- 2 months ago
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May head to Romania in search of “the greatest driving road in the world.” Behind the wheels of three stunning convertibles — the Aston Martin DBS Volante, Ferrari California and Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder — they tackle the breathtaking Transfăgărășan Highway. Back at the track, James reviews the BMW 760Li and Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG. Actor Eric Bana is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
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MotorTranscript
00:00:00Tonight, James gets lost in a Lamborghini, Richard drives over a bridge in a Ferrari,
00:00:18and I wear a small hat in an Aston Martin.
00:00:30Hello. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. We're back. We're back.
00:00:38And while we were off there, the three of us had a bit of an argument about what would be the best car to take on a grand tour of Europe.
00:00:47I reckon, and I'm right, it's the Aston Martin DBS Volante.
00:00:52Richard says, no, it isn't. It's the Ferrari California.
00:00:56And James, who's a bit weird, says it's the Lamborghini Gallardo, the new one, with the 560 horsepower engine.
00:01:05Well, it is. No, it isn't. What that is, is a two-seater mid-engine, 560 horsepower supercar.
00:01:11What you want for a grand tour is engine at the front, nice comfy suspension, four seats, and a big boot for all your luggage.
00:01:17Exactly, which is why you want the Aston.
00:01:18Well, it isn't. It's the best, apart from the fact that the Ferrari costs 140,000, the Lambo 150, and the Aston is the best part of 170,000 pounds.
00:01:28Yes.
00:01:29And it's the slowest to 60 miles an hour.
00:01:31Yes.
00:01:31And it's got the smallest top speed.
00:01:32Yes.
00:01:33But that's a V8, that's a V10, that's a V12. More is better.
00:01:40No. No, it isn't.
00:01:41It is. It isn't. It isn't. I hold my breath.
00:01:44Yes. He is now holding his breath.
00:01:48Anyway, the producers said that the only real way to sort this out was to take these cars on an actual grand tour.
00:01:54So we thought, yes, south of France, or Italy, or the Black Forest.
00:01:58But then they said no. They said that we had to take them to Romania.
00:02:03This is what springs to mind when we think about Romania.
00:02:11Not that we do very often.
00:02:14We imagine it's full of oxes and people throwing stones at gypsies.
00:02:18So you'd imagine that turning up in cars like this might look like showing off.
00:02:30We did too.
00:02:32Coming here in a car that costs 168,000 pounds is a bit like turning up in the Sudan in a suit made entirely out of food.
00:02:41But then we arrived in the Black Sea town of Mamaya, and it wasn't really what we were expecting.
00:02:51My God!
00:02:57Jag, Porsche, Ferrari, Ferrari, Audi R8, V10, another Ferrari.
00:03:04If Simon Cowell came here, they'd put him on income support.
00:03:07Look at it!
00:03:07That's a 4.30, it's a 5.99.
00:03:12Yeah, okay.
00:03:12We're not as conspicuous as we first fear.
00:03:17Have you ever seen a light, Hammond?
00:03:19No, it's staggering!
00:03:20And then, just when we thought the car park couldn't get any better...
00:03:24Oh, my God!
00:03:26That is, isn't it?
00:03:27It is a Dacia Sandero.
00:03:29That is it?
00:03:30I think this is the 1.6.
00:03:32I think it is the 1.6.
00:03:33I completely forgot that, actually, this is where the Sandero is from.
00:03:36I've been thinking about that car for two years.
00:03:39Sadly, before he could think about it any more, a challenge arrived.
00:03:44You are here to seek out a road built by a former dictator.
00:03:48Officially, it's called the Trans...
00:03:50Transf...
00:03:52That.
00:03:53Transf...
00:03:53Transf...
00:03:54Transf...
00:03:55...highway.
00:03:57Unofficially, it's known as Ceaușescu's Folly.
00:04:00People speak of it in hushed whispers.
00:04:02They say it's the best road in the world.
00:04:06So we're here to look for it.
00:04:07We've got to find it.
00:04:08We decided to look in the mountains, which were 300 miles away.
00:04:16And on the journey, each of us would hope to prove our car was best.
00:04:20Yes, if you used facts and figures when buying a car, you probably would end up with the Lamborghini
00:04:29or the Ferrari, in the same way that if you used facts and figures to buy a house, you'd
00:04:34end up in Dunfermline, because you'd get a lot more for your money.
00:04:38This is a whole new type of car for Ferrari.
00:04:43This is the first with a V8 engine in the front.
00:04:47It's the first direct injection engine they've produced.
00:04:49It's the first Ferrari with a metal folding roof.
00:04:52This is the first time Ferrari have produced a car with a DSG gearbox, which means you get
00:04:57absolutely seamless gear change.
00:05:02This isn't a Ferrari for the track.
00:05:04It's for long journeys, exactly like this one.
00:05:10And now James had the chance to explain why he'd brought a mid-engine, two-seater supercar
00:05:16on a Grand Tour.
00:05:18By driving around in a Lamborghini, you are actually doing the world a favor, because it's
00:05:23a thing of beauty.
00:05:24Other people can look at it, and they can enjoy it.
00:05:27It's like owning one of Raphael's virgins and running around the streets, holding it above
00:05:31your head, instead of just putting it on the wall.
00:05:35So that we could talk to each other on our long journey, we decided to pull over and
00:05:40connect our phones into the car's Bluetooth systems.
00:05:43In the Aston and the Lamborghini, this was very easy.
00:05:48Bluetooth on.
00:05:49Press Enter to continue.
00:05:51Bluetooth on the phone.
00:05:52However, in the Ferrari...
00:05:55Every new phone must be paired before it's been used.
00:05:58Pairing my phone, yeah?
00:05:59You may add names and phone numbers to memory by the Google menu, so that you can press the
00:06:03phone button and say, call Mary, which will place a call to Mary.
00:06:08Pressing the VR button while the system is speaking...
00:06:10Please stop...
00:06:11I'm barging in.
00:06:12...synchronizing.
00:06:13Yes!
00:06:14I'm there.
00:06:15I'm connected.
00:06:16I'm Bluetoothed.
00:06:17Bluetooth switched on.
00:06:18Oh, joy.
00:06:19Home, work, mobile, or pager.
00:06:22Work!
00:06:23I'm at work!
00:06:24Name, please.
00:06:25Richard!
00:06:26How does that help?
00:06:27Please repeat the name after the beep.
00:06:29With our phones connected, eventually, we put our roofs up, which, without wishing to boast,
00:06:39you can do on the move in the Aston, and then we were ready for a motorway blast to Bucharest.
00:06:45Oh, there's the V12!
00:06:54One, two, five, tier, eight.
00:06:58What?
00:06:59Tier two, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, tier, one, one.
00:07:04Clear!
00:07:11Then we did what we weren't supposed to do.
00:07:14In three, two, one, go!
00:07:20Oh, yeah, this is what we were supposed to do.
00:07:31It just has the legs, that Ferrari.
00:07:34Just, just, just.
00:07:36Yeah, this might be a GT car, but it's not a slouch.
00:07:41Aston Martin has gone to simply enormous lengths to make the DBS convertible as light as possible.
00:07:48It has a carbon fibre bonnet, carbon fibre wings, carbon fibre boot, carbon fibre door pulls even.
00:07:55They've even made the carpet out of a specially lightweight weave, and the results speak for themselves.
00:08:03This is, by far away, the heaviest car of the three.
00:08:06Have you noticed something, Hammond?
