(Some of) Top Gear's Most Unfair Races

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:01]Ammon, I ought to tell you I've only actually done two and a half hours on this type of aircraft, >> right? So, you're not entirely familiar.

[00:00:11]>> I know what all the major knobs and things do.

[00:00:21]To say this is no harder to drive or more tiring than a Golf or even a golf cart.

[00:00:28]And the interior is such a nice place to be. I mean, these stalks here, they're made from magnesium and aluminium, and they cost £45,000 each.

[00:00:49][music] I don't imagine that Hamster and Slow are going to be having a refreshing cup of hot brown wherever they are. I don't think light aircraft have tea and coffee making facilities on them. I'm guessing >> my smuggness, however, was about to take a blow.

[00:01:14]>> Hello, >> Jeremy. It's Richard. How are you doing?

[00:01:17]>> Hamster. How are you going? Well, we were in real trouble, but we've had a stroke of luck. Um, French air traffic control let us take a slight shortcut, which meant we could cut really quite a sizable corner, and that's brought us back in the game. So, we're over uh midish France.

[00:01:35]>> No, come on. Tell me, where are you?

[00:01:37]>> Well, keep looking overhead, mate.

[00:01:42]>> Right. So, this is it then. Our final leg. We up on the way. Next stop presumably UK.

[00:01:49]>> Yep.

[00:01:53][music] >> This was a disaster. [music] All my fannying about with coffee stops and calls to insurance companies meant that Maverick and Iceman were right behind me.

[00:02:07]They are going to overtake me. Oh, this is torture.

[00:02:16]Captain Slow is up there in his washing machine.

[00:02:21]I will not be beaten by a washing machine.

[00:02:26]>> It was time to unleash the Bugatti secret weapon. At the moment, I'm in Defcon 3. I'm in handling mode with that rear spoiler up, which is pushing the back of the car into the road to give me grip in the corners.

[00:02:42]But I'm on a motorway and there are no corners.

[00:02:50]>> So all the spoiler is doing is causing drag, slowing me down. I therefore needed to pull over and lower it.

[00:02:58]To make sure you don't put it down accidentally, you have to use the ignition key in this slot here. So that now when you get cracking the spoiler doesn't come up and the whole car hunkers down on the road makes it very slippery and you can get to the top speed. But before you can do that Volkswagen say you have to do some checks.

[00:03:20]No idea what these checks might be. So um seems fine. I am now at Defcon 4.

[00:03:44]At this point, your big advantage about flying does start to pay off because we are in the sky. There's nothing in the way. We're going direct.

[00:04:00]Jeremy was flying.

[00:04:02]But 5,000 ft above him, we were flying faster. We were about to take the lead.

[00:04:08]But then, guess what? James delivered yet more bad news.

[00:04:13]>> There is one thing I need to tell you about, Hammet.

[00:04:17]>> What?

[00:04:18]>> This idea about um England, here we come.

[00:04:20]>> That's the idea.

[00:04:22]>> Well, the thing is, because we were a bit delayed, it's um it's going to get dark while we're still in Northern France.

[00:04:28]>> You got lights. Turn them on. Yeah, but I'm not allowed to fly this thing in the dark.

[00:04:34]>> I'm not qualified. I'm really sorry.

[00:04:37]Hammonds, >> right? So, what do we do?

[00:04:42]>> Uh, we land.

[00:04:45]>> Hamster, are you really hammering along now?

[00:04:47]>> We do have problems. James has just told me that he hasn't done the test that allows him to drive the plane at night.

[00:04:55]landed.

[00:04:56]>> So, we're going to have to land. And I quote, "Somewhere maybe." Liil, >> he really hasn't thought this through, has he?

[00:05:05]>> He's gone.

[00:05:08][music] >> [music] >> If we could make lil before nightfell, we were in with a chance of catching the Euroar to London and staying in the race.

[00:05:33]>> Mike cleared to land at Wilco final runway 18.

[00:05:37]>> It was probably in the wrong order, but it's roughly right.

[00:05:42]>> You all right, Hammond?

[00:05:43]>> Oh, yes. That is land. It's >> tricky, man. It's windy.

[00:05:53][music] We landed in Liil with moments to spare.

[00:06:02]>> Amster, where are you? Are you down? You must be down by now.

[00:06:05]>> We're down. Yeah. Where are you?

[00:06:07]>> Oh, well, I'm about 70 mi from Cali.

[00:06:10]>> Right. Okay. Come on. Um, that's good.

[00:06:13]The train's fast.

[00:06:14]>> The good thing is >> is this is going to be seriously close.

[00:06:18]>> Oh, you dis. He's gone. Never mind. I don't really care. It's not that way.

[00:06:22]It's this way.

[00:06:25]>> I'm running. Yes, you're running.

[00:06:27][laughter] >> Go. Just don't try and fly this, will you? Train station. Train station. TGV.

[00:06:35]What's left? We'd so nearly caught Jeremy up in the plane, but now we were on a bus going to the railway station.

[00:06:43]His lead was increasing by the moment.

[00:06:47]Now train station, right? Euro Star, that's us.

[00:06:52]This bit of Northern France dull when you're not in the Bugatti. That is >> These things are getting worse.

[00:07:02]>> They are. It's like a dead dog in a bag.

[00:07:08]Oh yeah.

[00:07:08]>> Yes. This is a good thing.

[00:07:15]>> Well, here we are. I've made it to Calala.

[00:07:22]>> I don't want to lower the tone or anything, but I haven't been to the L since Italy, and I'm gagging for it. And the ones that way are out of order. And there's 42 British coaches through there. And they all want my autograph.

[00:07:42][music] [music] I'd arrived back in Britain half an hour in front of ginger and algae, but they were gaining fast.

