with electricity, but with magic.
00:39:14Yeah.
00:39:15Abracadabra!
00:39:16No, that doesn't work.
00:39:17But, let's sell it anyway.
00:39:18Exactly.
00:39:19They still would.
00:39:20And that's what made them so magnificent.
00:39:21They are still going today, but now they're just a division of fiat.
00:39:24And it's a division of fiat, and they're just a division of fiat.
00:39:26We're just a division of fiat.
00:39:27Oh, that's a division of fiat.
00:39:28And that's a division of fiat.
00:39:29And that's a division of fiat.
00:39:30But, what I love about Lancia is that they never once said, let's just make a medium car.
00:39:36No, they were always doing experiments.
00:39:39Some of the experiments worked and some didn't.
00:39:42But, that's the nature of it, they might think, oh, I know, can we make an engine
00:39:44A division of Fiat making things like this, which is neither very pretty nor very good.
00:39:49Well, it is, in essence, is a Fiat Bravo with Rio Ferdinand's face stuck on the front.
00:39:55But fear not, because if you still hanker over the glory days, then later on in the show, we have something to warm the cockles of your heart.
00:40:01Yes, but now it's time to put a star in our reasonably priced car.
00:40:05Now, my guest tonight is a broadcasting legend.
00:40:09He also has an astonishing collection of cars.
00:40:12I have a list for you here.
00:40:15A Ferrari 599, a Ferrari F40, Ferrari California, a Ferrari Enzo, Ferrari 288 GTO, Ferrari 308 GTS, Ferrari 246 Dino, Ferrari 275 GTB quad cam, Ferrari 250 GT California short wheelbase, and Ferrari 250 GT California long wheelbase.
00:40:35So, let's find out if there's any particular type of car he likes.
00:40:39Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Hammond!
00:40:42How are you?
00:40:44Good, Jeremy.
00:40:45How are you?
00:40:46Very well.
00:40:47You blow up Chris Evans.
00:40:48All right.
00:40:49Have a seat, mate.
00:40:51Have a seat.
00:40:53Presumably, you disagree with our greatest car verdict, then.
00:40:57Oh, cal surprise!
00:40:58Nancy, you don't believe that presumably, judging by your collection, that they're a particularly brilliant maker of motor cars?
00:41:05What, a car fall into bits?
00:41:06Yes.
00:41:06The best mark in the world?
00:41:07Yes.
00:41:08Are you mad or are you mental?
00:41:10Lancey's only came in black and rust.
00:41:13I still stand by Lancey's.
00:41:14There's more Lancey's I'd like to own.
00:41:16Oh, come on!
00:41:16There's more.
00:41:17The number of Ferraris I'd like to own now is one.
00:41:20What about the 860 Monza?
00:41:21What about the 750 Monza?
00:41:22What about the 850 Monza?
00:41:23What about the PF250?
00:41:25What about the 4 Cam?
00:41:27What about the...
00:41:27A lot of people write and complain that this isn't a car show anymore.
00:41:32It is now!
00:41:34I love this enthusiasm.
00:41:36Why have you painted all yours white?
00:41:38Because I wanted them to match.
00:41:40I wanted them to be a work of art.
00:41:41And they line up in...
00:41:42I've got a white garage or car house, as they're sometimes known.
00:41:45It's got a white piano in it, right, that plays itself.
00:41:51And these are these 8 beautiful white Ferraris.
00:41:54And I've got matching number plates.
00:41:55And it's so anal, it's not true.
00:41:57Which leads you to that auction when you bid for the Ferrari California, the James Coben car.
00:42:01Yes.
00:42:01This is terribly vulgar.
00:42:03Wouldn't normally do it.
00:42:03How much did you pay for that?
00:42:05It was the most expensive car sold at auction in the world when I bought it.
00:42:09Last year?
00:42:10Yeah.
00:42:10A lot of millions.
00:42:12Yeah, it was $12 million.
00:42:14How drunk were you?
00:42:15I wasn't drunk at all.
00:42:17But the point is, I didn't go to buy the car.
00:42:19I went to buy a poster.
00:42:22I'm not joking.
00:42:23I'm not joking.
00:42:24I went to buy a poster.
00:42:25And the 250 Shortwebos California Spider came up on the stand.
00:42:28It's my second favourite car in the world.
00:42:30Why?
00:42:30Because it was in my top trumps collection.
00:42:32It's as simple as that.
00:42:33Because that's how these things work, and that's how life is sometimes.