00:08:07What?
00:08:08I don't see a black Lamborghini anywhere near us.
00:08:12What?
00:08:13I don't see a black Lamborghini anywhere near us.
00:08:16What?
00:08:17You mean the one that is on paper the fastest here?
00:08:19James was merrily tootling along, apparently under the illusion he was presenting his wine programme.
00:08:27There's a real good place to stop for a bag of grapes, and there's three more people holding up some of the grapes, and there's the fourth, the fifth, the sixth.
00:08:33That's it, the sixth.
00:08:34I think we're well covered to grapes there.
00:08:38Meanwhile, Hammond's Ferrari had decided all on its own to make a telephone call.
00:08:43Selected.
00:08:44Calling Vernon Kaye.
00:08:45What?
00:08:46Vernon?
00:08:47Is this correct?
00:08:48Why are you calling Vernon Kaye?
00:08:50Why are you doing that?
00:08:52Hello?
00:08:53Vernon?
00:08:54Hi.
00:08:55Hello, mate, it's Richard Hammond.
00:08:58For miles, our convoy ruled the road, but then...
00:09:03Oh, my God!
00:09:04Look here!
00:09:07What's that?
00:09:09What?
00:09:10That's the Dacia Sandero.
00:09:12I'm gonna see if I can hold on to the back of it.
00:09:15The 1.260 mile, that thing can shift.
00:09:18Come on!
00:09:19Keep up with the Sandero!
00:09:23Hammond's Ferrari might have got it, but unfortunately...
00:09:26Why are you doing that now?
00:09:27Why are you calling Vernon Kaye again?
00:09:30Hi, Richard.
00:09:31Vernon!
00:09:32It's Richard Hammond again.
00:09:35I'm really sorry.
00:09:37Yeah, no, it's fine.
00:09:38I'm just in the studio.
00:09:39Everyone's kind of stopped work.
00:09:41Good.
00:09:42Good.
00:09:43Um...
00:09:48While refuelling on the outskirts of Bucharest,
00:09:51James and Richard bought me a present.
00:09:53Great.
00:09:54What now?
00:09:55My life is complete.
00:09:56That's what now.
00:09:57Yeah, you're...
00:09:58Very big round here, apparently.
00:09:59And then James thought of a new game.
00:10:01Yes.
00:10:02Why don't we have a sat-nav challenge?
00:10:05Because mine is a German one and will be superior.
00:10:08Oh, it's Audi, isn't it?
00:10:09It is.
00:10:10Oh, no, good idea.
00:10:11We could start here.
00:10:12Ready, set, go.
00:10:13Set your sat-nav for People's Palace.
00:10:15I know it exists.
00:10:16First to get to the People's Palace is the winner.
00:10:20Are you ready?
00:10:21Yes.
00:10:22Steady.
00:10:23Yes.
00:10:24Go!
00:10:25Now, I should explain before we start, I have a Volvo system.
00:10:28Unanimously, everybody agrees, it's the worst sat-nav in the world.
00:10:33Rise!
00:10:34Rise!
00:10:35Mercifully, in the California, the sat-nav system was much better than the Bluetooth.
00:10:42Nearby point of interest, that's going to be the first business.
00:10:46Whereas in the Lambo, James was regretting his new game.
00:10:50It goes from Portugal to San... How can it not have...
00:10:59The Italians don't acknowledge the existence of Romania.
00:11:03No, no, no.
00:11:04One, one, seven.
00:11:05One, one, seven.
00:11:06No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
00:11:08One to 42, that is all.
00:11:10All right, I got it.
00:11:14No, no, no!
00:11:16Uh, People's Palace.
00:11:19People.
00:11:22Not the best present I've ever had, if I'm honest, but it's tactless to just ignore them.
00:11:27Please follow the road.
00:11:29Yes, I will gladly follow the road.
00:11:31For 7.3 kilometres.
00:11:34Technology and I are now getting on absolutely fine.
00:11:37Calling?
00:11:38Stephen, accountant.
00:11:40No, no, no, don't do that.
00:11:42You're on the bar, here.
00:11:43Yep.
00:11:44You know?
00:11:45Yep.
00:11:46And here.
00:11:47Here didn't stop.
00:11:48No.
00:11:49One of the most irritating things about the Volvo system that Aston use is that it tells
00:11:54you where you've been, which is only of any use if you think your wife's having an affair.
00:11:59James was now on the move, but obviously his map had been drawn by a distant relative.
00:12:05When he said roundabout, did he mean roundabout, or did he mean crossroads?
00:12:10Fortunately, the producers had given me a Romanian phrasebook.
00:12:15Unfortunately, it was a bit confusing.
00:12:18who are gonna have been knocking on a certain people's private space.
00:12:19Still, when he was trying to find a new group, where it came from, and he could give us a nice
00:12:25time to see the zarage of the army.
00:12:30Meanwhile, less than a mile from the people's palace, the sat nav race was hotting up.
00:12:35Hammond get him what's he doing here I'm winning by one and a half meters I
00:12:45found it first no I found it with my eyes you didn't I found it first
00:12:50goodness yara I don't take a plane near I guess that I'm in Scotia Hammond and I
00:12:59meanwhile we're still racing this but when we saw the people's palace we sort
00:13:08of stopped today it's the Romanian Parliament building but it was once the
00:13:16private house of notorious dictator Nikolai Ceausescu if that's his idea of a
00:13:24house what's his idea of a road gonna be like you know you know that is the
00:13:29heaviest building in the world yeah that's what you'd build isn't it it is
00:13:33million cubic meters of marble in there Ceausescu was a mental was complete
00:13:38mental and an unpleasant mental he had people go ahead of him and paint the
00:13:42leaves green wherever he went as we waited James had become really lost
00:13:54it is the Arc de Triomphe it's priority a droit
00:14:02that's it while we waited we were informed we might get a visit from a local
00:14:09dignitary the secretary-general of the chamber of deputies Jeremy you are
00:14:16familiar with the local customs on what when she stands to shake hands you just
00:14:21plop it in and that's what you did that's it that's how it works hello sir
00:14:26I guess they laws in the Sun's Dax SSA say my name a
00:14:32god you remember in 2009 they used to make that what was it called it was a it was a
00:14:41lamb behold the people's palace James you lost that one quite badly while
00:14:51waiting for James the local dignitary had given us permission to drive in the
00:14:55network of tunnels underneath the government building this we feel is not
00:15:02something that would be allowed in Britain
00:15:09yeah
00:15:25it's a corner there
00:15:29We then decided to bring a bit of science to the party.
00:15:47That is a decibel-o-meter, and I'm going to see how loud the Ferrari is.
00:15:53Ready?
00:15:53Mm-hmm.
00:15:53To the 75, 82.
00:15:5589?
00:16:0889.
00:16:09I saw an 89.
00:16:10I saw an 89.
00:16:1189, yeah.
00:16:12It's quite dusty down there.
00:16:14This is our best game yet!
00:16:16All you need to play this game, in case you're interested at home,
00:16:19is a people's palace with a tunnel underneath it,
00:16:21three supercars,
00:16:23three supercars, and a cheap app, and you're there.
00:16:29It turned out that all three cars were equally loud.
00:16:35So we abandoned the signs,
00:16:37and went to the pub,
00:16:40where we were just in time to catch the local version of Top Gear.
00:16:44I just wish that girl would get out of the way,
00:16:50so we could see the car more.
