- 2 days ago
Follow our channel for more car crazed mayhem. Alot more episodes to come that you don't want to miss. Like our videos and share with other car lovers!!
Thank you for supporting our channel
Thank you for supporting our channel
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00:00Tonight, James asks a girl for a favor, Richard listens to a man, and I polish a bishop.
00:00:30Hello, good evening. Hello, thank you, everybody. Thank you. Now, new cars come out so fast these days, sometimes it is difficult to keep up.
00:00:41Nissan, for example, said the other day that over the next six years, they will be bringing out a new model every six weeks.
00:00:49Happily, however, there are some car companies, usually Italian ones, that won't be rushed, that like to take their time, have some lunch.
00:00:57And nobody is better at this than Lamborghini, as Richard Hammond shall now explain.
00:01:12When it comes to their big V12 cars, their flagship battlecruisers, Lamborghini really, really like to take their time.
00:01:21Just these four, the Mura, the Countach, the Diablo, and the Murcielago, span half a century.
00:01:34And now, at last, there's a new one.
00:01:37It's called the Aventador.
00:01:45It costs 248,000 pounds, and it's the closest thing to a stealth fighter jet that you'll ever see on the road.
00:01:57It even has a starter button that's straight out of Top Gun.
00:02:00The current boss of Lamborghini said recently that, in the old days, the order of priority for Lamborghini was Top Speed, Acceleration, and Handling, in that order.
00:02:23The thing is, though, for this new guy, he says that order is the other way around.
00:02:28Handling comes first, with Top Speed being given a lower priority.
00:02:33So, let's find out just how low a priority that is.
00:02:360 to 60, 2.9 seconds, so they still care about acceleration, then.
00:02:55220 kilometers an hour.
00:02:58250.
00:03:00260.
00:03:01270.
00:03:02270.
00:03:06280 kilometers.
00:03:08Oh!
00:03:10290 kilometers an hour!
00:03:13Oh, my God!
00:03:18Okay, and relax.
00:03:20If that's them giving Top Speed a low priority, bring it on!
00:03:26Flat out, the Aventador will do 217 miles an hour.
00:03:31Which makes it faster than the old Mercielago.
00:03:37How Italian is that?
00:03:38No Top Speed, okay.
00:03:39217.
00:03:41No more.
00:03:41No more than that.
00:03:45This pulverizing performance comes courtesy of the Aventador's massive 6.5-liter engine.
00:03:53Their first all-new V12 for almost 50 years.
00:03:57But what's surprising is that they bothered to make one at all.
00:04:01You see, these days, a lot of car makers are shying away from bigger engines.
00:04:08BMW's new M5, for example, will have a V8 instead of a V10.
00:04:12AMG are ditching V12s in favor of V8s.
00:04:15It's called moving with the times.
00:04:17But that's not so easy with a big Lamborghini.
00:04:21A V12 is kind of its signature dish.
00:04:24It defines the car.
00:04:25And the engineers insisted that whatever happened with the Aventador, it had to have a V12.
00:04:31And, of course, the by-product of a V12 is lots of horsepowers.
00:04:38This has got 691 of them, which in Top Gear maths is 700.
00:04:47That power is fed to all four wheels through a unique design of Flappy Paddle Gearbox.
00:04:54It can change in less than 50 milliseconds, which I can't demonstrate that even if I blink an eye.
00:05:00There are other high-tech features, too.
00:05:05We're in Strada mode right now, which is for the road.
00:05:07Let's put it in Corsa track mode.
00:05:12Whoa! Hang on!
00:05:15All right, fella, all right!
00:05:19That's absolutely brutal!
00:05:22It kicks you in the back of the head!
00:05:26And now we're in Corsa mode.
00:05:27Let's find out how they've got on with their new number-one priority.
00:05:32Handling.
00:05:35Traditionally, always the scariest part of testing a big Lambo.
00:05:40Okay, here we go. I'm nervous.
00:05:46I'm okay!
00:05:49Still on the track!
00:05:50I'm in a V12 Lambo. I just threw it at a corner at insane speed, and it went round.
00:06:05So, why am I not buried in row 85 of that 747?
00:06:13Now, this is partly because the grip is just unbelievable.
00:06:18Also, it's got push-rod suspension, which is very clever, and unheard of in a road car.
00:06:24That's a V1 stuff.
00:06:25Yeah!
00:06:25So, even when it's coming under some pressure, like that, it's scaring. It's just, it's just, I'm turning a dial.
00:06:35So, whilst the Aventador looks as Miami Vice mental as everything else in its family tree,
00:06:45it's now a serious player.
00:06:49The noise it makes is spirited rather than deafening.
00:06:53The chassis is made from carbon fiber, not pig iron.
00:06:57The air conditioning works.
00:06:59It's a proper car, rather than a machine that wants, most of all, to kill you.
00:07:05And that makes me a bit sad.
00:07:11Basically, what's missing is that Lambo fear factor,
00:07:14that knot in the stomach that test pilots must have felt in the 50s
00:07:17when they headed for the sand barrier in unproven jet aircraft.
00:07:23Of course, you might think that's a good thing.
00:07:26To be honest, I'm not so sure.
00:07:32If a big Lamborghini is all about pantomime, drama, theatre, which it is,
00:07:37then I want people watching not just to go,
00:07:41wow, that's a stunning looking thing.
00:07:42I want them to look at me inside and think,
00:07:45oh, there goes Chuck Yeager Hammond.
00:07:48He's brave.
00:07:49But in this, I'm not being brave.
00:07:52It's as easy to drive as a big Audi.
00:07:55That's the truth of it.
00:07:57I finally understand what they mean by that,
00:08:00is it Helsinki syndrome,
00:08:01when people who have been kidnapped,
00:08:03when they're released, miss their kidnappers.
00:08:07I don't know that I want to be in a big, loud V12 Lambo
00:08:11that doesn't every now and again try and kill me.
00:08:15I miss that.
00:08:16It's beautiful, but it's just not.
00:08:29I don't think you've made a mistake.
00:08:31Hammond, hang on, hang on.
00:08:33Hammond, did you say, did you say Helsinki syndrome?
00:08:37Yes, I did.
00:08:38You mean Stockholm syndrome?
00:08:41Yes, I do.
00:08:43Yes.
00:08:43What is Helsinki syndrome, then, is it?
00:08:46I think it's when you're a bit of an idiot
00:08:47and you get your syndromes mixed up.
00:08:49Yeah, I've got it.
00:08:50Anyway, the Lamborghini, okay?
00:08:51What you're saying is that it would be better
00:08:54if it were a bit worse.
00:08:56No, it's exactly like that McLaren MP4-12C
00:08:59you drove the other week.
00:08:59It is brilliant, undeniably,
00:09:01but somehow it's just not exciting enough.
00:09:04No, it's right, actually,
00:09:04because I've driven this as well,
00:09:06and it isn't boring, is it?
00:09:08But it somehow lacks that sort of Lamborghini theatre.
00:09:11You know, they've made it, it's too refined,
00:09:13and it's sort of too clever.
00:09:14It's as though Lamborghini are trying to be Ferrari
00:09:16instead of making cars specifically for...
00:09:19Lunatics, Rod Stewart, fish, bad bull, what?
00:09:23People who like a laugh.
00:09:24A big Lamborghini should be an instrument of terror,
00:09:27and this somehow just isn't.
00:09:28Well, now let's examine the scale of their failure
00:09:31by seeing how fast it goes around our track.
00:09:34That, of course, means handing it over
00:09:35to our tame racing driver.
00:09:37Some say that his favourite T-shirt
00:09:40has a picture on the front of a T-shirt.
00:09:44And that he's spent all week
00:09:46waiting for a big check from the Germans
00:09:48because he, too, has spent the last 2,000 years
00:09:51sitting on his backside
00:09:53doing absolutely nothing at all.