[00:08:04]Hamster, how are you?

[00:08:06]>> We're on our train and we're doing quite nicely. We're 35 minutes from Waterloo.

[00:08:09]>> It is down to the wire again.

[00:08:11]>> Any minute now I will see a headlight sweep past the window.

[00:08:14]>> May the best man win.

[00:08:18]>> The race actually starts now.

[00:08:27]We got to run now, haven't we?

[00:08:28]>> Yes.

[00:08:31]Where'd you get these nine buses?

[00:08:32]>> Right outside.

[00:08:33]>> Can you pay them in truffles?

[00:08:37]>> Way out.

[00:08:42]>> Liverpool straight over.

[00:08:43]>> This is it. This is it. Excellent.

[00:08:45]>> Go drive.

[00:08:47]>> Oh, I see bits of London that I recognize. It's Canary Wolf.

[00:08:53][music] >> Yes.

[00:08:57]This is what public transport is about.

[00:08:59]Waiting.

[00:09:00]>> He's got a Batti. We've got a bus.

[00:09:08]>> That was the old bridge. Yes.

[00:09:11]>> This is the city. This is the city.

[00:09:14]>> This one. There it is. There it is.

[00:09:16]>> We're minutes away. Go, go, go, go, go.

[00:09:21]>> Another red light.

[00:09:22]>> James. Yum. I'm coming. That's it.

[00:09:30]This is it. It's that West Tower. I'm here. Are they here?

[00:09:36]>> Come on.

[00:09:41]Truffle, trouble, [music] truffle.

[00:09:47]>> The tower was a maze with no direct lift from the bottom to the finish line on the 42nd floor.

[00:09:53]>> B to 21.

[00:09:56]21. Transfer to something to go to 42.

[00:09:59]>> Yeah, that makes sense. Look, B.

[00:10:03]>> Transfer to lift group D.

[00:10:08]>> Well, why don't they just have a lift? Go >> arrows this way.

[00:10:16]>> Right. No, hang on. That's not it.

[00:10:19]>> Oh, excuse me. Do you know how to get to 42?

[00:10:24]>> 41.

[00:10:25]>> 41 is it >> as high as you can go on the lift.

[00:10:27]>> 41 and walk. Okay. Thanks ever so much.

[00:10:29]Bye.

[00:10:30]>> What a stupid building.

[00:10:33]>> 34 >> 35 36 Go stairs.

[00:10:41]>> Oh, mate. I'm terrified.

[00:10:42]>> Right. This is it.

[00:10:47]>> Good evening.

[00:10:48]>> Good evening.

[00:10:49]Um, >> I don't know. I'm confused. Does that mean we've won? Where is he?

[00:10:54]>> Well, I would say we've won. We're here and he's not.

[00:10:57]>> Little effort. That's >> action in the window OF A GHOSTLY FIGURE. [laughter] >> Surely not.

[00:11:05]>> That's horrible.

[00:11:06]>> YOU UNBEARABLE MAN. I CAN'T [laughter] stand it.

[00:11:11]>> A dignity.

[00:11:12]>> Yes.

[00:11:12]>> You got your truffle?

[00:11:14]>> Yes. Well, unfortunately they've already got one, so I'm afraid you're 65 quid out of pocket.

[00:11:20]>> Oh, marvelous pasta with my truffle on.

[00:11:23]>> Oh, truffle. Good.

[00:11:25]>> It's quite a hollow victory.

[00:11:28]>> Is it?

[00:11:30]>> Because I've now got to go for the rest of my life knowing that I'll never own that car.

[00:11:37]I'll never experience that power again.

[00:11:41]And that is a really sad feeling. kind of the end of an era in an old way.

[00:11:45]Beginning of something new, but [laughter] Amy and I were now in the middle of Tokyo. And despite James' [music] claims that we'd be stuck in traffic for a week, the simple fact is this.

[00:12:09]There wasn't any.

[00:12:12]here in the old traffic. It's the worst traffic in the world. You won't be moving. Look at it.

[00:12:18]>> We had less than 10 minutes to catch our next connection.

[00:12:22]>> Uh, that's the subway. Subway.

[00:12:24]>> Tokyo is not a city. It's a racetrack.

[00:12:29]>> Oh, that's no good. Do we have to have another ticket?

[00:12:32]>> I don't know.

[00:12:36]>> Uh uh. Can we ask Henry what the name of the boat when we get off? Honestly, I didn't think I was going to do this one.

[00:12:43]I didn't think I was going to win it.

[00:12:44]>> Yeah, but that's that's obviously the fair look. It gets bigger as you go further away.

[00:12:48]>> How much do we need?

[00:12:49]>> Bullet train.

[00:12:53]>> Right. I think it was this way. Right.

[00:12:55]>> Go, go, go, go, go, go.

[00:12:56]>> We were in such a rush, we boarded the tube train, not knowing if it was going in the right direction.

[00:13:04]>> This is the Yokohama City subway. But does it Yokohama? Yokohama number 20.

[00:13:12]This is four stops.

[00:13:14]>> So if this flashes 23 now, that's the next stop. We're going in the right direction. If it says, >> we got to jump off.

[00:13:21]>> 23.

[00:13:26]>> Yes.

[00:13:27]>> Yes. [laughter] >> I didn't panic.

[00:13:32]This is what comes with not having a congestion charge.

[00:13:48]We were now at yet another station looking for the train to Kuri Hama.

[00:13:53]>> Kuri Hama. Kurama. Kuri Hama.

[00:13:58]I was so confident that when I did occasionally get stuck at the lights, I broke out some of the Japanese toys the office had provided.

[00:14:12][bell] It's an air guitar.