00:16:52I bet that would sound good in the tunnels.
00:16:55What a magnificent thing.
00:16:57We'll pick that up later on.
00:16:58But now, it is time to do the news.
00:17:12And we begin with a story from Australia, in fact.
00:17:16Australian authorities are really going to get tough on boozed-up fans at the Bathhurst motor race.
00:17:24Well, I say motor race, it's actually a fight every year between rival gangs of Ford supporters and GM supporters.
00:17:30Okay, now the way they've cracked this is they say each fan is going to be limited to just 24 cans of lager each.
00:17:39A day, just 24 a day, no more than that.
00:17:43That's absolutely right.
00:17:44And Australians don't think you can get round this by switching to wine,
00:17:47because that's limited as well, to four litres a day.
00:17:51Do you know what they are actually doing to get round it?
00:17:54What, Australians?
00:17:55Yeah, Australians are going there two weeks before the race, and burying beer.
00:18:01We have an Australian guest on later, I'm going to talk to him about this, because I'm fascinated.
00:18:04Yes.
00:18:05But we must move on.
00:18:06We must.
00:18:07The McLaren have announced a new supercar, here it is.
00:18:10It's called the MP4-12C.
00:18:12Mmm.
00:18:13That'll sound good with adenoids.
00:18:15Yeah, really.
00:18:16Do you want to come for a ride in my MP4-12C?
00:18:19No, I don't.
00:18:20It sounds like a telephone.
00:18:21However, interesting thing about this car particularly, is the previous McLaren supercars,
00:18:26the F1 and the Merck SLR, were very, very expensive.
00:18:30This, £170,000.
00:18:32It's not cheap.
00:18:33Oh, that's all right.
00:18:34As I said that, I really just...
00:18:35No, I know what you mean.
00:18:36It's not cheap.
00:18:37It's cheaper than, yeah, actually.
00:18:38Exactly.
00:18:39It's kind of same...
00:18:40Half the price of the SLR.
00:18:41And this is the first time they've put their own engine into it, 3.8-meter twin-turbo V8.
00:18:44So there's a lot of exciting things about that.
00:18:46No, I hope that works for McLaren, because they've had a rotten week.
00:18:48You know, all their vehicles have been recalled, because they've been amputating people's limbs.
00:18:51What?
00:18:52It's not...
00:18:53No.
00:18:54Yeah.
00:18:55It's not the vehicles, mate.
00:18:57It's the prams, the pushchairs, McLaren buggies.
00:18:59Oh, God, I thought Roman Atkinson had had his arm cut off by his car.
00:19:03No, it's...
00:19:04It's McLaren prams.
00:19:05Yes, the buggies.
00:19:06The pushchairs.
00:19:07Oh, God.
00:19:08Interesting thing about this story is it's come about because of 12 cases in the States
00:19:13of children having their fingers amputated by them.
00:19:15And so as a result, they've recalled all the pushchairs.
00:19:18But the pushchairs are the same all over the world, and it's only in the States that they're
00:19:22recalling them, not over here, for instance.
00:19:24Mm.
00:19:25No, no, there's a very good reason for that, though.
00:19:26I think it's because British parents are more, um...
00:19:29What's the word I'm looking for?
00:19:31Intelligence.
00:19:32Yes.
00:19:33Intelligence.
00:19:34Yeah.
00:19:35Because how could he...
00:19:36I can't shut this buggy down, there's these little pink things in there.
00:19:40Now I've got the kids screaming his head off!
00:19:43Shut up, Junior!
00:19:45That's got it!
00:19:47Stop yelling.
00:19:48There you go.
00:19:49Now, do you want to combine your love of camping with your love of buying the wrong
00:19:53Porsche?
00:19:54No, because I have good news, okay?
00:19:58Because you can now buy, um...
00:20:00Well, it's a new type of Boxster, okay?
00:20:03With a tent on the top of it.
00:20:04Here it is.
00:20:05Look at that!
00:20:06It looks like a tramp's hat!
00:20:09It's...
00:20:10What it is, it's called the Boxster Spider, and it's kind of a super lightweight version.
00:20:14So it only weighs 1250 kilos, top speed 166 miles an hour, not 64.8 seconds.
00:20:20And it's that fast because it's got a very clever gearbox.
00:20:22It's called a...
00:20:23Is it German?
00:20:24It's a German name, but it's really complicated.
00:20:25Can I just spell this out?
00:20:26It's a D-O-P-P-E-L-K-U-P-P-L-U-N-G-S-G-E-T-R-I-E-B-E.
00:20:51Can we...
00:20:52Can we get it on the speed?
00:20:53Get it on the speed, get it...
00:20:54What are there any Germans here?
00:20:55That's a long word!
00:20:56Do you know what that means?
00:20:57You speak German.
00:20:58I do.
00:20:59Well, no, what's the only German you can say?
00:21:00What's the only German you can say?
00:21:01What's that mean?
00:21:02Naturally, Hans is wet.
00:21:03He's standing under a waterfall.
00:21:04Okay.
00:21:05I use it all the time.
00:21:06That's kind of a one...
00:21:07That's kind of a one-shot deal, is it?
00:21:08Uh, anyway, if you want the wrong car, which has no door handles, and no air conditioning,
00:21:24and no radio, and has a tent on the top of it, then there you are.
00:21:27And now you are, the, uh, the Boxster double run.
00:21:29It's not got all those things to keep it light, because it's still 44 grand, that thing.
00:21:3344,000 pounds, you don't even get door handles.
00:21:36Now, look, we've been sent this.
00:21:38It's a eco-friendly, portable, disposable, cardboard lavatory for use by the side of the road.
00:21:46The idea is, you're driving along, you get caught a bit short, can't find the nearest carsy,
00:21:50you pop this out, erect it, and do what you have to do.
00:21:52Are you about to tell us you have been caught short?
00:21:54No.
00:21:55Because I don't think you should...
00:21:56No, I'm not.
00:21:57I was going to say that we shall give this a fair test on Top Gear by giving it to the
00:22:00world's most practical man, which is Clarkson.
00:22:05What, you want me to build it?
00:22:06I do.
00:22:07Oh, God, I hate this sort of thing.
00:22:10Where's the instructions?
00:22:12Have you ever noticed watching him do anything practical?
00:22:15It's like watching an orangutan.
00:22:17Oh, it is.
00:22:18Look at his face.
00:22:19Honestly, look at his face.
00:22:20His face is very long.
00:22:21He's happy, but confused.
00:22:23They...
00:22:24They actually...
00:22:25They actually put a picture of Jeremy on the bag, look, showing you how to assemble it.
00:22:28These instructions, look at these.
00:22:31They bear no relation to the...
00:22:33Like, as always, to the thing that they're supplied with.
00:22:36See, look, he's doing the ape thing.
00:22:37And bear in mind, you have to erect this...
00:22:40Well, basically, desperate for a number two...
00:22:42Well, I was going to say...
00:22:43With lorries going by.
00:22:44Could you erect this while you were touching cloth?
00:22:47You can.
00:22:48See if you can get that erected.
00:22:50I'm prepared to bet that that question has never been asked on any other car show, ever.
00:22:56She's good.
00:22:57How have you done that?
00:22:58She's bloody done it, look.
00:23:00I don't know that was it.
00:23:01How did you do that?
00:23:03Look, she's made a lavatory.
00:23:05You did it.
00:23:06She's a female.