00:09:55Oh, we know he is.
00:09:57He's called the Stig.
00:10:00And he's off.
00:10:02Oh, I love that pop as it shifts up.
00:10:05Single rather than a double-clutch system.
00:10:07Changes are still lightning fast
00:10:09as he spares into the first corner.
00:10:11A little wobble under braking
00:10:13shows how much speed he's already carrying.
00:10:16Oh, he's got it all together for the exit.
00:10:17Stig listening to Petula Quarkin
00:10:23there in French.
00:10:24Very unusual.
00:10:25Clean through Chicago.
00:10:27Coming up now to Hammerhead.
00:10:29Despite the carbon fibre construction,
00:10:31this is still a big, heavy car.
00:10:32Will it get out of shape?
00:10:34No, not a bit of it.
00:10:36None of the traditional Lambo flamboyance there.
00:10:38Now, follow through.
00:10:48The spoiler fully extends at 80 miles an hour.
00:10:50He's doing a lot more than that now.
00:10:53Pass through the tyres.
00:10:54Just two corners left.
00:10:57Here he comes now.
00:10:57Hard on the ceramic brakes.
00:11:00An old V12 Lambo would have bitten him in the face by now.
00:11:03To Gambon and across the line.
00:11:05Now, if we look here,
00:11:12this is the old Lamborghini,
00:11:15the Murcielago, the LP670,
00:11:17did it in 1.19.
00:11:18Here's the Aventador.
00:11:241.16.5.
00:11:29So, it looks
00:11:40absolutely fantastic.
00:11:43And it's faster around our track
00:11:44than a Bugatti Veyron Supersport.
00:11:47And I think it's clear now
00:11:49why Hammond and May hate it so much.
00:11:54He's no idea.
00:11:55He knows what we're on about.
00:11:56He does know.
00:11:57Right, it's time now for us to do the news.
00:11:59And we begin with this.
00:12:00Attention, morons everywhere.
00:12:03Mercedes have a new hardcore AMG version
00:12:05of one of their cars.
00:12:06It's from their especially ridiculous range
00:12:09of black editions.
00:12:10Oh, now, I'm sorry.
00:12:12This is a car for connoisseurs.
00:12:14No, it's a car for...
00:12:14Yes, it is.
00:12:15It's for people who know the difference,
00:12:17for example, between Sweden and Finland.
00:12:19Yes, all right.
00:12:20Sorry.
00:12:21This is the new black edition
00:12:23of the C-Class, okay?
00:12:25It'll cost you 110,000 pounds.
00:12:27It's got the old 6.2 liter V8
00:12:29tuned version of that
00:12:30rather than the twin-turbo AMG engines
00:12:33of today.
00:12:34You also get the seven-speed
00:12:36flappy pedal gearbox
00:12:37from an SLS.
00:12:38Not so good.
00:12:38But I think it looks fantastic.
00:12:40Ridiculous.
00:12:41It's fantastic.
00:12:42I think it looks infantile.
00:12:44It does.
00:12:45James, you are so old,
00:12:47do you think Werther's originals
00:12:49are infantile?
00:12:50Can I just clarify this
00:12:53a little bit?
00:12:53He has got the old CLK black.
00:12:56Yes, I do.
00:12:56And he did.
00:12:57And I went in it the other day.
00:12:59And you loved it.
00:12:59I hated it.
00:13:02It's ridiculous.
00:13:03The ride is stupid.
00:13:05It's like being in a touring car.
00:13:07What's wrong with that?
00:13:08No, nothing at all.
00:13:09If you're, I don't know,
00:13:10let's say in a touring car race,
00:13:13if you want to use it,
00:13:14let's imagine on a road
00:13:17in, let's say, the world,
00:13:19it's absolutely stupid.
00:13:21It's a terrible, terrible car.
00:13:22You may mock.
00:13:23You may mock.
00:13:24It's ridiculous.
00:13:25The fact is,
00:13:27the fact is
00:13:28that the CLK black
00:13:30is holding its value
00:13:31a lot better than,
00:13:32I don't know,
00:13:329-11s that you two have
00:13:34because they only sold
00:13:35a hundred of them.
00:13:36Yes, they did.
00:13:36They did.
00:13:37They would have sold many more,
00:13:38but most of the people
00:13:39that turned up to buy them
00:13:40were wearing those jackets
00:13:41that do up at the back.
00:13:43And they'd only been out
00:13:43for the day.
00:13:44I want one of those!
00:13:45I want one of those!
00:13:46Like that.
00:13:47Yeah, they had eaten
00:13:47the pens that you're
00:13:48supposed to use
00:13:48to fill the options for.
00:13:50It's a stupid car!
00:13:52It is a stupid car!
00:13:53It's a ridiculous...
00:13:54Oh, don't feel sorry for him!
00:13:56Look at the wheel arches on it!
00:13:58It's just...
00:13:58Let's move on!
00:14:01Yes, let's move on!
00:14:03Now, we have been sent
00:14:05by a viewer
00:14:06a copy of a motorcycling
00:14:07magazine from 1976.
00:14:09We have a picture of it here,
00:14:11the front cover.
00:14:12Sort of thing you love that,
00:14:13isn't it, James?
00:14:14Mm, lovely.
00:14:15What distressed us greatly
00:14:16was there was an advertisement
00:14:18on the back page
00:14:19for some leathers,
00:14:21and it was the model
00:14:22that was being used
00:14:24that has terrified us.
00:14:26Here it is.
00:14:26Now, yeah, don't say
00:14:36that isn't you.
00:14:37Look!
00:14:401976!
00:14:41Is that 1976?
00:14:421976!
00:14:44There is no point denying
00:14:45that it's you
00:14:46because he's wearing
00:14:46brown shoes.
00:14:48It's got to be you.
00:14:49It is you.
00:14:49You looked exactly the same
00:14:51in 1976.
00:14:53When were you born?
00:14:55I was only 12.
00:14:57You weren't, though,
00:14:58were you?
00:15:00You know, I've speculated
00:15:01many, many, many times
00:15:03over the years
00:15:04on what sort of a man
00:15:05appears as a model
00:15:06in leather.
00:15:07Yeah.
00:15:08You've let the
00:15:09motorcycling side
00:15:10down their back.
00:15:11Now, Lewis Hamilton,
00:15:13you may have heard,
00:15:13he's been in the news
00:15:14this week saying
00:15:15that the national anthem
00:15:16is too short
00:15:17and that when he's
00:15:18on the podium,
00:15:19he can't really milk
00:15:20the moment
00:15:20because it's over
00:15:21in 44 seconds.
00:15:22And he says it's not fair
00:15:23because when Massa wins,
00:15:24who's Brazilian,
00:15:25that national anthem
00:15:26goes on for 16 hours.
00:15:28So I've had an idea.
00:15:29Why don't we change
00:15:31our national anthem
00:15:31for Wish You Were Here,
00:15:33Pink Floyd?
00:15:3327 minutes long.
00:15:35Of hell.
00:15:36It isn't hell.
00:15:37No, no, no, hang on.
00:15:37But the problem,
00:15:38no, no, no,
00:15:38the problem isn't that
00:15:39ours is too short.
00:15:40It's that everybody
00:15:40else's is too long.
00:15:42Well, the Greek one is.
00:15:43158 verses.
00:15:45What?
00:15:45It is 100.
00:15:46I promise you,
00:15:47the Greek national anthem
00:15:48is that how many times
00:15:49can you say
00:15:50we're completely screwed?
00:15:52Yeah.
00:15:53So you're saying
00:15:54ours is too...
00:15:55They're all too long.
00:15:56I think we could set
00:15:57an example to the world.
00:15:58Actually, with the Olympics
00:15:59coming up in 2012,
00:16:01I'm making national
00:16:01anthems a bit shorter.
00:16:02We could get ours
00:16:03paired right down.
00:16:04What?