[00:14:21]It's May or Hammond. Hello, >> Jeremy. Hammond, how are you?

[00:14:27]>> I'm very well. How you doing?

[00:14:28]>> I am in Tokyo and I'm going brilliantly well. I shall look on my satnav.

[00:14:34]>> How fast are you going?

[00:14:37]>> Oh my god.

[00:14:39]>> What?

[00:14:40]>> I've just turned the sat I've turned the satnav off.

[00:14:43]>> Why did you do that?

[00:14:44]>> I just wanted to look where I was cuz it comes up on the phone thing when you're on.

[00:14:49]>> Well, I can tell you exactly where you are now. You've turned your satnav off.

[00:14:52]>> Lost.

[00:14:54]>> Bye.

[00:14:56]With all the satnav's controls in Japanese, I had no clue how to get it back on again.

[00:15:02]>> Oh, this is a just I'm going to have to >> This was a good moment. We had successfully caught the last of our four trains and would be at the finish line in 2 hours. Meanwhile, Jeremy, for the first time, was in trouble.

[00:15:23]No.

[00:15:27]>> Right. There's a plane [music] coming into land there. That must mean Narita Airport's over there.

[00:15:38]>> Can I just ask for the wine list? That's not right. Amazingly, I found a policeman who spoke English.

[00:15:45]>> Sort of.

[00:15:46]>> This Yes. this tunnel.

[00:15:47]>> Uh this this road return uh uh 1 2 3 four signal and >> like so four signals.

[00:15:58]>> Oh maybe uh >> maybe >> as our train waited in a station. I went to try my luck with one of the onboard drinks machines. Then James rang.

[00:16:09]>> Hello. Yeah, I will do. I haven't found a vending machine yet, but as soon as I find one, I will. Yeah, but we're not moving.

[00:16:19]Well, not now. We're not.

[00:16:22]What do you mean we are? No, we're not.

[00:16:26]WHAT? I MATE, I'M NOT ON the How can I not gear position, braking, accelerated?

[00:16:40]>> Hello, >> James.

[00:16:41]>> No, it's not James. It's me. Wait a minute. Why would James be rigging you up?

[00:16:46][sighs] >> Because there's something peculiar has happened. We're not on the same train.

[00:16:55]>> What?

[00:16:55]>> Hello? We're not on the same train. It the train stopped in a station. I was walking along it to try and find some drinks from a machine and then James had moved off. He was in the front of the train. It split. So, he's going somewhere. I don't know where yet. I stopped in the station. And then I got off my train to see what had happened.

[00:17:14]And then my train left. So if that was the right train, I'm not on it. If it wasn't the right, well, one of us is on the right train. One of us isn't.

[00:17:22]>> Well, I if it's any consolation, mate, I've just arrived in a dead end.

[00:17:26]>> I've got to ring I've got to ring James.

[00:17:28]I'm sorry.

[00:17:29]>> I might just go for a cup of coffee on this basis. [laughter] >> I was now all alone with just a Blair Witch handicap.

[00:17:41]Hello viewers. Jezra's obviously spoken to Hammond because Jezra has just run me up to gloat.

[00:17:50]>> Um Kuri Hama kurama.

[00:17:52]>> Yeah. Okay. Please calm down.

[00:17:55]>> Stoasha got me on the right train and I called James.

[00:18:01]I just looked at the window.

[00:18:07]>> But my train was 15 minutes behind James', so I'd have less than 2 minutes to catch the bus.

[00:18:14]>> You're going to have to hold it.

[00:18:17]>> Just run like run like hell for the bus, cuz if we miss the bus, we're stuffed.

[00:18:26]>> AMY'S BACK. AMY'S BACK. AMY'S BACK ON MY SCREEN. I pushed everything. She's back.

[00:18:34]>> And not before time. Being lost had cost me 45 minutes. The lead I'd built up had been wiped out. Show me some of your muscles, car. Show me your muscles.

[00:18:51]>> That says, "Do you know, my friend?" I mean, can you wait, please?

[00:18:56]I was now off the train and hoping to God James had held the bus. Be >> buses. There should be buses. There's There's no buses. This way. This way.

[00:19:08]>> I was now heading for the tunnel under the bay in a big hurry. And for the first time, the GTR was starting to come alive.

[00:19:17]It's when you put your foot down like that, you just get the vaguest whiff that this car can go around the Nurburg Ring in 7 minutes 29 seconds. That's faster than a McLaren Mercedes. It's faster than a 911 Turbo.

[00:19:33]>> Me?

[00:19:34]>> I'm with my old mate Richard Hammond.

[00:19:38]>> Oh, great.

[00:19:39]>> Mate, they're getting crossed cuz you're using a mobile.

[00:19:42]>> Hello.

[00:19:42]>> We're in trouble now for talking on a phone on the bus. I just love to talk to you.

[00:19:47]>> Hi.

[00:19:48]>> Do you know what time you're actually getting on that ferry?

[00:19:52]>> 25. It leaves. We're getting on it at about 22 minutes past.

[00:19:57]>> All of us were now minutes from the bay.

[00:20:04]>> Is that Bellbat?

[00:20:14]This is really close. Now, >> still in the bosom of Japanese public transport, we knew for sure we'd arrive at the finish line in 55 minutes. All we could do was hope Jeremy's life would be less predictable.

[00:20:30]>> It depends, whether it's small roads, whether it's busy, whether there's a speed limit, whether it gets lost. Small roads? No, not really.

[00:20:47][music] [music] As the immense bridge ended, I knew it would all be down to the final charge up the mountain. Frankly, what I'm going to need to win this now is a divine wind.

[00:21:07]And I've got just the thing.

[00:21:10]I'm ready. Here we go.