00:23:07So you just put that up at the side of the road and then...
00:23:20There's no need to demonstrate!
00:23:22How did you think that was going to work?
00:23:23How did you think that was going to work?
00:23:24You break-dunking ape.
00:23:25Do you know what?
00:23:26Honestly, I'd rather just crap myself.
00:23:27How do you think I just did?
00:23:28Yeah.
00:23:29Come here and move on.
00:23:30I'm not the world's most unpractical man.
00:23:31You are.
00:23:32I am, actually.
00:23:33You are.
00:23:34Anyway, we've got to get on.
00:23:35Yes.
00:23:36Anyway, we've had a letter.
00:23:37It's literally from some bankers, and it says,
00:23:40Dear Top Gear, this time last year, we didn't have any money,
00:23:45but the government has given us some now.
00:23:47However, we don't want the public to do of course,
00:23:49but the government has given us some now,
00:23:50but we don't want to let the public be patient.
00:23:52No way, it doesn't just record.
00:23:54Oh yes, you are.
00:23:55You have to trust me.
00:23:56You are.
00:23:57You're gonna love to take a picture.
00:24:01Hey?
00:24:02Do you know what?
00:24:03Honestly, I'd rather just crap myself.
00:24:04We don't want the public to know that we're loaded again, so we need really fast, expensive cars that are quite discreet.
00:24:11Can you help? You're sincerely some bankers.
00:24:14Well, as it happens, yes, we can help.
00:24:21And we begin with something from BMW.
00:24:24This here is the BMW 760 Li, or to give it its other name, the BMW Move Over Poor Person,
00:24:37because this is the biggest, most expensive and most powerful car BMW makes.
00:24:46It has a 6-litre V12, which sounds like plenty.
00:24:50But obviously, someone at BMW thought, no.
00:24:54So, for a bit of extra schnell, this car has got two turbochargers.
00:25:00The result is 544 bhp, and the power station under the bonnet is connected to a brand new 8-speed gearbox.
00:25:11Put all that lot together, and even someone as laid back as me can quite easily look.
00:25:17Get a bit of a lit car.
00:25:20It'll batter most 911s in a sprint to 60.
00:25:26And delimited, it would hit 188 miles an hour.
00:25:31But those numbers only tell half the story.
00:25:37This is a bizarre kind of fast.
00:25:39It's quiet and relaxed and smooth.
00:25:43It's like swimming over a waterfall of double cream.
00:25:46A luxurious waterfall, too.
00:25:53The 760 has seats that massage you, and an SAS-spec night vision system.
00:25:59And here's a clever thing.
00:26:03I'm pulling up to this junction.
00:26:05The view is quite obstructed.
00:26:06I can't really see what's coming.
00:26:08But I press this button.
00:26:10There are little cameras mounted on the wings that give you eyes on the side of your head.
00:26:14It's like being a rabbit.
00:26:15And the price, a smudge under £100,000.
00:26:20Now, if you have that sort of money to spend on a car, there's a good chance you'll want to pay somebody to drive it for you.
00:26:27So, that's exactly what I've done.
00:26:29I've got myself a chauffeur.
00:26:32He's in a bit of a bad mood, to be honest, because I've told him this is my test.
00:26:36It's not about tire smoke and going sideways.
00:26:38Dignified driving is what I want.
00:26:42This version of the 7 Series is only available as a long wheelbase model, which means you get an extra five inches of legroom in the back.
00:26:49Doesn't sound much, but it makes a world of difference.
00:26:51And I can watch the television.
00:26:53I've actually got something on here.
00:26:54It's rather interesting.
00:26:55It's about antiques.
00:26:56What are you doing, man?
00:27:05Bloody hell.
00:27:07Oh, God, I see the problem.
00:27:08The Mercedes S63 has turned up.
00:27:11That's the other car I was going to test.
00:27:14And that sort of puts Stig's on heat.
00:27:20That S-Class is actually the AMG-tuned version.
00:27:23Apparently, it's a bit of a rocket ship.
00:27:25I can see why Stig has got the red mist.
00:27:29Luckily, Stig's a bit too stupid to work out where all the driver aids are on this.
00:27:33Oh, no, he's found it.
00:27:36Oh, God.
00:27:38Stig has put the dynamic driving control into Sport+.
00:27:41That sharpens up throttle response and gear changes.
00:27:44Oh, my God, he's switched the stability control off altogether.
00:27:54Oh, my God, he's switched the stability control off altogether.
00:27:54Oh, my God, he's switched the stability control off altogether.
00:27:55Oh, my God.
00:27:55Oh, my God, he's switched the stability control off altogether.
00:27:59That locks up the rear differential.
00:28:01The extra...
00:28:02Oh, hooligan.
00:28:03Oh!
00:28:04So, the Mercedes, the most powerful non-turbo V8 car in the world.
00:28:18It costs the same as the BMW.
00:28:20It comes only in business-class long wheelbase form like the BMW.
00:28:25And like the BMW, it's dripping with technology.
00:28:27Even the interior lighting has three different colour settings.
00:28:35In fact, there's such a bewildering array of gizmos on both cars
00:28:39that it's almost impossible to choose between them.
00:28:48So, we're going to make it a bit easier with a game of top trams.
00:28:51Here's my opponent, the Stig.
00:28:53It's just like normal top trams,
00:28:54except all of Stiggy's cars are the BMW
00:28:57and all of mine are the Mercedes.
00:28:59Ready?
00:29:01OK, TV screens.
00:29:03Mercedes has TV in the front.
00:29:08BMW, I know the answer to this.
00:29:09It's got two, hasn't it?
00:29:11Front and rear, so you win that pair.
00:29:16Climate control.
00:29:17Mercedes, two zone.
00:29:20And the BMW, we know, has got four zone climate control,
00:29:24so you win that pair.
00:29:25It's not difficult.
00:29:28Right, seat massage system.
00:29:30Mercedes, front and rear seat massage.
00:29:34And the BMW,
00:29:37massage seat only in the front,
00:29:39so I win that pair.
00:29:41Right, BHP.
00:29:42OK, that's not working.
00:29:49So let's go back to the traditional Philistine top gear method.
00:29:53A drag race.
00:29:55I went to the Mercedes with Stig at the wheel.
00:29:58I think I'll have a firm massage for this.
00:30:07The BMW quickly took the lead
00:30:10and stayed there to the end.
00:30:13That made Stig so angry, he went home.
00:30:20So, the S-Class, when you drive it,
00:30:22you realise it's got much more of a split personality than the BMW.
00:30:26On the one hand, it has lots of very civilising features.
00:30:31It has active body control.
00:30:33And it's so clever, it can detect a crosswind and compensate for it.
00:30:38It even has a drowsiness sensor to prevent you from nodding off.
00:30:41But put your foot down
00:30:44and suddenly it erupts
00:30:46with typical AMG volcanic storm and fury.
00:30:54And here's something that really baffles me.
00:30:57On the dashboard, I have a race timer
00:31:00that allows you to record your lap times.
00:31:02But why?
00:31:04I've been in the 911 GT3, yes.
00:31:07But who's that for?
00:31:08Sir Alan Sugar on a track day?
00:31:11And that's the problem with the Mercedes.
00:31:14It has a strangely confused personality.
00:31:17And for that reason,
00:31:18Mercedes S63 AMG,
00:31:21you're fired.
00:31:30So, let's just get this straight.
00:31:33Quite wrongly, you prefer the BMW.