00:16:04What?
00:16:05Send her,
00:16:06we hope she's victorious
00:16:07and lives a long time.
00:16:08No, no, no, no, no,
00:16:08that's too long.
00:16:09Not very long.
00:16:11I'm thinking more
00:16:12along the lines of
00:16:13dip,
00:16:13diddle-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh-deh.
00:16:15There you go.
00:16:16So he gets up on the podium
00:16:18and then just...
00:16:19Yeah, no, exactly.
00:16:19Well, you'd have to have
00:16:20the roll on the drum
00:16:20so that people got ready
00:16:21and the...
00:16:22Well, that's quick, isn't it? I like it.
00:16:27That is actually a brilliant idea.
00:16:30Now, last year, last year, my CLK, Mercedes.
00:16:35Stupid, stupid car.
00:16:37This stupid wheel archer.
00:16:38Who may think it's stupid, but it's very determined, OK?
00:16:41My CLK, it said, one day when I got in it, 24 days until the next service.
00:16:46Now, I mentioned this on the programme a year ago, OK?
00:16:48And I thought, I wonder what will happen if I take it to 25 days.
00:16:51Because its German brain won't be able to compute the fact
00:16:54that somebody has disobeyed a direct order, OK?
00:16:58Thing was, on the 24th day, or whenever it was,
00:17:01Mercedes turned up while I was out and took it away for a service.
00:17:04Really annoyed me.
00:17:06Good news.
00:17:07Yesterday, it suddenly said, nine days until service due.
00:17:11It's brilliant.
00:17:12What I've done this time is I've parked it in a London underground garage,
00:17:16and I'm not going to tell anybody which one.
00:17:18Because I want to see what happens when it goes to minus one.
00:17:23No, that's dangerous.
00:17:25It could panic.
00:17:26Like a horse in the 70s, go mad!
00:17:29Or it's probably already been building a glider so it can escape.
00:17:33I thought that's why I've put it in an underground car park
00:17:36and not a multi-storey, so it can't fly away.
00:17:39It's probably been specially trained to take a cyanide pill.
00:17:43It could have hidden it in one of its massive wheel arches.
00:17:45It's right, then I must end it now.
00:17:48So when I get back to it, you think it'll be dead?
00:17:51Fuck!
00:17:51Completely.
00:17:54Last week, we had the Lotus T125 down here.
00:17:57It's kind of a Formula One car that you can buy
00:17:59if you have £650,000 lying around.
00:18:03And we wondered how fast it would go around our track,
00:18:06whether it would be faster than an actual Formula One car.
00:18:09Yeah, sadly, on the day we were going to try for a lap, it was raining.
00:18:13So we said we'd bring it back when it wasn't.
00:18:15We have, and it isn't!
00:18:17Does that make sense?
00:18:18I know exactly what you mean.
00:18:20Anyway, let's find out how it got on.
00:18:24There he goes, lighting up the back tyres a treat.
00:18:27Not quite the sound of an F1 car.
00:18:30It's not quite as high-pitched.
00:18:32That is the sound of torque going first corner.
00:18:36See the Stig sawing away at the wheel there.
00:18:39It really is an animal, this thing.
00:18:41Down the gears, into Chicago.
00:18:45Wrestling it through there.
00:18:47Stig actually demanded a softer chassis setup
00:18:50and softer tyres for today.
00:18:51And will it have enough heat in those tyres to cling on through Hammerhead?
00:18:57Yes, it does.
00:18:58Oh, a bit of a wiggle there.
00:19:01Now we can really open it up through the follow-through.
00:19:05Stationary, this car weighs 640 kilos.
00:19:07Flat out, thanks to the air pressing down on those wings,
00:19:10it weighs two and a quarter tonnes.
00:19:12OK, coming up now to the penultimate corner.
00:19:15Hard on the brakes.
00:19:16A little bit of corrective lock.
00:19:18Crackle on the over-arm up to Cambon Stig.
00:19:20Still working hard and across the line.
00:19:25Now, the actual Formula One car we had down here a few years ago,
00:19:31that did it in 59 seconds.
00:19:35The T125 did it in 1 minute 3.8.
00:19:39So it's about 4 seconds a lap round here,
00:19:42slower than the Renault F1 car,
00:19:44which means it's about the same pace as a current Lotus F1 car.
00:19:47Now, the fact is that the electric car is very much with us.
00:19:54You can actually go into a dealership and simply buy one.
00:19:57But the big question is, should you?
00:20:00What are the pitfalls?
00:20:01What are the advantages?
00:20:03To find out, James and I decided to do a sensible test.
00:20:06No cocking about, no catching fire, no Richard Hammond.
00:20:09We would simply get two of the cars that you can actually buy these days
00:20:15and take them on a perfectly ordinary run to the seaside.
00:20:18This is the Nissan Leaf,
00:20:24and there are no visual clues that it's powered by electricity.
00:20:28It looks like every other five-door hatchback.
00:20:31It also drives like every other five-door hatchback,
00:20:35except the engine doesn't shout or bellow or roar.
00:20:38It just sort of hums like a monk.
00:20:43Peugeot has gone down a different styling route.
00:20:52Their new electric car, the ION,
00:20:54is designed to look futuristic and different and unusual.
00:20:59But, just like the Nissan, it is like a car.
00:21:03Here I am, driving along the A46 towards Cleethorpes,
00:21:08and the situation is completely normal.
00:21:10Back from May.
00:21:14Yeah, what?
00:21:15Is your Nissan like an car?
00:21:18Yep, nothing to see here.
00:21:20And as I said before, nothing to hear.
00:21:24This car is so quiet,
00:21:26they had to design a special windscreen wiper motor for it
00:21:28because the one they fit in all other Nissans was just too loud.
00:21:33And they had a similar problem with the door mirrors
00:21:34because as you were driving along,
00:21:36all you could hear was the air rushing over them,
00:21:39not a nice sound.
00:21:39So, they've sculpted the headlamps
00:21:42to deflect air away from the mirrors.
00:21:46So, what about performance?
00:21:50The top speed is only 81 miles an hour,
00:21:53and 0 to 60 takes something like 16 seconds.
00:21:56But it doesn't feel like you're a liability on the road.
00:21:59It doesn't feel like I'm holding people up or anything like that.
00:22:04The Nissan has a much bigger electric motor.
00:22:06It develops the equivalent of 108 brake horsepower.
00:22:09That means a top speed of 90 miles an hour
00:22:11and sufficient acceleration
00:22:13to consider, at least, overtaking someone.
00:22:17James, for example.
00:22:18Here we go.
00:22:18One problem I have with electric cars is that they're just not very heroic.
00:22:24Quick, James, I have the antidote.
00:22:26We need to be in the hospital in 20 minutes.
00:22:27Only you can save me.
00:22:29You may regret that.
00:22:3668 and 69 miles an hour.
00:22:3970.
00:22:41Well, let me put it this way.
00:22:4270.
00:22:43Soon, we pulled over to examine our cars more closely.
00:22:49I want to see what it is that's making no noise,
00:22:52that's humming like a Trappist monk.
00:22:55Oh, that's an electric...
00:22:57Is that an electric motor, then, is it?
00:22:59Must be.
00:23:00And one moving part.
00:23:02Effectively, yeah.
00:23:03And no gearbox.
00:23:04And then there's no fuel tank, so you get a big boot.
00:23:07Hey, that's not bad.
00:23:10What's that for?
00:23:11Solar panel.
00:23:11Oh, is it?
00:23:13Yes, it's a 260-pound option.
00:23:15It means that you could use, say, the air conditioning while you were parked,
00:23:19so you don't drain the main batteries.
00:23:21Very clever.
00:23:22I like that.
00:23:23The Peugeot, though, is even cleverer.
00:23:26Well, where's the engine?
00:23:27Ah.
00:23:28It's in the back.
00:23:30Oh, is it?