[00:21:19]I knew they'd be at the finish line at 4:25 precisely.

[00:21:25]Arrival time 4:31. That's 6 minutes after them.

[00:21:32]Gearbox in race. [music] That speeds up the change time. I'm going to put the suspension in race. That firms it right up. Then I'm going to put the traction control in race. That lets me have sun slit.

[00:21:43]>> Bang on [music] time. The ferry docked a full mile from the cable car. But we had no [music] intention of walking.

[00:21:54][music] No time to slow down for these barriers.

[00:22:01]Bloody hell. They win with barriers like that on the end [music] of your arm.

[00:22:07]Ahead of me lay the mountain road. GTR country.

[00:22:12]Oh my god. Just now it's all coming together. It's all just becoming a GTR.

[00:22:24]>> Hello, >> Jeremy.

[00:22:25]>> Yeah. Where are you?

[00:22:26]>> We are disembarking now.

[00:22:30]>> This is so damn close.

[00:22:32]>> I can't work it out. is he is very close.

[00:22:38]>> I've now got it down to 427.

[00:22:41]>> Ready?

[00:22:42]>> Yes. Let's do it. Right.

[00:22:50][music] 424.

[00:23:02]This is the clash of the Titans now. And it's going down to the wire again.

[00:23:11]Car. Oh, no. No. No. No. No.

[00:23:24]I wish you could feel my heart rate now.

[00:23:27]I really wish you could feel what's going on here.

[00:23:31]Go. That's the B.

[00:23:35][music] >> Oh, no.

[00:23:38]>> Thank you.

[00:23:41]>> Come on. Come on. Come on, baby. I was now giving it everything.

[00:23:49]>> So, at the top here, there is a Buddha to roam safety. Apparently, >> would it be brilliant if we got there and Jeremy's GTR was buried in the middle of it?

[00:24:00]>> Watch this. I'm here.

[00:24:01]>> Oh dear. Bang.

[00:24:06]>> Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:24:12]>> This way.

[00:24:13]>> Finally, I made it to the Buddha's car park.

[00:24:16]>> Victory is mine.

[00:24:18]>> But that wasn't the finishing line.

[00:24:20]>> Go where? Where? Run.

[00:24:24]>> Come on. Go. Go. Go. Go. Just leave it.

[00:24:26]Leave it. Leave it.

[00:24:26]>> That's not a temple. We were now converging on the Buddha up two different paths. Are you sure we haven't ever shot it?

[00:24:35]Come on.

[00:24:38][panting] NO.

[00:24:46][snorts] Please God, don't let them be here.

[00:24:52][panting] They aren't here.

[00:25:03][panting] >> Car just beat the bullet train.

[00:25:15]>> That's Buddha.

[00:25:16]>> This is the Buddha road safety.

[00:25:18]>> We've done the 9th and the 10th century.

[00:25:20]This wall was 12th century. Um, so you remember from the lecture I was giving you.

[00:25:25]>> Hi guys.

[00:25:26]>> Just interesting how this is a different century to that.

[00:25:30]We just been learning. We've had a lecture.

[00:25:32]>> Yeah.

[00:25:34]>> You run up there as well.

[00:25:35]>> Oh yeah.

[00:25:36]>> Yeah.

[00:25:36]>> Yeah.

[00:25:37]>> Congratulations.

[00:25:38]>> How long you been here?

[00:25:40]>> Really not long. Genuinely, honestly.

[00:25:44]3 minutes 12 seconds.

[00:25:48]That is so close.

[00:25:49]>> Thanks, Budda. [sighs] You looked after him. [snorts] >> Disappointed.

[00:25:54]>> Go for it.

[00:25:56]>> Yours, >> which is >> Japanese for [music] [music] The start of the race wasn't exactly dramatic. There was a three knot speed limit in the harbor and my car was well 40 years old.

[00:26:30]These old Daytonas take a while to warm up and you have to sort of skip second gear, go straight to third for a while until the gearboxes come up to temperature. Otherwise, sort of explodes.

[00:26:42][music] While his 215 mi route was 40 mi longer than mine, Hammond was convinced he'd be [music] able to maintain a higher average speed.

[00:26:55]But once my cabin [music] cruiser was out onto the open water, it would turn into a ferocious power boat racer. And for that reason, I couldn't drive it on my own.

[00:27:06]This is Peter. He's a many times world power boat champion. Holds powerboat endurance records. He's doing the tricky throttle and trim stuff. I'm doing the steering and the nav.

[00:27:18]How fast are we going?

[00:27:19]>> Nine knots.

[00:27:20]>> And we need to go in the right direction. We're going completely the wrong way at the moment.

[00:27:24]>> Hang on. It's that way, isn't it?

[00:27:25]>> Yeah.

[00:27:26]>> The auto strider beckoned.

[00:27:30]>> This is it.

[00:27:37]The Daytona shouldn't really have to defend its honor on [music] its birthday, but if James wanted a race, he'd get one.

[00:27:45]>> 4.4 L Italian V12 unleashed.

[00:27:54]>> Right, here we go. 1,600 shaft horsepower. That's more than one and a half times what a Bugatti Veyron has got.

[00:28:03]That's 45 knots, so 50 mph.

[00:28:08]>> And here's a tunnel. I have to open the window a little bit. I'm sorry about the wind, but >> Oh, that really is spine tingling.

[00:28:19]70 mph across the water. That's fabulous.

[00:28:25]This boat has been conceived like a supercar. It's very powerful. It's very, very light, very agile, has just enough trim and creature comforts to make it bearable, but that's all. It is a hardcore performance machine.

[00:28:47]My supercar doesn't have a space age car, but it does have infinitely more pedigree.