00:31:36No, I think they're both completely pointless.
00:31:38Couldn't agree with you more.
00:31:39They are absolutely pointless.
00:31:41And now, I'm afraid,
00:31:43we must dive even more deeply
00:31:45into the murky waters of their irrelevance
00:31:47by handing them over to our tame racing driver.
00:31:51Some say that in the autumn,
00:31:53all his arms go brown and fall off.
00:31:58And that if he wrote you a letter of condolence,
00:32:00he would at least get your name right.
00:32:02All we know is he's called the stog.
00:32:07You mean the stig.
00:32:08That's what I said.
00:32:10I said it.
00:32:12And they're off.
00:32:13It is very wet out there.
00:32:15Tiny wiggle of the hips from the BMW
00:32:17as the turbos spool up.
00:32:19And here's something not very interesting.
00:32:20That 760 has BMW's first petrol V12
00:32:23with two turbos.
00:32:24Oh, look, that is much more interesting there.
00:32:27He's getting very sideways.
00:32:33Yeah, now, I should say the stig is deeply saddened
00:32:36that Chas and Dave have split up.
00:32:38This is his way of getting through the pain.
00:32:41God, that BMW is very sideways there.
00:32:43Now coming up to Hammerhead.
00:32:45We're expecting understeer here
00:32:46from these two-ton barges.
00:32:49And, yep, Semi-Series is ploughing wide.
00:32:52More composed, I suspect,
00:32:54because the traction control
00:32:55can't be fully switched off.
00:32:58Right, now, here we are, follow through.
00:32:59It really is wet out there.
00:33:02Stig would be better off in an actual barge, I think.
00:33:05Now they're quick through the tyres.
00:33:06Look up brave in the dictionary, it says.
00:33:08See the stig.
00:33:09Two corners left.
00:33:11BMW's all over the shot.
00:33:12That let the S-Class ahead,
00:33:14but their evenly matched
00:33:15going through Gamble and Rust-A-Line.
00:33:20Can you go here?
00:33:21No, it doesn't.
00:33:23Can we go here?
00:33:24No, it doesn't.
00:33:27Go on, then.
00:33:27Right, the Mercedes S63 did it there in 132.1.
00:33:31The BMW did it in 131.2.
00:33:36Brilliant, so there we are.
00:33:38If you are a banker
00:33:39and you like to get anywhere in a big hurry,
00:33:41go for the BMW.
00:33:42I'm going to go for you.
00:33:43Consumer advice for you there.
00:33:44Now, it is time to put a star in our reasonably priced car.
00:33:49My guest tonight, it seems, always wanted to be a racing driver,
00:33:53but then he accidentally ended up being in films like
00:33:56Star Trek, Finding Nemo, Black Hawk Down, Troy, and so on and so forth.
00:34:03So, here to find out what on earth went wrong,
00:34:07from somewhere called Australia, ladies and gentlemen,
00:34:09Eric Banner!
00:34:12How are you, Eric?
00:34:14Good to see you.
00:34:15How are you?
00:34:15Good, very well.
00:34:16Have a seat.
00:34:19Got the superstar who's here.
00:34:22What's in there?
00:34:24There.
00:34:24Water, it's okay.
00:34:27Won't have anything dangerous in it.
00:34:28Yeah.
00:34:29Now, this Bathurst motor race we were talking about earlier,
00:34:32have you heard about this beer thing,
00:34:34where they're now limiting the amount of beer each fan can take
00:34:36to 24 cans a day?
00:34:39It's a serious restriction.
00:34:42I mean, that's practically tea-totling, isn't it?
00:34:45Because this rivalry between Ford and GN,
00:34:49it's ingrained from birth, isn't it, in all Australia?
00:34:52It is, you know, it's pretty deep-seated.
00:34:53Well, I guess, you know,
00:34:54they're the two main manufacturers when,
00:34:57if you're my age, when you were growing up,
00:34:58it was, you know, the General Motors product,
00:35:01which was Holden, Commodores and Tiranas,
00:35:03and for me, it was Falcons.
00:35:05I said to the two guys,
00:35:07the two Aussies who are here in the audience somewhere now,
00:35:10I said, oh, Eric Banner's coming on,
00:35:11and they went, ah, Ford Blake.
00:35:13That was it.
00:35:13You're a Ford Blake, therefore you're no good,
00:35:15because you're a Ford Blake and they're Holden Blake.
00:35:17Completely discounted me, huh?
00:35:18Yeah, exactly.
00:35:19That's the thing.
00:35:19Yeah.
00:35:20No, because it is,
00:35:20it seems to me that Bathurst combines everything really
00:35:23that you need in Australia,
00:35:25outside cooking, obviously,
00:35:26drinking, and sport.
00:35:28Because this sport thing is weird, right?
00:35:30Because you're no good at it, so...
00:35:32Oh, really?
00:35:33Well, not really.
00:35:34Really?
00:35:34Well, I'm just thinking...
00:35:35Cite a couple of examples.
00:35:37Oh, well, the Ashes.
00:35:38The most recent one?
00:35:39The most recent one.
00:35:40Rugby the other day.
00:35:41Didn't we beat you last week?
00:35:43Yeah, we weren't playing.
00:35:44It was Johnny Wilkinson and some lawyers.
00:35:47No.
00:35:47Do you know what the best thing, honestly, about having an Aussie here really is,
00:35:52and I don't know whether it's the same with Australia,
00:35:53because there are very few countrymen or countrywomen that we can tease and you can get joshies.
00:35:59Australia and England, it seems to me, are the last two countries on earth where you can go there and go,
00:36:03oh, how do you want it under the soap? He won't find it there.
00:36:06So you can feel as Americans who say, you lost in Vietnam.
00:36:08I mean, they really...
00:36:09They just don't find that funny.
00:36:12I mean, to be quite honest, we're happy.
00:36:14We ended up in the best country, so it's...
00:36:16You know, it's not a bad second prize, as far as you're concerned.
00:36:20It's quite dangerous, though, Australia.
00:36:22Why?
00:36:22Well, I don't know. I mean, how old are you?
00:36:2441.
00:36:24You must be the oldest Australian who hasn't been eaten by a shark or bitten by a spider.
00:36:28There's a few around, but, you know, that's what happens when you have great beaches.
00:36:36We've got great beaches.
00:36:37Oh, you do. Yeah, I know.
00:36:39Awesome surf, too.
00:36:41At least we have nice names.
00:36:43Give me an example.
00:36:44Well, no, because the thing I love about Australia, I really genuinely love, is the literal name.
00:36:47Oh, we've got this big sandy desert in the middle. What should we call it?
00:36:50Oh, the great sandy desert.
00:36:52We've got this reef off the coast. It's like a barrier.
00:36:54The Great Barrier Reef.
00:36:55This is, of course, as opposed to the White Cliffs of Dover.
00:37:00Yeah.
00:37:01Green Park.
00:37:02Yeah, that's true. Green Park isn't very good yet.
00:37:05Four weddings and a funeral.
00:37:06That wasn't a very good...
00:37:07What about Mad Max?
00:37:08It's a bladablike. He's mad, mad, and he's called Max.
00:37:11Perfect title.
00:37:12Now, I want to get on to the car thing, because it's, let's be honest, this proper love that you have,
00:37:18because you are now a bona fide Australian racing driver.