00:23:31It's rear-engined, rear-wheel drive.
00:23:33It's a 911.
00:23:34It is a 911, yeah.
00:23:35This is what the 911 will look like in another 10 or 15 years' time.
00:23:39So the engine's in there.
00:23:40It's under there.
00:23:41The batteries are under there.
00:23:43That's not a very big boot.
00:23:44You wouldn't be able to get a dog in there.
00:23:46Discussing luggage space is like I'm back on old Top Gear.
00:23:49Can I get a beard?
00:23:50Yes.
00:23:51So far, then, all seems well with these cars, but they're not what you'd call cheap.
00:23:57The Nissan is £30,990, nearly twice what you'd pay for a normal car of this size.
00:24:04And the Peugeot is even more expensive.
00:24:08£33,155.
00:24:09Yes, with both, you get £5,000 back from the government.
00:24:18But even with that, they're not good value.
00:24:20And mine isn't even very well equipped.
00:24:23Have you got sat-nav in your car, James?
00:24:26Uh, no, I haven't.
00:24:27Have you?
00:24:29Yeah.
00:24:29Cruise control?
00:24:31Nope.
00:24:31So that's £3,000 more expensive than this, and isn't as well equipped or as big.
00:24:39And what's more, the Leaf can even deliver your own personal Greenpeace lecture.
00:24:45It's talking...
00:24:46By the 12th of May, electric cars worldwide saved a total of 344,000 eco-trees.
00:24:54What?
00:24:55And 659 tonnes of carbon dioxide has been reduced.
00:24:59What do they mean?
00:25:00What's an eco-tree?
00:25:01What are you saying, woman?
00:25:03Still, there is an upside to the nagging and the cost.
00:25:07These days, eco-ism is seen as cool.
00:25:11People like James May and me, petrolheads, were dinosaurs, really.
00:25:16So if you have one of these cars with zero emission and full electric plastered down the side,
00:25:21you are more likely to get a girlfriend.
00:25:24You just have to hope she doesn't live at the other end of the country.
00:25:28James, can I just ask, what range do you have left?
00:25:33I have 19 miles.
00:25:37I was down to 14 miles, so as is the way with all cars,
00:25:41we decided to buy some go-juice in the next town,
00:25:44which turned out to be Lincoln.
00:25:46And then I realised we might be there for quite a while.
00:25:52Er, James, I have another readout on my dashboard.
00:25:56Guess how long it will take to charge this up to 100% fully charged?
00:26:02Well, a few hours, I suppose, is it?
00:26:0411 hours.
00:26:07What?
00:26:09By the time we reached the city centre, my range was down to 7 miles.
00:26:14So I looked on the sat-nav for the nearest official charging point.
00:26:1840, the nearest charging place it gives me is 45 miles away.
00:26:24I can only go seven.
00:26:26That's a very useful function you've got there.
00:26:29OK, Covent Garden car park, 77 miles away.
00:26:33What possible use is that?
00:26:37We pulled in at the council officers to see if they could help.
00:26:40Do you have any idea where we can charge electric cars up in Lincoln?
00:26:46Electric cars?
00:26:47You just need a socket, really.
00:26:49You do, don't you?
00:26:51We didn't have to wait long for an answer.
00:26:54Let's check with our team.
00:26:55There are definitely no points within Lincolnshire.
00:26:58Not in Lincolnshire?
00:27:00Who's pushing who?
00:27:01Yeah.
00:27:02Do you know where we can charge...
00:27:03Various people suggested friends who might be able to help,
00:27:06but they were all too far away.
00:27:0932 miles in it.
00:27:1032?
00:27:1132 miles to Birmingham.
00:27:14So we stopped at a restaurant in the marina
00:27:17to ask if we could buy some of their electricity.
00:27:20Use some of your charm.
00:27:22It'll begin with the word hello.
00:27:23Ready?
00:27:24Hello.
00:27:25Hello.
00:27:26We were just wondering, we're trying to...
00:27:28We've got two electric cars.
00:27:30Right.
00:27:31And they're running...
00:27:31James has a way with women.
00:27:33OK.
00:27:33I should imagine he'll be able to talk her into it.
00:27:35No problem at all.
00:27:36And it's going to take 12 hours.
00:27:44No.
00:27:45James?
00:27:46Yeah.
00:27:46I do apologise.
00:27:47I think I've...
00:27:48Those boats must be getting power from the shore.
00:27:50Yes, they'll have plugs like caravan sites do.
00:27:52Yeah.
00:27:54Getting to the boat park meant more driving,
00:27:57so that now my car was saying it'd need 13 hours to charge up.
00:28:01Very low battery charge.
00:28:03Search for nearest charging station.
00:28:05You're just wasting electricity telling me that.
00:28:10I've only got four miles left now.
00:28:12Jeremy must be running on whatever the equivalent of empty is for a battery.
00:28:16We've just got to stop somewhere and beg for the use of a socket.
00:28:19No, that's it.
00:28:21No, that's it.
00:28:22No, that's it.
00:28:23That's it.
00:28:24Oh, not there.
00:28:25This is the future of motoring here.
00:28:30This is all of your lives here.
00:28:33This is what's going to become of you all.
00:28:36Obviously, the solution would be to get a tow from James.
00:28:40However...
00:28:41Do not tow this vehicle with all four wheels on the ground,
00:28:44or this may cause serious and expensive damage to the motor.
00:28:48Thankfully, some of the large crowd we'd attracted kindly pushed me to the boat park.
00:28:54However...
00:28:55Well, I see two problems with this, James.
00:28:59One of them is that you've got to get across that water.
00:29:01Yes, and the other one is...
00:29:02It's too short.
00:29:03Yes.
00:29:03Right, we'll have to push it somewhere else.
00:29:05So, once more, we appealed to the good people of Lincoln,
00:29:11who pushed me to the university,
00:29:13where, finally, we found somewhere to charge up.
00:29:17See that?
00:29:18Blue light on the dashboard.
00:29:20When all three are flashing, it's fully charged, OK?
00:29:23Right.
00:29:24We now had a 13-hour wait,
00:29:28but, thankfully, we were in the magnificent city of Lincoln,
00:29:31where there are many things to see and do.
00:29:35I like a good cathedral.
00:29:39I would never normally be brass rubbing.
00:29:42And do you know why I've never done it?
00:29:44Because all the cars I've ever owned have been powered by petrol or diesel.
00:29:48Look, it's Hammond, only in a diving bell.
00:29:51It does look a bit like Hammond, actually.
00:29:55Lincoln Castle was founded by William the Conqueror, 1068,
00:29:58two years after the Norman Conquest.
00:30:01You can't build a stone castle on the earthen banks.
00:30:04Anyway, initially, you have to wait for the banks to compact down.
00:30:08That is the best building in the world.
00:30:11Really?
00:30:12For a department store, that's a fantastic piece of architecture.
00:30:17What's he doing?
00:30:18I'm doing an abstract floor rubbing.
00:30:21Look at that, that's quite interesting.
00:30:22Basically, in the Ice Age, the Lincolnshire Edge, a big lump of limestone.
00:30:28Do you know what this hill's called?
00:30:31Hill?
00:30:31No, Steep Hill.
00:30:32Oh, is it?
00:30:33Yeah, it really is.
00:30:34They spent ages thinking of it.
00:30:37Can you see the square frontage?
00:30:39Yeah.
00:30:39There's a square within the square.
00:30:41Yeah.
00:30:41That is like a Norman fortified building to the west front.
00:30:46You know, Nissan are going to start putting fast charge points at all their dealerships,
00:30:51so you'll be able to go in and charge your car up in 30 minutes.
00:30:54The problem is, if you do that all the time, then you could ruin the battery pack in three years.
00:31:00How much is a new battery pack?
00:31:02£7,000.
00:31:03Really?