00:42:36And I thought, I'll go for it.
00:42:37Because I've always wanted one.
00:42:38That was the best one in the world.
00:42:40James Coburn owned it for 28 years.
00:42:42He bought it because Steve McQueen.
00:42:43He met Steve McQueen on The Great Escape.
00:42:45Steve, just talking about this, makes the hairs on the back of an extra.
00:42:48And it's all documented.
00:42:50I've got all the history.
00:42:51And now that little baby's back in the garage at home.
00:42:53And I show it to as many people as I can.
00:42:55Unbelievable.
00:42:56Now, I was listening to you the other day.
00:42:58I listen to you every day, obviously, while stuck in a traffic jam.
00:43:01And you've auctioned your entire collection of Ferraris, well, most of your collection of Ferraris, for children in need.
00:43:07Yes.
00:43:08So how does that work?
00:43:10People ring in and they were bidding.
00:43:12Yes.
00:43:12And then they can drive whichever one they want.
00:43:13Yeah, what happens is, we take the seven highest bids on the day.
00:43:17And then they spend, it's a four-day tour.
00:43:22And during the four days, each person who's bid their amount of money gets to drive every single car.
00:43:26Isn't that terrifying from your point of view?
00:43:29Well, you know, there's only tin and rubber.
00:43:30And I think the great thing about these kind of cars, if anybody comes around to my house where they're fitting a carpet, they're doing a garden, burgling, you know, I sort of say, just before you take that, come and have a look at the cars.
00:43:40I think it's really important to share these cars with people.
00:43:43Well, I love the idea, but you don't know who's bid, I mean, you know their names, but you could have any sort of ache turning up.
00:43:50Well, no, if you bid, then...
00:43:53Now, you've got a book out, It's Not What You Think, which is what it's called.
00:44:00Yes.
00:44:01And there's lists of everything at the beginning of every chapter.
00:44:04Top tens.
00:44:04The top tens, which is great.
00:44:06A man loves a top ten, we like to quantify everything.
00:44:08But this car business, it does seem to me that cars, you sometimes claim you're not a car man, but you bloody well are.
00:44:15No, I'm definitely a car man, you know, behind my family, my job, maybe you're not going to like this, maybe golf, then I am a car man.
00:44:25Sometimes, if I'm away from home, the first thing I do, I go, get back home, and I have to go to the guy, I should just have a smell.
00:44:31I love it.
00:44:32And it's the smell of petrol and leather, I love it to death, it's better than stuff I've never tried.
00:44:38Okay, now, when I first met you about a million years ago, you were definitely a Porsche man.
00:44:48You are having a laugh.
00:44:50You had a 9-6-8.
00:44:51You've lost your mind, you need to go to bed instead of working all the time.
00:44:55Did you have a 9-6-8?
00:44:56No.
00:44:57You did.
00:44:58Convertible, big breakfast.
00:45:00I didn't have a 9-6-8.
00:45:01You've had a 9-6-8.
00:45:01It wasn't a 9-6-8, because a 9-6-8 was Tiptronic and mine was manual.
00:45:05So it was a 9-4-4?
00:45:07What?
00:45:079-4-4?
00:45:08It was a 9-4-4 drop-top.
00:45:10It was 19 grand, it was a great car, but it was dull and boring, because it was a Porsche.
00:45:16Now, obviously, the big news is that Chris Evans, enfant terrible of the broadcasting airwaves
00:45:21for many years, is about to take over from the Terry master.
00:45:26Has he given you any advice about morning stuff?
00:45:29Well, how to get up early, that's going to be the number one.
00:45:32Well, Terry doesn't get up early.
00:45:33Terry starts at half seven, that's not a breakfast show.
00:45:35What time are you starting?
00:45:37Seven.
00:45:39Because it is quite funny, because you're going to have to pretend to be older than you actually
00:45:42are.
00:45:43No, I'm not, because if somebody's 60, you know, we had a request the other day, somebody's
00:45:4760th birthday, they wanted Van Halen, because that's the music that was around when they
00:45:50were 60.
00:45:50So, we're okay, I mean, there's quality tunes about.
00:45:53You had Brian Johnson on the show, you know, leasing of ACDC, 62 years old.
00:45:56Oh, they're all in the 60s.
00:45:57It's all fine.
00:45:58It is all fine.
00:45:59We're all going to be in, well, my generation, they're going to be in our old people's home
00:46:02with anarchy in the UK in our wheelchair.