00:37:22Oh, no, I just have a bit of fun in the Australian GT series, which is like your version would be like FIA GT3 racing,
00:37:31so I'm in a Porsche Cup car, 911.
00:37:33So you're pretty good. I mean, it's not like you're just some actor who's...
00:37:36I don't know if I'm pretty good. I mean, I enjoy it. I've never stopped doing it.
00:37:39I just, I'm a, you know, I'm obsessed.
00:37:41So you've defined your life, so, well, I'm not going to do that film because I really want to do that race.
00:37:46Is this not in America?
00:37:47No, this is... America's the only country in the world this isn't shown.
00:37:50Of course I've done that. Are you kidding me?
00:37:55Good man.
00:37:57Everywhere else in the world I hear that, but not America.
00:38:00They'll never find out.
00:38:01Now, if I could just say, you've been in some massive films,
00:38:05but the one that seems to me to be closest to your heart is the one that you've just brought out now,
00:38:10which is Love the Beast.
00:38:11Love the Beast.
00:38:12So tell me about that, because it's a very small film compared to, let's say, Troy.
00:38:17Well, it is. It's a documentary that I directed,
00:38:19and I one day was looking at my Beast, which is my Ford Falcon coupe.
00:38:24You know, I'd had this car since I was 15, and I thought, this actually isn't a car.
00:38:28This is like some kind of a personal, you know, possession that gets carted around
00:38:34through all kinds of different circumstances.
00:38:37And I started thinking more and more about that and how, you know, cars,
00:38:42objects in particular cars, I think, I feel, can transcend themselves to become something else.
00:38:46I feel very deeply about it, you know, so...
00:38:48I couldn't agree more.
00:38:50Right.
00:38:50I mean, I really do believe that cars take on a personality, not all cars,
00:38:54but some do.
00:38:55So this film is about your relationship with this car.
00:38:59Yeah, and then I was competing in Target Tasmania that year,
00:39:03so I thought, well, we'll just make The Rally a bit of an action backdrop
00:39:07to this story about a guy having a car for his car.
00:39:11Having a relationship with a car?
00:39:12Yeah.
00:39:13Okay, well, we've got a clip here, which I'd like to show everyone.
00:39:15Here we go.
00:39:16Three, two, one, go!
00:39:24And then a five left.
00:39:27It's slippery, apparently.
00:39:29I feel like I'm biking in a horse.
00:39:30I feel like every day both horses are learning, me and the car.
00:39:33Okay, ten left, flying finish, stay on it.
00:39:35Six left.
00:39:36Portion crest, long two right, 100.
00:39:39Car off here.
00:39:44Jeez.
00:39:45I think what hurt the most was just knowing that it was going to happen, you know, before
00:39:56it happened.
00:39:57Well, I could have told you that was going to happen, because if you've got a muscle car,
00:39:59you go around the corner, you're going to hit a tree.
00:40:02Now, you end wondering whether to rebuild that car again.
00:40:07True.
00:40:08One of the things that I was facing, you know, whilst I was shooting the documentary,
00:40:12I never planned on crashing the bloody car, obviously, was, you know, I'd killed it, basically.
00:40:16And then for a couple of months, we thought that it was dead and that we couldn't, in fact,
00:40:21repair it.
00:40:22And I decided that if it required a reshell, that I would not rebuild the car.
00:40:27But does it?
00:40:28It doesn't.
00:40:29It doesn't?
00:40:30So you're going to rebuild it again?
00:40:31So we're going to rebuild it again.
00:40:32You do realise that everything you earn from Star Trek is going to be lost the next time
00:40:37you try to go around the corner, really, when you've rebuilt it?
00:40:39Yeah.
00:40:39Now, obviously, you didn't come thousands of miles to just sit and talk about this.
00:40:46You came to have a go out there in the reasonably priced car.
00:40:50So how was it?
00:40:51It was slippery, but it was a lot of fun.
00:40:54It's been a while since I've driven such a reasonably priced car.
00:41:00Who would like to see Eric's lap?
00:41:03All right, mate, let's have a look.
00:41:07That is slippery.
00:41:08I'll never play test cricket, but I'll drive the Top Gear track.
00:41:14First corner.
00:41:15Now, this, that's, ooh, you see, there's somebody who knows how to drive.
00:41:19Look at that.
00:41:22Feel the grip from the reasonably priced Lissetti now.
00:41:25You know what?
00:41:26Well, you really put your heart and soul into this.
00:41:31Yes, you were.
00:41:32I'm not here to pretend that I don't care about what my lap time is.
00:41:36Get out of the way, birds.
00:41:38Yeah, look, non-dangerous birds.
00:41:40Not like those ones that burst on your windscreen, showering you in worms, which is what happens in Australia.
00:41:45Oh, that's a bit of understeer there.
00:41:47Lots of understeer there.
00:41:48Lots of understeer there.
00:41:50Time to put it away.
00:41:51Oh, it's flat.
00:41:52Gearbox.
00:41:53Sorry about that.
00:41:54Hasn't mended.
00:41:55Follow through.
00:41:56I've made it to ask for you flat through there.
00:41:57Flat.
00:41:58Flat.
00:41:59Yeah.
00:42:00And flat through the tires.
00:42:01Flat through the tires.
00:42:02Yep.
00:42:03That looks pretty flat to me.
00:42:05Now, second to last corner.
00:42:06This is the tricky one.
00:42:07I don't think I ever got this one.
00:42:08No.
00:42:09Well, let's have a look.
00:42:10Let's have a look.
00:42:11You've got to cut it a bit.
00:42:12Yes, perfect.
00:42:13Now, just Gambon.
00:42:14Oh, that's quite legal through there.
00:42:16Most people cheat.
00:42:17And there we are across the line.
00:42:21Come on.
00:42:23Now, bearing in mind that that was a wet lap.
00:42:29Yeah, it was very slippery.
00:42:31I was waiting for it to dry out, but I think it was...
00:42:33All right, it's enough excuses.
00:42:34Yeah.
00:42:35It's a wet lap.
00:42:36We should see you being a racing driver there.
00:42:37So, I'm just looking for the fastest ever wet lap.
00:42:40Which I think, what I can see is Jamie Oliver on a 147.7.
00:42:44Well, I'm in two minds.
00:42:45I'd like to beat him, but my wife loves him.
00:42:50Eric Banner.
00:42:52You did it in 1, 40, 7, 5.
00:43:02There you go, mate.
00:43:04You did it.
00:43:05Oh, I'm going to put a wet one minute.
00:43:07Hang on.
00:43:08That is the fastest wet lap we've ever had.
00:43:13The fastest.
00:43:15You are .2 of a second faster than a chef.
00:43:23But you are the fastest Australian.
00:43:25Is there like a wet track ashes that I can take back to Australia?
00:43:29All right.
00:43:30I'll tell you what we'll do.
00:43:31We'll burn the car and put it in like a little thing, and you can take it back in Australia
00:43:36and have some ashes for the next few years.
00:43:37All right.
00:43:38Ladies and gentlemen, Eric Banner!
00:43:39Now, tonight, we're in Romania, looking for the best road in the world.
00:43:54We're driving an Aston Martin, a Ferrari, and a Lamborghini.
00:43:57And so far, we'd each decided that our car was the best.
00:44:00James had got lost, and we'd ended up by mistake in Bucharest.
00:44:04We left Bucharest the next morning and headed west, still full of wonderment for this amazing
00:44:22country and our cars.
00:44:26This car is actually filling me with a sort of primordial lust.