00:31:04Well, actually, Nissan can't say how much it is, but we rang an expert, and he said,
00:31:07today's money, £7,000.
00:31:09How long do they think batteries will last if you charge them slowly and don't thrash them?
00:31:13If you charge them up when they're half empty, rather than letting them get all the way flat.
00:31:19Maximum ten years.
00:31:21Possibly five.
00:31:23It's not that long, is it?
00:31:25No.
00:31:26Are you going to go?
00:31:27I can't go, actually.
00:31:28Well, since you put that in, my word that I've got doesn't fit anymore.
00:31:36As evening fell, we really were running out of things to do.
00:31:42I think mine's worked quite well.
00:31:45Yeah, not bad.
00:31:46I look like hell.
00:31:48Is mine alright, look?
00:31:52What is it?
00:31:53He's just having a roll, isn't he?
00:31:54What does it say?
00:31:57Sorry.
00:31:58What?
00:32:03The next morning, after the longest refueling stop in history, we set out once more for Cleethorpes.
00:32:09As of the 12th of May, your energy economy was 0.21 kilowatt hours per mile.
00:32:17The cost of charging this up at the university with its cheap deal was £2.34.
00:32:24But, if you charge it up during the day, depending on who your supplier is and what deal you've done, it could cost you £8.30.
00:32:34That's £8.30 to do, it says, 100 miles.
00:32:38To do 100 miles in a Golf Blue Motion diesel will cost about the same.
00:32:43But remember, the Golf is over £7,000 cheaper to buy, and its fuel tank is unlikely to be worn out after five years.
00:32:52And there are other issues, too.
00:32:54One of the problems with the electric car is you drive constantly as if you're on an economy run, because a part of your brain is acutely aware that when it's gone, you're in for a big wait.
00:33:06And it will get different, they'll have quick charging and three-phase charging and the batteries will improve, yes, but today, with this car on sale, you simply have to accept that you're going to learn a lot of medieval history.
00:33:21Plus, you really do need to be able to work out where you'll be when the charge runs out, and that's not easy.
00:33:28So, I've now done 26 miles since I set off, but I've lost 40 miles of range.
00:33:36Interesting, I've also done 26 miles, but this is the bit you'll like. I've gained two miles of range.
00:33:46A lot of people think I have a downer on the electric motor. I don't. Nothing wrong with it at all.
00:33:51Theoretically, it could be immensely powerful. And I like the Leaf. Beautifully made, it's very quiet, it's extremely comfortable and spacious.
00:33:59Good car.
00:34:00But, the batteries it uses have to be recharged from the mains, and I don't think that's the answer.
00:34:09I think that what I'm actually driving is a Squarial, or a Laserdisc, or a Beta tape machine.
00:34:14Batteries. Batteries are rubbish. Batteries are rubbish in everything. Think of all the things you've got at the moment that are battery-powered, like torches and mobile phones and digital cameras and laptops.
00:34:28I bet you they're all either completely flat or going flat very quickly.
00:34:34Eventually, we arrived in Cleethorpes.
00:34:38We've made it to the seaside.
00:34:40And it was on the Dodgers that we had an epiphany.
00:34:53This is an electric car, but it has no on-board battery. It takes its power from the chicken wire in the roof.
00:35:00Yeah, so all we have to do, really, is put chicken wire like that above all the motorways and dual carriageways in Britain, then you drive to your nearest one, you extend the pole on the back of your car, and off you go, driving on the mains.
00:35:11It gets better than that, you know, because if the traffic's really busy on the motorway, the government could just cut the power a bit, and everyone would go slowly.
00:35:20And then if it was empty, they'd just increase the power, and everyone would go fast.
00:35:23Exactly, actually, and if there was an accident or some bad congestion ahead, they could just turn the whole thing off, and everybody would glide to a safe halt at the same rate.
00:35:31We have solved it. We have solved it.
00:35:36If you think about it, if you're driving along the motorway and you're really bored, you could just deliberately crash into someone to amuse yourself.
00:35:44That's true, and motorways are boring, aren't they?
00:35:46Exactly, so you just drive along doing this to the men next to you.
00:35:48These cars, then, are not the future.
00:35:54But they did at least bring us to where the future lies.
00:35:58I know, I've got oversteer.
00:35:59Nobody does this deliberately on the motorway, do they?
00:36:04Yeah, how are you?
00:36:06Can't really drop one, though.
00:36:10What?
00:36:11Chats, so you're proposing a sort of chicken-wire grid above all of the nation's motors.
00:36:18Have you two completely lost your minds?
00:36:20What, is it bringing you out in a Helsinki Syndrome?
00:36:23Yeah, it's itching.
00:36:24It is.
00:36:25It is a brilliant idea, Hammond.
00:36:26Actually, I've had another one.
00:36:27It's based on the London Tube Network.
00:36:29It's Electrified Roads.
00:36:31Yeah, brilliant, brilliant.
00:36:32Oh, I'll just cross the road to that shop there.
00:36:34That's a stupid idea.
00:36:35I've had an even better idea.
00:36:37What about you fit a car with a special tank, into which you put a flammable liquid.
00:36:44And then, when the liquid runs out, you pull into, let's call it a petrol station, fill
00:36:48it up in, I don't know, a couple of minutes, and you'd never have to go brass rubbing.
00:36:51I think that might catch on.
00:36:55But seriously, what are we all going to do when the oil finally becomes too expensive
00:36:59to use for personal transport, which it will?
00:37:02Well, it's tricky, isn't it?
00:37:02Because the government recently said that there will never be a charge point on every
00:37:07street corner, so you will be reduced to going to universities.
00:37:11And that's not practical, you know, like we did.
00:37:13And you can't use a hybrid, because that uses a petrol engine to charge up the batteries.
00:37:18So we're going to have to have a whole new approach.
00:37:22Dodgens.
00:37:23No, no, Honda are already there.
00:37:24It's hydrogen.
00:37:25It's supposed to be hydrogen.
00:37:26Truth be told, it is hydrogen.
00:37:28Yes, but isn't hydrogen very complicated to work out and get in?
00:37:32Yes, but look, it was complicated to take television from Logie Baird's attic to the
00:37:36point where you're now appearing on a television in Syria.
00:37:39But they did it in a very short time, actually.
00:37:41Yeah, they did.
00:37:41Anyway, it is now time to put a star in our reasonably priced car.
00:37:47Now, my guest tonight is responsible for bands such as Boyzone, Westlife, and Jedward.
00:37:53And yet, surprisingly, he hasn't been tried for crimes against humanity.
00:37:58Ladies and gentlemen, it's the other one from The X Factor, Louis Walsh!
00:38:04Hey!
00:38:07Thank you, man.
00:38:08Have a seat.
00:38:09Have a seat.
00:38:11Louis Walsh, he's come on my list.
00:38:15And, um, now, to be fair, I happen to know you do have very good musical tastes.
00:38:24Of course I do, yeah.
00:38:25I mean, it doesn't look like you do.
00:38:27In my job, in my day job.
00:38:29Yeah.
00:38:29That's what I sell.
00:38:31That's why I'm in the music business.
00:38:33So you sell.
00:38:33What I listen to at home is totally different.
00:38:36Now, I happen to know that you and I share a particular...
00:38:38One person, yeah.
00:38:40Bob Seger.
00:38:41And the Silver Bullet Band.
00:38:42And the Silver Bullet Band.
00:38:43Who here is familiar with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band?
00:38:46Yes.
00:38:46Yes.
00:38:47A big fan?
00:38:48Yes.
00:38:48That's one big fan, and I think that's enough of a reason to discuss Bob Seger at some length.
00:38:53Okay.
00:38:54What is your favorite Bob Seger song?
00:38:56Ooh.
00:38:57Night Moves, I think.
00:39:00I agree with you.
00:39:01What would you go with Night Moves, best one?
00:39:04Old Time Rock'n'Roll.