[00:28:54]What's odd about the Daytona is that if somebody says to you Ferrari Daytona, even if you've never been in one, if you've never even seen one, it just sounds right. You know, with a name like that, it's not going to be a minga.

[00:29:11]These days, it takes many months and many millions to design a new car. The Daytona, 7 days. And just look at it.

[00:29:22]It's absolutely sublime.

[00:29:30]>> I know exactly what's going on in Richard Hammond's mind. He's got a romantic vision of, I don't know, Sophia Luren and the SH of Persia and all those people, but it's different now. This place is full of puffy dad and New York Hilton. This is the modern way to do it.

[00:29:49]As long as I'm not driving on your 10:00, go behind you.

[00:29:52]>> I've got him. I've got him.

[00:29:57]>> 40 mi into my journey and something rather perverse was happening.

[00:30:02]>> You are actually watching a man go through the process of falling in love.

[00:30:07]It's not perfect, this new love of mine.

[00:30:10]I'd heard stories about the incredibly heavy steering and the clutch. It's a bit like a big Italian V12 engine truck.

[00:30:17]And all of those things are true.

[00:30:19]Operating the steering wheel is like turning one of those hatch wheels on a submarine in a World War II film. But the Daytona brings back the glamour. It reminds the Riviera what the Riviera is all about.

[00:30:37]Oh wow.

[00:30:44]on the ocean waves. Life was no longer so jolly.

[00:30:48]>> Right. Situation report. It's becoming very, very choppy. So, we've had to reduce our speed by 10 knots or so.

[00:30:56]And on top of that, the Dhaka seats weren't really helping.

[00:31:01]AH, meanwhile in Daytona.

[00:31:12][music] How was that? Not bad. Hang on. You all right?

[00:31:33]The camera was broken. I was broken. And the rough seas had forced us down to 25 knots, which meant that Hammond would be roaring ahead.

[00:31:43]>> Scott, how much further is it? About 100 nautical miles. A marvelous.

[00:31:51]I was indeed ahead. And as I [music] neared the French border, I was now so in love with the Daytona that I might have been babbling a bit. Everything that it was, it still is. And when you drive one here, doing this, the mechanical interface between you and it, it does take you into its >> mercifully. My de-eyed dribbling was then cut short.

[00:32:14]>> Oh, I think we've just been pulled by the police.

[00:32:19]Ah, now he's ah Oh, yes. He's waving his arm at the cameraman.

[00:32:25]Uh, I think the [music] rest of this film may not look as good as the first bit.

[00:32:30]>> I'm in a Daytona and I'm wearing shades, so I'm absolutely fine.

[00:32:37]>> Despite Hammond's setback, we had to keep going as fast as our spines will allow if we were to stay in the race. We are back up to 41 42 knots which is almost twice as fast as we were going half an hour ago.

[00:32:55]>> Yeah, that's much better than a Max Masley party.

[00:33:05]>> Shades haven't worked.

[00:33:07]>> The Italian police weren't convinced that we had [music] rightful possession of the Daytona. He wants the documents for the car.

[00:33:15]>> Not for this car.

[00:33:19]>> Documents for the >> um sort of no. I don't have them.

[00:33:27]77 miles to go. How do we know when we're in France? Does the sea become even rougher like the roads do? Whoa, this is enormous.

[00:33:41]This was bad. My lead was now being destroyed.

[00:33:46]Wait, hold on. Sort this out.

[00:34:00]>> Right. They told us to follow him to the police station.

[00:34:05]>> Out on the sea. My body may have been taking a battery, but at least I didn't have to worry about the roses.

[00:34:14]>> Is that the police?

[00:34:15]>> Yeah.

[00:34:18]>> Oh god. He wants to see documents.

[00:34:24]>> Hello.

[00:34:25]>> Hello. How are you?

[00:34:26]>> I haven't been stopped by the police.

[00:34:29]>> You haven't?

[00:34:30]>> Yeah. The sea police.

[00:34:32]>> You know the the Riviera thing.

[00:34:33]>> The Grand Tour. It's not what it was, is it? No, >> it's not all severe non bridg anymore.

[00:34:40]>> There's more paperwork involved than Bridget Bondo would have sort of been doing and does.

[00:34:51]>> Finally, we were both released.

[00:34:53]>> Right, Santa.

[00:34:56]>> But because the police had stopped Hammond for much longer, I had now closed the gap. Um we are now going past Monaco which is on the right. 50 nautical miles to go is anybody's race.

[00:35:12]>> But then at motorway speeds it soon started to go my way again. The final stretch of motorway down to Santa Bay and I'm home and dry. I am probably the most low rent, lowbrow chi urchin ever to pedal one of these along the Riviera.

[00:35:35]With a [music] considerable lead over James, I was now off the motorway on the A- road and just 20 odd [music] miles from Central Pack.

[00:35:48]This is where the car [music] just comes alive. Now, yes, it's not a nimble tiny lightweight sports car, but it feels live, supple, and now to complete a truly excellent day. I shall win the race in the Daytona, have a little gloat, and then I think a beer.

[00:36:13]>> I was just 15 miles from the finish line. Well, 15 miles at 45 knots is uh 20 minutes >> mini golf.

[00:36:28]If this car overheats, but it will Italian on HMS Carbon Kazzy, we were flying.

[00:36:40]>> 61. Hey, 65. Well, hey, 2.5 miles to run.

[00:36:47]>> As I got closer to the center of Sanrope, the traffic started moving again, and I was heading for the finish line. A bar in the port.

[00:36:57]Speed humps.

[00:36:58]Speed humps in a Ferrari Daytona. That's not right.

[00:37:03]Less than a mile. Beer. Beer.

[00:37:07]>> Got to be close now.