00:44:30It actually tingles down in my bowels.
00:44:33It's sinful.
00:44:35I cannot tell you how joyful it is to drive a V12 sports car with a proper manual gearbox.
00:44:46Manual gearbox, really in the GT car.
00:44:49Do you want that?
00:44:50It's about making your life easier.
00:44:52Fast, but easier and more comfortable.
00:44:54Do you think you're gonna go GT-ing?
00:44:57Ferrari, surely.
00:44:59Then, disaster.
00:45:05Romania only has 143 miles of motorway, and by 11am, we'd used every one of them.
00:45:12Ah, James, policemen.
00:45:14Many, many traditions and rituals surrounding policemen.
00:45:17Amongst them, if he has a gun, you must go and just unbutton it.
00:45:21Just because that says, I trust you with your weapon and unbutton it.
00:45:25Go and go and unbutton it.
00:45:27Oh, no.
00:45:28No, just knock his hat off, James.
00:45:30They think it's funny.
00:45:31They often express their humour here with gunfire.
00:45:34We then told James we were stopping to put our wind deflectors up.
00:45:41But in fact, the real reason we stopped here is so that I could give him a surprise present.
00:45:47Oh, God.
00:45:48Is it an ox?
00:45:51Is it a gypsy?
00:45:53A big one?
00:45:54Nope.
00:45:55It's over there.
00:45:57Got some wood.
00:45:59In front of the wood.
00:46:01No.
00:46:02Yep.
00:46:03Seriously.
00:46:04I have bought to you, it's second hand, but I have bought to you a Dacia Sandero.
00:46:10Really?
00:46:11Yes.
00:46:12Oh, man.
00:46:13Seriously, that's my Dacia Sandero?
00:46:14Yes.
00:46:15No piano is going to land on it.
00:46:16It's not a Morris Marina.
00:46:17I'm quite touched.
00:46:18That's fantastic.
00:46:19Can I drive it?
00:46:20Yeah, why don't you go off and drive it while we're putting these on?
00:46:22All right.
00:46:24That's what we need.
00:46:25It's genuinely chuffed to bits.
00:46:28For two years, I've been dreaming about this car, and now I was actually driving it.
00:46:34Now, the Lamborghini is all very well.
00:46:36That's like the ultimate expression of what a car can be, but this is the essence of a car.
00:46:41All the bits you need, nothing more.
00:46:43No flim-flam.
00:46:44This is a bit of a faff, isn't it?
00:46:47A cool, refreshing, communist water.
00:46:52Jeez!
00:46:54I could buy that for Hammond.
00:46:56That could be his present.
00:46:59Listen to this.
00:47:02Nice throaty little warble from the engine.
00:47:05It's a happy car, the Dacia Sandero.
00:47:08That is an excellent present.
00:47:10I don't know what he was actually thinking of there, because his presence is supposed to be irritating, but that's not irritating.
00:47:15That's superb.
00:47:17Could you see anything in your screen?
00:47:19No, nothing.
00:47:20Nothing.
00:47:21When the roof's down?
00:47:22As soon as the roof's down, the slightest hint of sun behind it is gone.
00:47:24You're back.
00:47:25Yeah.
00:47:26How is it?
00:47:27Good fun.
00:47:28Great.
00:47:29Basic, small, rawty.
00:47:30But you haven't got the little sort of side joke, have you?
00:47:33What?
00:47:34Well, you can't take it back hand luggage.
00:47:35I'll drive it back.
00:47:36Well, all the way.
00:47:37Yeah.
00:47:38Took two and a half days to get here in the...
00:47:40No!
00:47:42Stop!
00:47:45Stop!
00:47:46My car's parked there.
00:47:48You're supposed to look...
00:47:50Look!
00:47:51Mirrors!
00:47:53Mom, we're talking about here.
00:47:54Where are you?
00:47:55Maltza mers my arse.
00:47:56You just backed straight into it, man.
00:47:57Well, why did you leave it parked behind the lorry?
00:47:59Well, I didn't know there was anybody in it.
00:48:01I was leaving it out of shot.
00:48:04I've only had it about half an hour.
00:48:05Yeah.
00:48:06Wednesday, though.
00:48:07I don't know.
00:48:08It's my...
00:48:09I think he was saying in Hungarian, or whatever it is,
00:48:11it's my fault for parking the car.
00:48:13Well, it probably was.
00:48:14It sort of is.
00:48:17Jeez.
00:48:18Oh, ho, ho, ho, ho!
00:48:20Oh, well.
00:48:21You'd have used it for work and everything, wouldn't you?
00:48:23Why don't you go away?
00:48:24It would have been your everyday car.
00:48:26It would have made you happier.
00:48:28There is an old tradition in this country
00:48:30that on the third Wednesday of every month,
00:48:32which is what today is,
00:48:34people with a black T-shirt on
00:48:36and a picture of a stupid Russian spark plug,
00:48:38shut up.
00:48:42I like the Dacia Sandero.
00:48:44It was honest and simple.
00:48:46It was refreshing.
00:48:49It's broken.
00:48:52As we travelled further west,
00:48:54the high-tech modern Romania we knew ran out.
00:49:00It's getting a bit more...
00:49:02borer round here.
00:49:04It's gypsy country here.
00:49:06I am told that they can be a bit violent
00:49:09if they don't like the look of you.
00:49:11And on top of that,
00:49:13guess who was leading the convoy?
00:49:16I'm gonna take a punt on going right now.
00:49:20Do we know that this is the right way?
00:49:22Oh, sorry, Hammond.
00:49:23I'm just following May.
00:49:25You do know what you just said, don't you?
00:49:28This road is becoming alarmingly lumpy.
00:49:31I'm worried about the Rebenton-style nose.
00:49:35The nose is too low.
00:49:37He's gonna have to admit he's brought the wrong car.
00:49:40Soon we were really lost.
00:49:43The building...
00:49:44What can only be discreet...
00:49:45Yes, it's a public execution.
00:49:47Where on the map does it say
00:49:48turn right at the partially-built gallows?
00:49:51That woman has an axe.
00:49:52That big woman has an axe.
00:49:53She has an axe.
00:49:55We drove deeper and deeper into Borac country.
00:49:58But luckily, I bought something
00:50:00that would help me blend in.
00:50:04I'm wearing this hat,
00:50:06so gypsies think I am one.
00:50:09And that's fine.
00:50:10I'm just a lucky gypsy.
00:50:13Pools-winning gypsy.
00:50:15James said the next turning
00:50:17would take us back to the main road.
00:50:20It didn't.
00:50:24Holy moly.
00:50:26Oh, yeah!
00:50:30Oh, no, wait.
00:50:31If we look what's behind you...
00:50:34Yeah, the evidence is not stacking up.
00:50:36This is a horse.
00:50:37This is a horse.
00:50:38This is a horse.
00:50:39We wanted to hit James over the head
00:50:40with a hammer,
00:50:41but the kids beat us to it.
00:50:47You see, missed!
00:50:53Did you...
00:50:54Did you shrink the man in the car behind?
00:50:56Did you shrink that man, gypsies?
00:50:59Getting through the village was bad enough.
00:51:01Getting out of it was even trickier.
00:51:05Oh, my God, you're joking.
00:51:10Please fall off.
00:51:11Please fall off.
00:51:12Please fall off.
00:51:13Okay.
00:51:14This is certainly a grand tour for these cars.