00:39:05Old Time Rock'n'Roll.
00:39:06Yeah, Old Time is good, yeah.
00:39:07That's used in Risky Business.
00:39:08Absolutely.
00:39:08Starring Tom Cruise.
00:39:09I have a warrior, it's a jukebox at home.
00:39:11All the old 45s.
00:39:13I'm a fan of music.
00:39:14So you're just flogging the noises that come out.
00:39:17I sell.
00:39:18You sell Jedward?
00:39:19I'm a sell.
00:39:20Yeah, they're doing incredibly well.
00:39:20Do you listen to Jedward at home?
00:39:23No.
00:39:25Honestly, no.
00:39:25No, I don't.
00:39:26Does anybody here own a Jedward record?
00:39:28There's a new album coming out next week.
00:39:30Have they?
00:39:30Yeah.
00:39:31Not interested.
00:39:31Second album, doing really well in all around Europe.
00:39:33Still not interested.
00:39:35Your kids would like them.
00:39:36No, they wouldn't.
00:39:37They would.
00:39:38Kids would get savagely beaten if they'd like them.
00:39:40Kids like Jedward and Westlife and take that.
00:39:43So I'm just, having established that you are a man of great musical taste, as in the same
00:39:48as me.
00:39:48At home, yes.
00:39:49At home.
00:39:50Is it Cowell, then, that's got the Celine Dion fixation?
00:39:53Has Simon Cowell got a rubbish musical taste?
00:39:57Yes.
00:39:59Absolutely.
00:39:59He gave us Robson and Jerome.
00:40:01He did, actually?
00:40:02He gave us Robson and he gave us Zig and Zack.
00:40:05Has he, do you think, in his house, got any Led Zeppelin at all?
00:40:09No, absolutely not.
00:40:10I have Led Zeppelin albums at home.
00:40:11The old...
00:40:12Bad Company?
00:40:13Bad Company can't get enough.
00:40:15No, he wouldn't even know who they were.
00:40:16He has a lot of Bad Company, but it's not them, it's not the band.
00:40:20So, anyway, X Factor, when's that back?
00:40:23What stage are we at now?
00:40:23That's Series 8.
00:40:25It's back.
00:40:25We've got three new judges.
00:40:27We've got Gary Barlow, we've got Kelly Rowland, who was in Destiny's Child, and we've got
00:40:30Talisa from the N-dubs.
00:40:33I know Gary Barlow.
00:40:34Yeah.
00:40:35You know Destiny's Child, the three girls.
00:40:37Beyoncé was like the front lady in the band.
00:40:40Boncee what?
00:40:41Beyoncé.
00:40:41Beyoncé, she's like a big, big star.
00:40:44Boncee in who?
00:40:45She's married to Jay-Z.
00:40:47What?
00:40:48Jay-Z.
00:40:49He's very cool.
00:40:50Literally no idea what you're talking about now.
00:40:52So, anyway, the most important thing I have to establish is when is the X Factor back this
00:40:56August?
00:40:57X Factor, back on TV, August, ITV.
00:40:59Until September.
00:41:00Until December the 12th, yeah.
00:41:02Because I have to ask you this, because we have to go out on Top Gear on a Sunday night
00:41:06when you're not on.
00:41:08And my children are saying, when we're sitting on a beach, freezing ourselves to death in the
00:41:12middle of December, Daddy, why are we here now?
00:41:14Because Louie and Simon...
00:41:16But Simon's not on this year.
00:41:17Simon's in the moment.
00:41:18Well, no, he's gone, because Louie and Boncey's mate are watching a girl who last week was
00:41:24working behind a till in Asda, and she's on a journey.
00:41:29Everyone's on a journey.
00:41:30We have to move Top Gear.
00:41:30We're all on a journey.
00:41:31But we have to move Top Gear to get out of the way of the ratings juggernaut.
00:41:35It's because people wouldn't watch Top Gear that further watch X Factor.
00:41:38No, they would, they'd just be in your mind.
00:41:40But anyway...
00:41:41Anyway...
00:41:41Actually, no, just when we're on the subject of the X Factor before that, is it true that
00:41:44Simon Cowell bought you all Botox vouchers?
00:41:49He actually did last Christmas.
00:41:50He did?
00:41:50And you know what?
00:41:51You know something?
00:41:52I haven't used mine.
00:41:53No.
00:41:54I...
00:41:55I'd like to...
00:41:56I'd...
00:41:57Jeremy...
00:41:58Jeremy...
00:41:59I'd like to offer it to you.
00:42:01Seriously.
00:42:02I won't be, isn't him?
00:42:03Is that where you get injected, or is that collagen?
00:42:05What do you do with Botox?
00:42:06Do you know?
00:42:07I have something to do with your face.
00:42:08Ask Simon.
00:42:09I know, but what do you do with it?
00:42:10Ask Simon next time he's on.
00:42:11Does he do Botox?
00:42:12Hello.
00:42:14Do you ever say he comes on and he goes, you really should...
00:42:16Darling.
00:42:17Darling.
00:42:18Take more care of your appearance.
00:42:20I just think, but what could I do to improve it?
00:42:23Do you want my Botox vouchers?
00:42:24No.
00:42:26Anyway, I want to talk to you about cars, because this is a car show.
00:42:29It is.
00:42:30What turns you on about a car?
00:42:32I like the look at cars.
00:42:33The look?
00:42:34I just love looking at cars.
00:42:35I love looking at Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Ferraris, Benshys Rolls.
00:42:39I love...
00:42:40I'm always taking pictures of them.
00:42:41I don't really like driving them fast, but I love looking at cars.
00:42:44So it's the aesthetics of a car?
00:42:45It is.
00:42:46Absolutely.
00:42:47So after you got...
00:42:48Which was the first one?
00:42:49No, I had a Toledo.
00:42:50Boys Island was my first band.
00:42:51Your first band?
00:42:52Oh.
00:42:53The first car was a Toledo.
00:42:54It was a white Toledo.
00:42:55Toledo?
00:42:56Yes.
00:42:57And I took it out the very first time ever.
00:42:58And I was parking it at home, and I put my foot on the accelerator.
00:43:02I went bang into the wall.
00:43:03I wrecked the car.
00:43:04First time I ever took it out.
00:43:05The first...
00:43:06Oh, the very first time.
00:43:07First time I'd ever taken it out, yeah.
00:43:08And weren't you employed as a chauffeur, though, by a record company?
00:43:11No, I wasn't employed as a chauffeur.
00:43:12No, I was an agent.
00:43:13And I used to bring artists to Ireland, like singers, different singers, like Sanita and
00:43:17Hazel O'Connor.
00:43:18I used to drive them round to the gigs.
00:43:19In your Toledo?
00:43:20No, this...
00:43:21I had a...
00:43:22A Mustang.
00:43:23I had a really nice Mustang.
00:43:25Do you remember what period Mustang?
00:43:27It was red and black.
00:43:28That's all I remember.
00:43:30I'm driving a Maserati at the moment.
00:43:32I've had it three years, Gran Turismo.
00:43:34I've 3,000 miles of it.
00:43:353,000 miles?
00:43:363,000 miles.
00:43:37In three years?
00:43:38In three years, yeah.
00:43:39Do you like it?
00:43:40I love it.
00:43:41I love looking at it.
00:43:42I watch it every week.
00:43:44I love the car.
00:43:45I love the car.
00:43:46That's the first time we've ever had a guest.
00:43:48I love my car.
00:43:49I watch it every week.
00:43:50You watch it?
00:43:51I watch it otherwise.
00:43:52I watch it and I watch it.
00:43:53I'm a bit mutton.
00:43:54So, you're having a penchant for American cars and good looking cars, but you're not
00:43:58really a driver.
00:43:59I'm not a fast driver.
00:44:01Now...
00:44:02So, the bad news.
00:44:03I know I'm a travel driver.
00:44:05I know.