00:46:04Yeah, how great, and we're not even going to have wheelchairs, and we're still going to
00:46:07be doing that.
00:46:08I am the Antichrist.
00:46:09Give me a wheelchair.
00:46:10I don't want any more Gracie Fields, just this.
00:46:13Yeah, exactly.
00:46:15So, how did it go for you out there today on our lap?
00:46:18Well, I did my best.
00:46:20I mean, probably the worst weather there's ever been out there.
00:46:23Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:46:24The Stig, I mean, what a lovely man.
00:46:26Could not have been nicer.
00:46:27However, what I decided to do, I've had a great life, I've had a great time, thanks very
00:46:31much, and I thought, if I'm going to die, let's die today on this track.
00:46:35He did actually say, as long as I could work out, Chris has no sense of self-preservation.
00:46:41Would anybody like to see some of Chris's practices?
00:46:45Yeah.
00:46:46Let's have a look at some of these practice things here, because it's a good giggle.
00:46:50At the 50 mark, and then turn it, then off the brakes again.
00:46:53Break hard now, into circuit.
00:46:55This is the hammerhead.
00:46:58I feel like you're going to go out of control.
00:46:59Oh, my God, what's happened there?
00:47:00Go out of control.
00:47:01Nobody's ever spun there before.
00:47:05See, that's good.
00:47:06Oh, yeah, no, wait a minute, what's this?
00:47:07This is the last corner.
00:47:10Sideways.
00:47:11Nobody's ever spun there.
00:47:12Sideways at the crew.
00:47:13Oh, no, second to last corner.
00:47:15Everybody goes here.
00:47:17Oh, yes, I'm impressed.
00:47:18That was, you never even made it to the corner before you were going backwards.
00:47:21I thought I was going to go straight on here.
00:47:23That was brilliant.
00:47:25That is good bravery.
00:47:28Very good bravery.
00:47:29But then, the lap happened for real.
00:47:36Who wants to see it?
00:47:37Yeah.
00:47:38Come on, let's have a look.
00:47:38So, you haven't learned your lesson, still going for brute force?
00:47:43Come on.
00:47:45Hello, family.
00:47:48Concentrate, man.
00:47:49Concentrate on the job in hand.
00:47:50That is wet.
00:47:52Good.
00:47:52Oh, it's Joe 90 behind the wheel.
00:47:54Cutting across the red and white.
00:47:55That's slippery.
00:47:58You're looking quite good, though.
00:47:59You've never been good at anything like this in your life.
00:48:01Try and have a go at this.
00:48:02Come on.
00:48:03Have you really never been good at anything?
00:48:05Not like this, no.
00:48:07I'm with you.
00:48:08All sports are impossible.
00:48:10But that's not bad.
00:48:11Come on.
00:48:11You've got to nail Hammerhead, Christy.
00:48:13You've got to do this.
00:48:14Even though your chin does look like a bum.
00:48:18Right.
00:48:18Now, here we go.
00:48:19There's Hammerhead.
00:48:19Are we going to get around it this time?
00:48:20Oh, no.
00:48:21We'll put cones out now when it's raining.
00:48:22So, Jonathan Ross doesn't get lost if he ever comes back.
00:48:26You're in the white lines.
00:48:27That looks slow, but that's important for a quick time.
00:48:29Aim for the cameraman.
00:48:30Aim for the cameraman.
00:48:31There's the cameraman.
00:48:32Bad karma.
00:48:33Because I missed the gear aiming for the cameraman.
00:48:36Very easy to miss a gear in that.
00:48:38It is getting a bit tired now.
00:48:40That's looking good.
00:48:42Oh, the smell of the clutch.
00:48:44Mmm.
00:48:46But does it smell of victory?
00:48:48I'm being a bit chicken.
00:48:49A bit of a worse into the final bend.
00:48:51Come on, now.
00:48:53Cut the corner.
00:48:54Just a bit.
00:48:55That's the trick.
00:48:56No, that's good.
00:48:57That's quite a lot.
00:48:59And this one cuts into...
00:49:00No, that's a lot.
00:49:03So, an entirely new lap and across the line.
00:49:08So, here we are.
00:49:10There's the board.
00:49:12There is the board.
00:49:13Where do you think...
00:49:14Obviously, we will give you a wet lap there.
00:49:16So, we'll put Chris Evans wet on it.
00:49:19Where do you think you've come?
00:49:20Oh, I don't...
00:49:22I don't think it's that impressive.
00:49:23But I did...
00:49:24I promise you I tried my best.