[00:37:23]This is it. Sorry everybody about the car.

[00:37:28]>> He's not here.

[00:37:30]>> Oh, hang on.

[00:37:34]>> Yes, yes, yes.

[00:37:38]>> It's a pleasure to win.

[00:37:39]>> Do you know what? What?

[00:37:40]>> I don't care >> because I said it was the perfect vehicle for the job. I didn't say fastest. I said perfect and it was. I mean, look at it here. It's just look all over it. It's beautiful.

[00:37:53]>> Tell me you don't agree.

[00:37:54]>> Bloody gorgeous. [laughter] >> Something I want to ask you.

[00:37:59]>> What?

[00:38:03]>> Can I drive the car back? I'm broken.

[00:38:17]>> [music] >> This is what they've come up with. The Range Rover Sport.

[00:38:25]They say that making it was a challenge.

[00:38:27]And I'm not surprised [music] because things which are tall are not sporty. I know this.

[00:38:37]Even so, this new car goes from naugh to 60 in 7 seconds.

[00:38:43]And it has so much power that the top speed has had to be pegged at 140 to stop the tires bursting.

[00:38:53]And what's more, Land Rovers say it's not just fast in a straight line. They say that thanks to some fancy new anti-roll bars, it can also handle the bends.

[00:39:04]They're right. It does. The steering's sharp, the brakes are massive. It doesn't roll too much. Bump and then a bend. And it just takes it all in its stride.

[00:39:18]Anyway, it's very, very good this. It's really very, very, very good.

[00:39:27]I'd say it was even more nimble than a Porsche Cayenne Turbo and more comfortable and more economical.

[00:39:34]probably do 12 miles to the gallon if you're careful.

[00:39:39]>> And then there's the driving position.

[00:39:40]See, in a normal off-road car, you sit up high and you have to kind of reach down to operate everything. But in this, I'm still sitting high up, but they've raised the center console and the whole dashboard. So, I feel cocooned like I'm in the cockpit of a fighter bomber. We're now cruising at 35,000 ft, which we are.

[00:40:04]>> [music] >> So quite an achievement then turning a mudplugging Range Rover into a [music] growling nighthawk mud mover.

[00:40:14]Except they haven't because this isn't a Range Rover.

[00:40:20]I know it looks like a Range Rover, but the Sport is 5 in shorter and lower. The two cars don't share a single piece of bodywork. And it's the same story underneath. The chassis is from the new Discovery. The brakes are from Brembo.

[00:40:35]The supercharged 4.2 L V8 engine is from Jaguar. And so is the steering. And it uses the same sort of suspension components as a Porsche 911.

[00:40:47]Sounds great. But there are some drawbacks.

[00:40:51]If that pulled up outside your house, you'd think, "Oh no, a drug dealer is here." And then there are some of the details. I mean, the radiator grill, for example, looks like the sort of towel rail that would be bought by the left back for Cheshire United. Nearly you've got this black stuff here around the bottom of the window. I know why they've done it to cover up the fact the dashboard's been raised, but it's ugly.

[00:41:15]And so are the side skirts. But the worst thing, the worst thing of all is the tailgate. Because on a proper Range Rover, it splits like that. On this one, you can either open the rear window for no reason that I can think of or you can open the whole tailgate.

[00:41:38]Fine. But you're at a point to point.

[00:41:40]Okay. Without a flappy bit down here, where do you sit?

[00:41:47]Of course, the Sport is cheaper than a proper Range Rover. You can have one with a turbo diesel V6 for £34,000, which is [music] almost cheaper than a horse.

[00:41:58]But I'm sorry, you can't have this car with a diesel engine. Be like saying, "Well, I won't go to String Fellows tonight. I'll get my mom to give me a lap and dance. She's a woman."

[00:42:11]Yeah, but >> you have to have this £59,000 supercharged V8 because taste and tailgate aside, it really does seem to have all the bases covered. It's a high- riding Fatboy hot hatch, a satellite [music] guided stereo with 20-in rim.

[00:42:31]It's also a [music] 140 mph mobile phone. It's a living room. It's got a fridge. And [music] I'm fairly sure that somewhere in here there's a tool for getting the stones out of horses hooves.

[00:42:46]It seems to do everything.

[00:42:51]But does it?

[00:42:54]Because it now has sport steering and sport suspension and a sporty spoiler at the front. Does it mean it no longer works off-road?

[00:43:04]Well, to find out, we've devised a little test.

[00:43:12]This is a Challenger 2 tank.

[00:43:18]It has a 12cylinder diesel engine which produces 1,200 horsepower. And that's enough for a top speed of nearly 40 mph.

[00:43:28]Not bad for something which [music] weighs 62 tons.

[00:43:35]The thing I'm most interested in though is the big gun, which as you can see is rifled for [music] greater accuracy. Not like those smooth boore American ones that just hit something over there. It fires a sloggers board of ammunition, chief among which really you've got high explosive rounds which hit the target, blow it to pieces, or the depleted uranium rounds which penetrate the armor on the target and give everyone inside two heads. [snorts] The idea is that I've got to drive the Range Rover Sport from here, okay, to those woods over there. And you've got to see if you can get your gun pointed at me in such a way that if you push the fire button, I'd be history. Who's the gunner? Who's the one that You're the gunner?

[00:44:22]>> Yep.

[00:44:23]>> Engaging.

[00:44:23]>> I'll be keeping you in my sight.

[00:44:25]>> Trying. You'll be trying.

[00:44:27]>> I will be.

[00:44:29]>> Sorry. How old are you?

[00:44:31]>> Me? 26.

[00:44:32]>> 26. Thinks he knows everything. Just watch [music] this. Watch this.