00:51:17But with the village behind us,
00:51:18and armed with some directions,
00:51:19it was plain sailing back to the main road.
00:51:38Thankfully, the damage was light.
00:51:40A bit of a washer bottle.
00:51:41Yeah.
00:51:42Yeah, it smells of detergent.
00:51:44Is everybody all right in that car?
00:51:47Yeah.
00:51:48That's his second bit of bad luck.
00:51:49Who's?
00:51:50Well, James, it's his second car of the day.
00:51:52Yeah.
00:51:53James?
00:51:54Are there any cars you're not going to destroy?
00:51:55James, how many cars have you destroyed today?
00:51:57I didn't destroy it.
00:51:58I'd stopped, as you saw.
00:51:59There's pretty much every car...
00:52:00I saw you driving like an absolute maniac...
00:52:03Shut up.
00:52:04...in this poor man's days.
00:52:05Classic days here.
00:52:07Anyway, James, as you know, on Top Gear...
00:52:09Yes, goodbye.
00:52:21Our hunt for the fabled road was not going well.
00:52:25And then it got worse.
00:52:29It went dark.
00:52:30We couldn't find a hotel.
00:52:32The petrol stations were closed,
00:52:33and because I was very low on fuel,
00:52:35I found a quiet, dead-end road
00:52:37and suggested we sleep in the cars.
00:52:40That put James and Richard in a bit of a mood.
00:52:44Listen, I can cheer you two up.
00:52:46Would you like some cannabis?
00:52:48Yes, please.
00:52:49Right.
00:52:52Thanks.
00:52:53Eh?
00:52:54That's cannabis.
00:52:55No, specifically, it says it's Swiss Cannabis Iced Tea.
00:52:59That's the best sort.
00:53:01You can get this in petrol stations.
00:53:02They sell cannabis in petrol stations here.
00:53:04Would you like some plum liqueur in a bottle the shape of a violin?
00:53:08Say yes.
00:53:09Yes, it's just what the doctor ordered.
00:53:13Gives you a fantastic natural feeling.
00:53:15Oh, dear.
00:53:16God!
00:53:17Plum liqueur and cannabis.
00:53:21That's never been tried before.
00:53:23Kiss and go.
00:53:24It's just a laugh.
00:53:25It's good.
00:53:26Right, so we sleep in our cars.
00:53:27That's the drink.
00:53:28Yes.
00:53:29I haven't got a back seat.
00:53:30I told you you brought the wrong car.
00:53:32Oh, yes, obviously.
00:53:33When I chose it, I should have thought we'd better get one with a crap back seat.
00:53:36Just get in your car.
00:53:39Well, that's the plum liqueur gone.
00:53:41We set about our unplanned consumer test.
00:53:45So it is a four-seater.
00:53:47They sell it as a four-seater.
00:53:48That must mean a human bean can get in the back.
00:53:51Ah!
00:53:52Sorry.
00:53:53Sorry, everyone.
00:53:54What are you doing?
00:53:55There's a design fault there.
00:53:56People are trying to sleep.
00:53:57I'm going to sleep in the front.
00:54:07I'm gonna sleep in the front
00:54:35Bloody hell
00:54:37Oh, sorry, mate
00:54:42You sleep alright?
00:54:45Yeah, yeah, well
00:54:47Good
00:54:47You not used the back?
00:54:49No, I tried
00:54:50Cold
00:54:53What's that?
00:54:58Damn, but it's alright, it's quite safe
00:55:10I should imagine it was built by the Russians or the North Koreans, so it would be fine
00:55:14Had I known
00:55:15Sorry, mate, with me
00:55:16You parked us next to that
00:55:17I wouldn't have enjoyed such deep sleep
00:55:19No, the quality of all Soviet buildings is fantastic
00:55:22I'm sure that'll be
00:55:23Why don't you shut up?
00:55:29We set off once more in search of our road
00:55:32Oh, my God
00:55:36Oh, yes
00:55:40Suddenly I'm awake
00:55:42And soon we reached the mountains
00:55:47Where the road surface became as pimply as a teenager's face
00:55:51Look at the road now, it's practically plowed
00:55:56This was yet another problem for James in his supercar
00:56:01Oh, please let it end
00:56:07The torture went on for hours
00:56:12But eventually, the mountains gave up their secret
00:56:16Look!
00:56:18God!
00:56:19That's the most amazing road I've ever seen
00:56:23Built in the 70s, this is the Transfagarishan Highway
00:56:316,000 tons of dynamite were used to make it
00:56:36And 40 lives lost
00:56:38But from above, it looks like every great corner
00:56:46From every great racetrack in the world
00:56:48Has been knitted together
00:56:50To create one unbroken grey ribbon
00:56:53Of automotive perfection
00:57:15This is what we came here for
00:57:17Oh, yes
00:57:18Our cars had done motorways and city centres and gypsy villages
00:57:23They'd been slept in and written on
00:57:26But now, they had a chance to let their hair down
00:57:30Oh, that's heavenly
00:57:44That traction control now is a setting that allows a little bit of slip
00:57:48Look at this!
00:57:59Look at this!
00:57:59Look at this!
00:57:59Look at this!
00:58:00The grip!
00:58:01The balance!
00:58:02God, never worked on this
00:58:04But here, on this road, the happiest bunny of us all was James
00:58:11I've brought the right car!
00:58:18I've brought the right car!
00:58:20I've brought the right car!
00:58:21And we need payback time!
00:58:23Oh, yeah!
00:58:24I have to say this is one of the two or three best cars in the world right now
00:58:36And the strange thing is, those two are driving two of the others
00:58:45The road just got better and better
00:58:50I mean, we're wrong
00:58:51This is better than Nostalvio
00:58:53This is the best road in the world
00:58:56And the Romanian helicopter cameraman wasn't bad either
00:59:01Oh, ho, ho!
00:59:08What a finale to our grand tour
00:59:12Just want to say, Romania, thank you for having us
00:59:16And can we stay, forever?
00:59:23Anyway, what we learned from our lengthy trip to Romania
00:59:45Was that the Aston Martin, as I predicted at the beginning, was the best
00:59:49Except it was the Lamborghini
00:59:51Yeah, no, that was the Ferrari, was the best
00:59:53Look, guys, the two people, whose opinion I respect most of all on all matters motoring
00:59:59The Stig and Tiffany Dell
01:00:02Both say that the Aston Martin is the best car in the world right now
01:00:07Well, they're both wrong
01:00:08Aha!
01:00:09Let me draw your attention to this
01:00:10This is a report of our visit, okay, in one of the leading Romanian newspapers
01:00:14And look at the caption to this picture here
01:00:16Okay, it's in Romanian, but I'll translate
01:00:18Jeremy Clarkson in the Aston Martin
01:00:20Which is the best car in the world
01:00:21Camera, video
01:00:23It doesn't say that
01:00:26Yes, it does
01:00:26And on that bombshell, it is time to end
01:00:29Thank you so much for watching
01:00:30Good night!
01:00:30Thank you, everybody
01:00:33And there's more from the all-new series of Top Gear next Sunday at the same time
01:00:42Next tonight, drama with tales from the Old Bailey
01:00:45We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:46We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:47We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:48We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:49We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:50We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:51We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:52We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:53We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:54We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:55We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:56We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:57We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:58We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:00:59We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:01:00We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:01:01We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:01:02We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:01:03We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
01:01:04We'll be right back to the Old Bailey
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