00:49:25But I'm not going to lean forward.
00:49:26I'm going to just try and be cool.
00:49:28So, we've never had a guest who's managed to stay just like that.
00:49:31I know.
00:49:31I tell you, my heart...
00:49:32My heart is racing.
00:49:34You did it.
00:49:36One minute.
00:49:37So, you're quicker than Terry Wogan was.
00:49:40Well...
00:49:41You're already the new fastest Radio 2 breakfast show host we've ever had.
00:49:45In the last 40 years.
00:49:47In the last 40 years.
00:49:49You did it in one minute.
00:49:50Yes.
00:49:5340.
00:49:53Oh, that's good.
00:49:54That's good.
00:49:558.1.
00:49:56And for a wet lap...
00:49:57That...
00:49:59That's the third fastest wet lap we've ever had.
00:50:05Oh, look.
00:50:05It's your ex.
00:50:06Yeah, I'm just above her.
00:50:07Yeah.
00:50:08You're 0.2 of a...
00:50:08But I'm not on top of her.
00:50:09I'm just above her.
00:50:10You're just above her.
00:50:11Okay, she's my ex.
00:50:12Although we were accused of favoritism with her by David Tennant who said we only allowed
00:50:15her to do that after she cut corners because she was wearing a see-through top.
00:50:19Yeah, and he was quite right, of course.
00:50:21Completely right.
00:50:21But then you cut corners as well.
00:50:23Yeah, but next time I'm going to wear a see-through top.
00:50:26Ladies and gentlemen, Chris Evans!
00:50:28All right, and best of luck.
00:50:30Thank you so much.
00:50:31Can you...
00:50:31Can you...
00:50:32Can you more in there?
00:50:34That is a good time.
00:50:35I'm proud of it.
00:50:39Yeah.
00:50:41Earlier on in the show, we explained that Lancia, the greatest car company in the world,
00:50:47and just because of a few problems with rust 30 years ago, they're not available in the
00:50:53UK anymore.
00:50:54The thing is, though, as Jeremy's been finding out, you can still get one.
00:51:00Sort of.
00:51:04This is a Lancia Stratos.
00:51:07Except for one small thing.
00:51:09It isn't.
00:51:13It wasn't made in the 70s in Italy.
00:51:15In fact, I don't know where it was made.
00:51:18In a shed.
00:51:19In Unheaton, probably.
00:51:23This, you see, is a kit car.
00:51:26Either you can pay someone to build it for you,
00:51:28or you can make it at home yourself with a hammer.
00:51:32Apparently, if you're fairly competent, that would take about 300 hours.
00:51:39Obviously, it would take me about 300 years, which is a very long time.
00:51:44But there is an upside.
00:51:47An original Stratos would cost £100,000, maybe more.
00:51:51That is £13,000.
00:52:00In theory, that makes this, the Hawk HF, the bargain of the century.
00:52:06The body is absolutely identical to the original.
00:52:11All the panels are completely interchangeable.
00:52:15The interior, too, would be familiar to Lancia fans.
00:52:19The pedals are nowhere near where the bottom of my legs are.
00:52:26The steering wheel is perilously close to where my testes used to be
00:52:30before the seatbelt jammed them up into my lungs.
00:52:35The gear lever, that's like one of Bugs Bunny's ears,
00:52:38and one of the switches on the dashboard operates a fire extinguisher.
00:52:42But since I don't know which one it is, I didn't touch any of them.
00:52:44Oh, the wiper, the wiper has gone upside down.
00:52:50That wouldn't actually clear the rain, I don't think, from the window.
00:52:55And then there was a big noise.
00:52:59Oh, wait a minute. What the hell?
00:53:01What was that?
00:53:02The front left brake had jammed on.
00:53:05I've got to get this into a workshop.
00:53:07Come on, come on.
00:53:10I took the car to Nigel, the resident mechanic at our track.
00:53:13and greeted him in the usual fashion.
00:53:17Have you got a hammer?
00:53:21That is scalding hot, as we can see on the thermal imaging camera.
00:53:29He's just going to answer the phone now.
00:53:33While we wait, I suppose I should explain the £13,000
00:53:37doesn't include the cost of an engine.
00:53:40You have to get one yourself.
00:53:41And you have a choice of two.
00:53:42You can either get Fiat's twin cam,
00:53:44which you can buy used these days for about 5p,
00:53:47or for £600, you can get the engine I have in this.
00:53:51Use this handle, which is disguised as a spoiler,
00:53:54to get the back up.