[00:44:38]>> So, here we are on the start line.

[00:44:40]Goliath and David Beckham.

[00:44:45]>> I have a cunning plan. You see, they'll be expecting me to go forwards because that's where the destination is.

[00:44:53]>> Ready.

[00:44:54]>> 3 2 1. Now. Now. Now, now.

[00:45:00]>> God, that barrel turns quickly, but not quickly enough.

[00:45:05]And straight into the woods.

[00:45:07]>> Horverse. Horus. Horse. I've read enough war comics to know that tanks can't go in woods cuz they can't move their barrel around.

[00:45:18]A light and nimble and agile.

[00:45:22]>> Oh, furry me.

[00:45:24]>> What I hadn't read though was the war comic featuring the challenger's secret weapon.

[00:45:29]>> Flesh smoke.

[00:45:35]What in the name of all that's holy is he doing?

[00:45:42]>> He's making smoke. I can't see. I can't see anything.

[00:45:48]>> Keep traffic. Pick him up. Pick him up.

[00:45:49]Pick him up. Pick him up.

[00:45:50]>> If I don't get going soon, my big hot supercharger will be a red glow on his thermal imaging camera. I was stuck in the woods being turned into a kipper.

[00:46:01]So, I decided to deploy the car's tire bursting speed.

[00:46:06]And away we go. Bad.

[00:46:12]Over rough ground. The Challenger 2 is the fastest tank in the world.

[00:46:18]Now I'm doing 40 mph. The tank can go that fast, though.

[00:46:26]Oh no. I seem to have brought Puff Daddy's car to the song.

[00:46:36]This is where I've had it. You can't drive an off-road car, not even one as good as this, over this kind of surface fast, and you can with a tank. Speed wasn't working. I couldn't break free from that gun.

[00:46:51]>> Okay, mate. What do you cover? I need some cover now. What are you going to do? Cuz I can outturn you, sunshine.

[00:47:05]>> Right, he's going around the SS little.

[00:47:08]>> Now you see what I've done brilliantly is hidden behind these bushes. So I'm fully protected from the high explosive round by the branches.

[00:47:16]>> Get out of the corner. Get out of the corner.

[00:47:18]>> But then it dawned on me that the branches might not actually stop the shell.

[00:47:24]Look at this. Watch what I can do here.

[00:47:26]Sneak behind him. He doesn't know. Yes.

[00:47:31]Stumped by my agility.

[00:47:36]And I'm making smoke. Oh, yes.

[00:47:40]>> In seconds though, he was back on my tail.

[00:47:45]Got to say, I know it's not the most important thing at the moment, but some of the ride comfort has been lost by turning the Range Rover into a sport model.

[00:47:58]>> There was no way I could survive in open ground.

[00:48:01]>> Got him. I've got him. Okay, firing. Missed him.

[00:48:06]>> Because that turret can do a full rotation in 9 seconds.

[00:48:12]So, my last chance was to try some serious off-roading.

[00:48:18]>> If I can get down to the bottom of this ridge here, he won't be able to He won't be able to come down. Oh, but wait a minute. Neutral. I want better off. Low range. Come on. Hurry up.

[00:48:34]He can't follow me down here. And when I'm at the bottom, his gun won't go low enough to be able to get me.

[00:48:43]He's just coming there. Quick down.

[00:48:44]Down. Down.

[00:48:48]>> So if I back up again.

[00:48:51]Don't let me down now. Do not let me down now.

[00:48:56]>> Be good off road.

[00:48:57]>> Go. Go around. Go around. Go around.

[00:48:59]Power.

[00:49:02]>> Be a good off-road guy. You are. Oh yes.

[00:49:08]I have to say I really was expecting this to be useless off-roading justice.

[00:49:13]>> That bought me some more time, but not much.

[00:49:17]>> This really is just a battle of of range. Who runs out of fuel first? And that's a bad plan because I suspect it's going to be me.

[00:49:28]You can't get away from it. It is really a very, very good off-road car. This it really is. But if you're planning on invading another country, use a tank.

[00:49:42]>> Out target. Target stopped. One times cars are destroyed.

[00:49:57][music] >> In the past, hot Audi A4s have always been fairly terrible.

[00:50:05]>> [music] >> Oh, they were beautifully made. Audi's always are. And they were fast, but they felt heavy and lumpen. A BMW M3, that was a lemon sorbet. Fast Audi, more a sort of turbocharged spotted dick.

[00:50:27]You have to say though that this new one certainly looks the part.

[00:50:33]You know how George Bush walks around like that with his arms out and his hands backwards? And Tony Blair started doing it as well. Makes you look bigger and more powerful.

[00:50:43]That's what that's doing.

[00:50:46]And it's not just the outside that's all anabolic either.

[00:50:51]Inside it's even more pumped up. It has the wheel from a Lamborghini. Lots of carbon fiber. And look at those seats.

[00:50:59]You're not going to get flung out of those in a hurry.

[00:51:03]It's not all show and no trousers either because it has a 4.2 L V8 which sns like a wounded tiger and goes like a bat.

[00:51:17]I mean, you may have thought the old BMW M3 was a [music] quick car, but this is just in a different league.

[00:51:30]414 brake horsepower. [music] 414.

[00:51:36]That's 100 more than he got from the old Beamer. 100.

[00:51:43]That's enough to give a man a whole new hairo.

[00:51:47][music] Naugh to 60 is dealt with in under 5 seconds and naught to 100 takes less than 11.

[00:51:58]But the figures only tell half the story. I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'm sitting about 4 ft from one of the greatest engines ever made.

[00:52:15]I mean, it just loves to rev. That's 8,000 RPM from a V8.