00:44:07How do we know?
00:44:08I know.
00:44:09I drove around that bloody track.
00:44:12I went up on the grass.
00:44:13I know I'm not good.
00:44:15I'm probably the last, I'm probably the worst you've ever had.
00:44:17Sadly though, when you went on the grass, the cameras weren't running.
00:44:20Oh, good.
00:44:21Yes, they were.
00:44:25Unusually, I believe this is the first corner.
00:44:29Yes, look.
00:44:30Here we go.
00:44:31Foot's still in it.
00:44:33That's the dictionary definition of understood.
00:44:36I'm still in it.
00:44:37I love the way that you have the hope that it was going to be okay as a lap time.
00:44:41Let's still keep going.
00:44:42Keep going.
00:44:43And many people don't know.
00:44:44There, the only person who ever went off there was, um...
00:44:47Lionel Richie.
00:44:48Lionel.
00:44:49The wheel fell off.
00:44:50That was the only reason for that corner.
00:44:52Okay.
00:44:53Okay.
00:44:54Who would like to see the actual lap?
00:44:57Yeah!
00:44:58Let's have a look.
00:44:59Here we go.
00:45:00Racy start.
00:45:01No wheel spin.
00:45:02Why not?
00:45:03There's a little smell of oil, yeah?
00:45:04The handbrake is on.
00:45:05It was on, yeah!
00:45:06So you set off with the handbrake on.
00:45:07I know.
00:45:08Okay, let's have a look at turn one.
00:45:09Have we got it right this time?
00:45:10Yep.
00:45:11No.
00:45:12Yes.
00:45:13Just held it all together there.
00:45:14Oh, changed gear.
00:45:15Badly.
00:45:16I need Stig.
00:45:17Badly.
00:45:18I need Stig, yeah.
00:45:19He was good.
00:45:20What?
00:45:21You're going a very long way around there.
00:45:22I'm going to be the last person ever.
00:45:23You really do need to get those gear changes worked out when it's going...
00:45:27I drive an automatic car.
00:45:29Change gear.
00:45:30Change gear.
00:45:31Change gear.
00:45:32What are gears?
00:45:33There we go.
00:45:34That's it.
00:45:35Okay, here we go.
00:45:36I'm going to fly this one.
00:45:37Scary doing that.
00:45:38Here we go.
00:45:39I hope I'm sure it's going to be sure.
00:45:41That's it.
00:45:42I'm sure it's going to be the last person ever.
00:45:44I'm going to be the last person ever.
00:45:46You really do need to get those gear changes worked out when it's going...
00:45:49I drive an automatic car.
00:45:51Change gear.
00:45:52Change gear.
00:45:53What are gears?
00:45:55There we go.
00:45:56That's it.
00:45:57There we go.
00:45:58I hope I'm insured.
00:46:02You don't need to be insured.
00:46:03Nothing to hit.
00:46:05Second to last corner.
00:46:06That's rather a neat line through there, if I may say.
00:46:10And Gambon.
00:46:12That's also very nicely done.
00:46:14There we are across the line, everybody.
00:46:26There it is.
00:46:27What do you think?
00:46:28I'm near the bottom.
00:46:29Well, no, these are wet times.
00:46:30Ignore the wet times.
00:46:31Anything with a W after us.
00:46:32So the slowest we've ever had was Amber Heard.
00:46:35And she did a 150.3.
00:46:36So you think you were slower than that?
00:46:38Am I under Angelina Jolie?
00:46:40I don't know.
00:46:41I don't know.
00:46:42Right.
00:46:43150 feet is the slowest so far.
00:46:45You did it in one.
00:46:4740.
00:46:48Oh.
00:46:49Really?
00:46:507.
00:46:51Oh.
00:46:52Really?
00:46:537.7.
00:46:54Oh.
00:46:55That's not bad.
00:46:56That's good.
00:46:57Good.
00:46:58Sitting there, the king, Esther Campbell and Andy Moore.
00:47:04Wow.
00:47:05A weird place to find yourself.
00:47:07So I did better than Geldof.
00:47:09You what?
00:47:10I did better than Bob Geldof.
00:47:11Where was...
00:47:12Oh yeah, you beat God...
00:47:13I'm happy.
00:47:14You beat God Beldof.
00:47:15I'm happy.
00:47:16And Al Murray.
00:47:17So there we are.
00:47:18There we are.
00:47:19The audience loves you.
00:47:20The Stig loves you.
00:47:21We all love you.
00:47:22Ladies and gentlemen.
00:47:23Louis Walsh!
00:47:24Thank you, Louis.
00:47:25Louis Walsh!
00:47:32Now, we recently received an invitation to a motorsport
00:47:39event and as it involved mud and 4x4s and it was in Wales,
00:47:45who better to attend, we thought, than Top Gear's own
00:47:48Minister for Rural Affairs, Richard Hammond.
00:47:56This is cross-country racing.
00:47:58It takes place at various locations across Britain
00:48:01and for the teams taking part, it's one of the toughest
00:48:05amateur motorsports around.
00:48:09We're here to follow one of those teams as they take part
00:48:14in their very first event.
00:48:17But here's the thing.
00:48:18There's something about these guys that takes that challenge
00:48:22to a whole new level.
00:48:28This team is made up of soldiers who've all suffered
00:48:31massive injuries whilst fighting in Afghanistan.
00:48:34Soldiers like Tom, the co-driver.
00:48:39I was a sniper out there.
00:48:40I shifted a sandbag and detonated a boob trap IED.
00:48:43I just lost my feet to begin with and through infection
00:48:47and other various things, I just had to keep having
00:48:49aggressive surgery and end up basically losing my left arm
00:48:52and having my legs amputated.
00:48:54Then there's Gav, the team's mechanic.
00:48:59I was unlucky enough to strike an IED.
00:49:02Obviously maiming me like this, leaving me a bilateral amputee.
00:49:06I lost both my thermal arteries, which, you know,
00:49:09I've got no idea how I survived that, to be fair.
00:49:11Compared to those two, Tony, the driver, actually feels quite lucky.
00:49:20I'm a below-knee scratch.
00:49:21Was that what you called it?
00:49:23I haven't been mercilessly ripped by Tom and others,
00:49:26you know, for just being a...
00:49:27Well, it's just a flesh wound, really, to quote Monty Python.
00:49:31These soldiers are using motorsport as a way of helping them
00:49:35come to terms with their injuries.
00:49:37And they've set themselves an incredible challenge,
00:49:40because in just 18 months' time,
00:49:42they aim to compete in the world's most gruelling race.
00:49:48The fearsome Dakar rally.
00:49:55I know that there's amputees all around the world,
00:49:57but for us, it's like pushing it as far as we can, really.
00:50:01If you can crack on in a Dakar rally
00:50:03where you're doing 18 out of days for two weeks solid,
00:50:06you can pretty much achieve anything that I'd like to think.
00:50:09You know, your career's going one direction,
00:50:10all of a sudden it comes grinding to a sudden halt,
00:50:13and you have to think about a totally different way of living your life.
00:50:17It's important to challenge yourself, to keep on challenging yourself.
00:50:23Out on the eight-mile course,
00:50:25most of the other competitors are running in powerful, bespoke form of force.
00:50:29But the soldiers must begin their long climb to the Dakar
00:50:35in a humble Land Rover Freelander.
00:50:38First disabled team to do this, mate.
00:50:41Amber, three, two, one, go.
00:50:48Straight down here, mate.
00:50:49Break, break, break, break, break, break.
00:50:54Good, good.
00:50:56So what would you like to see come out of this weekend, then?
00:50:59Well, I'd like to see it function for a start.
00:51:02So find out where our weaknesses are and work on them,
00:51:05you know, just keep focusing on our weaknesses.
00:51:07That's it.
00:51:08Tony and Ton complete their first run in 12 minutes 14,
00:51:12some four minutes shy of the big ones.