00:53:55And there you are.
00:53:56Alpha's brilliant 3.0-litre V6.
00:53:59This actually produces more power than the Ferrari engine Lancia used.
00:54:05And with it, the Hawk is faster when it's working,
00:54:09which it will be, eventually.
00:54:11It is mended.
00:54:18And now I'm going to get back in,
00:54:20which is a surprisingly elegant process if you're a mouse.
00:54:24You simply get one...
00:54:25Oh, that's not good.
00:54:27You sort of get over this roll bar,
00:54:30like this,
00:54:32and then you get your head in.
00:54:33It's probably easier to detach your head first.
00:54:36And put it back on in the car.
00:54:40There we are.
00:54:41Over there.
00:54:43And then...
00:54:44You might want to cut the camera, actually, for this bit,
00:54:47because this is a bit...
00:54:48I had intended at this point to check out the performance,
00:54:53but after the brake problem,
00:54:55I'd rather lost my nerve.
00:54:570-60
00:55:04takes less than five seconds,
00:55:07and what I'm not going to do now
00:55:10is see when that acceleration stops.
00:55:14I really don't want to travel at 150 miles an hour
00:55:18in a car built in a shed by a man I've never met.
00:55:22This is 90.
00:55:24That's...
00:55:25The wiper's gone.
00:55:27That is an important consideration.
00:55:30You have to bear in mind,
00:55:31if you're thinking of buying a used kit car,
00:55:34you have to ask,
00:55:35was it built fastidiously by James May
00:55:38over a period of many hundreds of years,
00:55:42or was it built by a spanner with a hammer?
00:55:47I mean, would you buy a kit car that I'd built?
00:55:50Having chickened on the max speedrun,
00:55:58I decided to not find out what it's like flat out through the corners.
00:56:04Here we go.
00:56:05I'm going in.
00:56:07And here I am,
00:56:08cornering not at all flat-amp.
00:56:1060, that's fine.
00:56:14Brakes.
00:56:15Oh, three and three quarters of them are very squirrelly.
00:56:18Steering's very heavy.
00:56:20A lot of body roll.
00:56:22There we are.
00:56:24I think that's probably enough cornering now.
00:56:26We've done that.
00:56:27Tick.
00:56:31Certainly, then,
00:56:32the Hawk is only as good as the bloke who put it together.
00:56:36You'll spend more time under it than in it, for example.
00:56:41I'm not going to pretend it's as good
00:56:43as an original Stratos either,
00:56:46but the same reason
00:56:48that a postcard of the Mona Lisa
00:56:50is not as good as Leonardo's.
00:56:55But one day,
00:56:57your car will be working
00:56:58and you'll see a reflection of yourself
00:57:01in a shop window as you go by.
00:57:04And trust me on this,
00:57:05that's going to feel good.
00:57:07Because critically,
00:57:09this looks like a Stratos.
00:57:11And if we're honest,
00:57:13that's all we really want.
00:57:23That's how many elephants it feels on the East Africa rally.
00:57:29Brilliant.
00:57:29I would like to build
00:57:34a kit car like that
00:57:35because I think it would be very therapeutic.
00:57:37No, but it would be.
00:57:38You know what I mean?
00:57:39It's more satisfying
00:57:40to have something
00:57:40that you've made yourself.
00:57:42I don't even like to eat a sandwich
00:57:44I've made myself
00:57:45because it's always got blood in it
00:57:47and bits of my fingers.
00:57:49But anyway,
00:57:50we must now find out
00:57:51how fast this car
00:57:53goes around our track
00:57:54and of course
00:57:55that means handing it over
00:57:56to our tame racing driver.
00:57:59Some say
00:57:59that his new
00:58:00Christmas range
00:58:02of fragrances
00:58:02includes the great smell
00:58:04of Wednesday.
00:58:07And that he was turned down
00:58:09for the job
00:58:09of EU president
00:58:10because his face
00:58:12is just too recognisable.
00:58:13All we know is
00:58:16he's called the Stig.
00:58:19He's off.
00:58:20There he goes.
00:58:21I say listen to that noise.
00:58:24The Alpha V6 sounds
00:58:26if anything
00:58:26even better
00:58:27than the Ferrari V6.
00:58:30That's fantastic sound.
00:58:32Oh, what's happening here?
00:58:35Is he looking for the stereo?
00:58:36No.
00:58:38Stiggy, what's gone wrong?
00:58:39He's broken down.
00:58:41How authentic is that?