[00:52:23]And of course, very little of the grunt is wasted because like all fast Audi's, the RS4 has four-wheel drive.

[00:52:33][music] It all sounds wonderful, but there is one [snorts] small thing. You see, for as long as I can remember, Audi has always mounted its engines as far forward as possible, right up by the headlamps. And that's great in an ordinary four-door saloon, cuz it means there's more space inside for people and things.

[00:52:58]But when you turn that ordinary four-door saloon into a hot rod, it's not so great. You don't want it to be noseheavy. You want balance. You don't [snorts] want to be driving along with the equivalent of a big dead horse nailed to your radiator grill.

[00:53:21]With this one, the engine's way up front as usual, but it's a very light engine, and the front wings are made from aluminum, and most of the power is sent to the back.

[00:53:36]So, has that solved the problem?

[00:53:40]Well, that's [music] why I'm in a gorge in the south of France to find out.

[00:53:59]We're going to have a regs. It's going to be me in the car versus those guys who are climbers. This is the route. Uh, we're here and we're racing to there.

[00:54:11]Unfortunately, there's no road along there. So, I've got to drive along here, round there, along here, which is the second most demanding road in Europe, and then up here, which is the most demanding road in Europe, and then along here to the finish point. Meanwhile, the climbers are going up that >> [music] >> Obviously, we should now meet the lunatics who are going to do this. We got Leo Holding, who is widely regarded to be one of the 20 best climbers ever to have lived. And he's going to be helped today by Tim Emmer. So, this is how tall?

[00:54:51]>> Uh, this one is about 1,200 ft.

[00:54:53]>> How long do you reckon that would take a normal climber to climb?

[00:54:58]>> They say this particular route is the standard ascent time is about 6 to 7 hours. 6th December. You're a speed climber, aren't you?

[00:55:04]>> I reckon we can have it in two hours.

[00:55:07]>> Two?

[00:55:07]>> Mhm. If we're fast and it all goes well.

[00:55:09]>> I've just looked at my route and I reckon that's 60 miles. So, if I average 30, that's about 2 hours.

[00:55:16]>> Yeah, it should be a pretty good race, mate.

[00:55:18]>> It should. You fancy a bet? A Fiverr?

[00:55:20]>> Why not?

[00:55:21]>> You're on. Fiverr. Best of luck, Chaps.

[00:55:24]Get cracking. And off you go. There's no rush. No rush at all. Best of luck.

[00:55:31]>> [music] >> I know that trying to average 30 mph doesn't sound like much, but on roads like this, trust me, it's a tall order.

[00:55:45]Mind you, the climbers had an even bigger problem. They were going up with no safety ropes. He really thinks he's going to climb up there faster than I can get this to the top.

[00:56:00]Come on.

[00:56:04]>> I mean, Audi made its name in terrain like this with the Quattro, that fire spitting rally car, which incidentally also had an engine in front of the headlamps.

[00:56:16][ __ ] >> The only reason it won rallies back then is because it was the only car with four-wheel drive and it was racing against Ford Escorts.

[00:56:26]me. I'm racing against a senuey Johnny Depp lookalike.

[00:56:30]>> We're going to have that Clarkson, mate.

[00:56:32]Spanking him.

[00:56:34]>> The first thing you notice, and this isn't strictly relevant right now, is that this is the first Audi I've ever driven that rides properly. Yes, it's firm, but it's not uncomfortable.

[00:56:47]I mean, not compared to hanging from a bird's nest.

[00:56:51]>> Go on, Leo. Go on.

[00:56:53]>> By your fingernails.

[00:56:56]a million feet above some pointy boulders, for example.

[00:57:03]>> Come on.

[00:57:05]Come on.

[00:57:11]Come on. Now, >> four-wheel drive with V8 power versus a man with a 14-in waist and a hairband.

[00:57:27]Go on, Tim. We're cruising.

[00:57:32]>> Get out of the way.

[00:57:44]>> The next thing you notice is how good the steering is. And that gives you the confidence to really stick it into the bends.

[00:57:52]And when you do stick it into the bends, you find that all the nose heaviness is gone. This car really handles and really goes.

[00:58:05][panting] Come on. Come on.

[00:58:17]I wonder if our climber has fallen to his death yet.

[00:58:23]The vultures gave me hope.

[00:58:27]>> But it was no good.

[00:58:30]Come on, >> LEO. ALL RIGHT. COME ON.

[00:58:35]>> I will not be beaten by two adrenaline junkies. Call everyone doomed.

[00:58:48]>> Come on.

[00:58:51]Come on, man. Last pace.

[00:58:54]Go on.

[00:58:57]No.

[00:59:02]157. I reckon we've got him, mate. Come on. Woo.

[00:59:09]Yes.

[00:59:12]Come on.

[00:59:15]Yes.

[00:59:23]I don't believe that.

[00:59:26]>> So that was what 1 hour >> 57.

[00:59:29]>> You climbed that in 157.

[00:59:33]Not even out of breath. And I was what?

[00:59:36]Two hours three. You guys [laughter] tell you what though. This was a laugh coming up here in this car on this road.

[00:59:44]So, you up for a race back down again?

[00:59:46]>> Double or quits. Back to the start.

[00:59:48]>> Double or quits, you're on. See you down there.

[01:00:05]V8 power, four-wheel drive grip, brilliant build quality, and 50,000 quid.

[01:00:14]It's the bargain of the century.

[01:00:20]This isn't just better than all the old fast Audi's. This is better than, dare I say it, better than an M3.

[01:00:31]I think it is. And to help me win the race back down, I had gravity on my side.

[01:00:40]But unfortunately, so did Leo.

[01:01:14]All right, 1,200 ft in 20 seconds. Beat that, Clarkson. [laughter]