00:51:18And already they've discovered a problem that is unique to them.
00:51:23The problem we've got is, obviously, because Tony's missing his left leg,
00:51:27he can't feel the palm of his foot on the clutch,
00:51:30and obviously that's going to give slip and you're going to lose power.
00:51:33So I think what we're going to do is devise a light
00:51:35that comes on and warns him that he's riding the clutch.
00:51:38He can just pull his leg slightly off.
00:51:40The idea.
00:51:42The clutch fix isn't one that can be done on site,
00:51:45so for now the team must crack on regardless.
00:51:51And crack on they do.
00:51:54We did 10.54 on that last one.
00:51:58Happened first gear, mate.
00:52:0210.41 on that one.
00:52:03Go for it, go for it, go for it, go for it.
00:52:09Spending a day with them,
00:52:11it becomes obvious that their injuries are more than just physical.
00:52:16Bloke alongside you.
00:52:18Kill?
00:52:19Yeah, Anthony Lombardi.
00:52:20He was also a mechanic, young lad, 21-year-old.
00:52:23You know, he was a really good bloke.
00:52:24Yeah, he was a really good bloke.
00:52:25Yeah, so...
00:52:27It's just...
00:52:29I think it's difficult because...
00:52:32Um...
00:52:35Can you just give us a minute?
00:52:36Yeah, please, please.
00:52:37Please, as many as you want, mate.
00:52:43Oh, mate.
00:52:44It's then that you start to realise the value of a project like this.
00:52:52These guys are soldiers.
00:52:54They're men of action.
00:52:55They're used to having challenges, problems, obstacles to overcome by working together as a team.
00:53:02This isn't a treat.
00:53:04This is therapy.
00:53:05It's something they need to do if they're going to recover as well as they possibly can.
00:53:09By the end of the first day, the amputee team are running second in the Freelander class.
00:53:20But there's little time for celebration.
00:53:25Because they must very quickly get to grips with the car they'll be driving in the Dakar.
00:53:32A four-litre V8-engined Wildcat.
00:53:40Now, to make the move to this, the guys are going to need some training from an expert driver.
00:53:46And...
00:53:48We've got one.
00:53:51Yep.
00:53:52It's ex-Stig Special Forces Driving Instructor and Romantic Novelist Ben Collins.
00:53:59You all right, then? Are you ready?
00:54:01Yeah, very good. Looking forward to it.
00:54:03Good, good.
00:54:04When you're going around, don't tell him anything.
00:54:05You'll put it in a book. Just make sure that you'll be all right.
00:54:07You'll be all right.
00:54:08All right, man.
00:54:09You all right?
00:54:10How are you?
00:54:11If you seem right, then just stop talking. Leave it at that, all right?
00:54:14Have fun.
00:54:16Happy days. Okay, let's crank it.
00:54:20Do you know, to be honest, I am quite glad to see the old splitter back.
00:54:25And I do know how much giving these guys a hand means to him.
00:54:29So, this is all right.
00:54:36Clearly, Julie Cooper had lost none of his teaching skills.
00:54:42Pop it back in a second. You don't want to use the brakes.
00:54:44So, at that time, just pop in the gas.
00:54:46Go.
00:54:47Go.
00:54:48Which meant, on their first solo outing, Tony and Tom didn't disappoint.
00:54:53Right, just remember this bit here, Tony.
00:54:56Nice.
00:54:57That's a 9 minute 51, guys.
00:54:58We'll do it faster next time.
00:54:59Yeah.
00:55:00But mastering the Wildcat is just the beginning, because these guys face problems that their rivals won't encounter.
00:55:07There you go, mate.
00:55:09Gavin, for example, has had to devise a unique system for doing repairs in the middle of nowhere.
00:55:17Tiredness is an issue, too.
00:55:19As a triple amputee, Tom uses 300% more energy than an able-bodied person just to move around.
00:55:27And then, there's their prosthetics.
00:55:29Yeah, look, if I show the back of mine, that, so it makes more sense.
00:55:33See the back of it?
00:55:34That is quite unnerving when you do that.
00:55:36Yeah, you just wanted to do that, yeah.
00:55:39Right, sand's getting into the piston there.
00:55:42You're getting water into the electronics, because it's all electronic, but if the legs play up and that, I can just pop them in the back and just crack on.
00:55:53One thing that won't let them down, though, is their camaraderie, which shows up best when they talk about the kind of tricks they play on each other in hospital.
00:56:01One of the big ones is either swapping their wheelchair over by their bedside while they slept with maybe an office chair with caster wheels, and then just pushing them around on that the rest of the day.
00:56:11Or padlocking them to their beds.
00:56:14So they set off and dunk.
00:56:15Yeah.
00:56:16I got injured about a week after a guy, Ranger Andy Allen, basically lost his eyesight and lost both his legs as well.
00:56:23And he was a big Manchester United fan, like huge.
00:56:25Guy obviously owned Manchester United shirts, and we'd swap them off for Liverpool shirts, and the guy would be cutting around in Liverpool shirts.
00:56:32That's a probably devious idea.
00:56:34But then when he started to get his eyesight back a little bit, he basically just let loose on us then.
00:56:41Yeah.
00:56:42It just feeds the sense of humour that you're kind of used to.
00:56:44He takes it a step further and also makes you come to terms with what's happened to you.
00:56:48You don't have to stop being you just because of what's happened.
00:56:51Yeah.
00:56:52You don't have to stop.
00:56:53People shouldn't pity you.
00:56:59Come on.
00:57:01Throughout the day, the lads have been getting faster and faster.
00:57:06You've just done two runs, yeah?
00:57:07So it was a 9.17 and a 9.08.
00:57:11It's just...
00:57:12Break that barrier.
00:57:13Eight seconds.
00:57:14And as they lined up for the last run of the weekend, everybody, us, the organisers, the other competitors, wanted to see them break the 9-minute barrier.
00:57:29Mate, we don't do in less than 9 minutes.
00:57:33Right, Amber.
00:57:34Three, two, one, go.
00:57:41Keep accelerating this bit, mate.
00:57:42Keep going, keep going.
00:57:43Keep going, keep going.
00:57:50Second, yep.
00:57:51Second, yeah, it's good.
00:57:54Look at that, look at that, look at that.
00:58:00Nice.
00:58:02This is awesome.
00:58:10Keep going, keep going.
00:58:13Oh, my God.
00:58:14Oh, my God.
00:58:19That's it.
00:58:21Sadly, they hadn't broken that 9-minute barrier.
00:58:24Probably because they had broken something else.
00:58:27Oh, yeah.
00:58:29Most of that will polish out.
00:58:32Largely, yeah, largely.
00:58:33Sort of below-centre-point scratch.
00:58:36They've gone nowhere.
00:58:38I really hope that these guys do make it to the Dakar, because on spirit alone, they deserve to be there.
00:58:47On that day I got blown up, I never thought I'd make a stage where I'm at now.
00:58:51We said this in a car before.
00:58:53Who would ever thought we'd be sat in a Wildcat on a Sunday morning, rallying around?
00:58:58It's more an experience.
00:58:59And they are here.
00:59:00You deserve to be in a Wildcat on a Sunday morning.
00:59:01And they are here with us tonight.
00:59:02I don't see why you should be in a Wildcat.
00:59:05Now, can I just say, really, I think everybody here will join us in wishing you all the very best.
00:59:28We really do hope you make it to the start and the finish of the Dakar.
00:59:32We really do deserve it though.
00:59:36And that's it.
00:59:40That's it.
00:59:42Not only for this programme, but for this series.
00:59:45We'll be back whenever the X Factor's finished.
00:59:47See you then.
00:59:48Goodnight.
01:00:02See you then.
01:00:03Take care.
01:00:04God bless you.
01:00:07Transcription by CastingWords
Recommended
0:30
Be the first to comment