00:58:44Yes, this is a scene
00:58:45familiar to any Lancer owner.
00:58:48Look at him
00:58:48just walking off
00:58:49and completing his journey
00:58:50on foot.
00:58:51And there he is.
00:58:52Not across the line.
00:58:54Now, okay,
00:58:55there is no way
00:58:56we were going to allow
00:58:58our first ever
00:58:59DNF, did not finish,
00:59:01on the board
00:59:01to be a Lancer.
00:59:03No way.
00:59:03So,
00:59:04we mended the car
00:59:06in a shed,
00:59:08okay,
00:59:08brought it back.
00:59:10It was here
00:59:10this morning
00:59:11for the Stig
00:59:12to try again.
00:59:16Unfortunately,
00:59:17it was raining this time,
00:59:18but the car
00:59:19has set off well,
00:59:20still making
00:59:21a fabulous noise.
00:59:22Look at the rooster tails.
00:59:23Still dipping badly
00:59:24under braking
00:59:25as the Stig turns in.
00:59:27And,
00:59:28oh, I say,
00:59:28that's a bit wide.
00:59:29Stiggy,
00:59:30where are you going?
00:59:31No, no,
00:59:32he's got it back.
00:59:33Now,
00:59:33that's amazing driving
00:59:35as he comes up now
00:59:36to Chicago.
00:59:37Locked up the front,
00:59:38back stepped out.
00:59:40This is why he's gone.
00:59:41The Stig has spun.
00:59:43And he's like,
00:59:44that's not going to stop him.
00:59:45He's still going on.
00:59:46Look at that
00:59:46for determination.
00:59:48Stig's obviously
00:59:48a Lancer fan as well
00:59:50as he comes up
00:59:50to the Hammerhead.
00:59:51Yes,
00:59:52he's got it
00:59:52to turn in nicely.
00:59:54Done better
00:59:54than Chris Evans
00:59:55there.
00:59:57Oh,
00:59:57nice.
00:59:58Through
00:59:58with a whole
00:59:58beautifully held slide.
01:00:01It's gone wrong.
01:00:01He's headed
01:00:02with a camera crew.
01:00:03Oh,
01:00:03they were frightened.
01:00:04Now,
01:00:04here we go.
01:00:05Is he breaking down again?
01:00:07No,
01:00:07he isn't.
01:00:07That's not at all
01:00:08Lancerish
01:00:09as he comes to the
01:00:09follow-through.
01:00:11Yes,
01:00:11he's definitely
01:00:12backed off for that
01:00:13and I can't say
01:00:13I blame him
01:00:14as he heads now
01:00:15towards the tyres,
01:00:16building up speed.
01:00:18Not too much speed.
01:00:20And now he's coming down.
01:00:21Oh,
01:00:21come on,
01:00:21this is out of control now.
01:00:23but he's done it.
01:00:24He's around the second
01:00:25to last corner.
01:00:26Oh no,
01:00:26he's gone again.
01:00:28Look at that now.
01:00:29That's what I call driving
01:00:30as he comes around Gamble
01:00:32and this time
01:00:33across the line.
01:00:36That is
01:00:37the best looking lap
01:00:38we've ever seen.
01:00:40And I have to say
01:00:41one of the most exciting.
01:00:43Car control's phenomenal.
01:00:45But the time was
01:00:46one minute
01:00:4848.2
01:00:51which means
01:00:52it's also
01:00:53the slowest lap
01:00:54we've ever had
01:00:55around the Top Gear
01:00:56Test Track.
01:00:57Mind you,
01:00:58can you imagine
01:00:58how long it would have
01:00:59taken if he'd built it?
01:01:00Oh God,
01:01:01well he wouldn't have
01:01:01finished the lap by now,
01:01:02would he?
01:01:03Yes,
01:01:03it would.
01:01:04Oh no.
01:01:05Anyway,
01:01:05listen,
01:01:06next week
01:01:06we're on
01:01:07for reasons
01:01:07we don't understand
01:01:08at 8.30.
01:01:09Oh no.
01:01:11It's on that bombshell.
01:01:13Oh no.
01:01:13It's time to end.
01:01:14Thank you so much
01:01:15for watching.
01:01:16Oh no.
01:01:16Good night!
01:01:17Oh no.
01:01:18Oh no.
01:01:19Oh no.
01:01:19Oh no.
01:01:19Oh no.
01:01:19Oh no.
01:01:19Or no.
01:01:43Or no.
01:01:45Or no.
Be the first to comment