[09x05] May 8th, 2006

[SL65]

Episode five of thirteen in series 9!


Jason Plato conducts the highest speed road test ever on a public highway as he drives a new Audi with a Lamborghini engine on the German Autobahns. He finds out exactly where these fabled roads with no speed limits are, and sees whether he can get his Audi S6 to reach its top speed of 155mph even when it starts to rain!

As a rule Tiff Needell hates old cars – they squeak, leak, rattle and are just too slow. But there was one old design he was willing to travel 6,000 miles to drive, because the legendary Ford GT40 has been reborn in South Africa. This iconic car is now available as a replica, at a fraction of the cost of the original, and Tiff is visibly moved as he races it round a sun-drenched circuit.

We also have privileged access to Britain’s ultimate supercar collection, courtesy of Fifth Gear viewer Peter Saywell, an aircraft parts supplier from Sussex. He owns every significant supercar from the past 20 years, and has never opened his garages to the public view before. Peter has not one but two £300,000 Koenigseggs, a Pagani Zonda F, a Ford GT, a Ferrari F40, a Lamborghini Muricelago, two Bentleys as everyday cars and a Porsche Carrera GT, which he admits to not having had the time to drive yet. Overall, this is well over a million pounds worth of cars, all belonging to him!

Meanwhile, Tiff and Vicki Butler-Henderson are on a quest to find Britain’s Best Small Car. They take three new cars costing around £7,000 – the brand new Volkswagen Fox, the excellent-value Kia Picanto and the stylish Toyota Aygo – on a tour of Britain. Which is the most economical? Which makes you look coolest at a posh hotel? And which will be quickest round a go-karting track?

We also meet the man who is having trouble selling his house, so has decided to throw in his mint condition Ferrari 355 as well. Is he mad?

[SL65]

Yet another good looking episode of Fifth Gear! I really wanna see that supercar collection! But it just makes me sick to see people who can buy these cars not use them when they get them...

But I'm most interested in the part with the Audi S6. Thats a cool car...how much has it been detuned and how much power is being put out again??

Here are some pics of the Ford GT40 segment based on the preview we saw in the first episode.

[Cobol74]

SL65AMG - cool pics. I know what you mean about owning but not driving classic motors. I think JK had a pop at those sort of people in TG a while ago, but still. ...

Wow this sounds bloody awesome, can't wait for this one.

[bartboy9891]

hmm, im not sure about the GT40 replica. MOST of them are half-assed at best, but we'll see how it goes. overall the ep looks fucking great

[matt_shaw]

Tooo much good things in one episode. I rather see longer segments that are spread out through a few episodes

[Overheat]

boo to replicas - huzah to everything else!

[halllo_fireball]

S6 has 435 bhp afaik. Won't be a problem at all to reach 155mph on the autobahn when it's raining. But he should get up early to not being stucked in traffic.

Jan

[Sirocco]

Originally Posted by bartboy9891

hmm, im not sure about the GT40 replica. MOST of them are half-assed at best, but we'll see how it goes. overall the ep looks fucking great

Originally Posted by Overheat

boo to replicas - huzah to everything else!

I would disagree.
I had the opportunity to look over and ride in a CAV GT-40 replica a few years back at the 2003 Montery Historic Races when Ford was the featured marque.

The car appeared to be of very high quality and the mechanicals were much updated from the original. The car was incredibly quick and responsive...actually controlled brutality is probably a better phrase.

Being 6'1" I was a little tall for comfort...but I believe a Gurney bubble is an available option. If I had $70K, a nice garage, and a hook up for a rebuilt Pantera Hewland tranmission....I would have bought one on the spot.

I agree most "Kit Cars" are rubbish but like the Noble....some are simply incredible.

[Tobias]

This will be worth seeing for the F355 alone, the last Ferrari that actually looked like a Ferrari. Can't wait for Vicki either.

[Viper007Bond]

Originally Posted by SL65AMG~V12~612BHP!!!!!!!

Jason Plato conducts the highest speed road test ever on a public highway as he drives a new Audi with a Lamborghini engine on the German Autobahns. He finds out exactly where these fabled roads with no speed limits are, and sees whether he can get his Audi S6 to reach its top speed of 155mph even when it starts to rain!

Okay, WTF, 155 MPH? Anyone else think that's kinda slow? People have been clocked going faster than that around here on the freeways.

[bartboy9891]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Okay, WTF, 155 MPH? Anyone else think that's kinda slow? People have been clocked going faster than that around here on the freeways.

its a roadtest at that speed. I assume that a large portion of the test will be at 155mph. hell, Tiff talks while going faster than that but its usually for like 20 or 30 seconds before he slows down to powerslide

[Jimi Hendrix]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Okay, WTF, 155 MPH? Anyone else think that's kinda slow? People have been clocked going faster than that around here on the freeways.

That Audi is limited to 155 mph.

[kekekeke]

Ze Zermans just should get rid of the 155mph limiter. If the M5 can do 200+ then who knows what the S6 could do.

[SL65]

Here are pics of the 'best small car challange'







Pics of the rich guys 'ultimate supercar collection'



I also saw some MercAMG badges

Jason on the 'Bahn







Tiff being enthusiastic in the GT40 replica







Looks pretty good to me - the Audi that is. Did you know that those LED lights on the front of it are always on, even during the day? They're called 'driving lights' I think and they give the car some presence (even if it is an artificial way).

[fbc]

^ Not a fan of those LED's, not at all

[SL65]

Originally Posted by fbc

^ Not a fan of those LED's, not at all

I know they're a bit brash and flashy and as mentioned before, artificial, but they really complement the sporty S6's exterior IMO.

[NecroJoe]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Okay, WTF, 155 MPH? Anyone else think that's kinda slow? People have been clocked going faster than that around here on the freeways.

Yeah...while I would have loved to see him hit 200 in a real super car, I'm willing to bet that the whole point was to show people that 155 is fast enough for a "fast" car, because anything faster, and you'll never be able to use it unless you're at an airfield. So, while the "green" germans limit their cars to 155, that's still plenty fast.

Although...hell, I got my old Ford Ranger with a 4 cyl up to 110 (downhill) so 155 really DOESN'T seem that much faster for that car.

~nj?

[jensked]

so JC buys a new Ford GT and two years later they make a replica of his favourite car...owned!

[oliB]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

Okay, WTF, 155 MPH? Anyone else think that's kinda slow? People have been clocked going faster than that around here on the freeways.

Agreed.

I wish they'd removed the limiter (I know, not possible on a press car) or used another car. I mean, 155 is not slow, but it's also nothing really special. Last time I did 155 was yesterday. In fact, I even hit 160...

Still looking forward to the segment and the episode though!

Oliver

[fbc]

Originally Posted by jensked

so JC buys a new Ford GT and two years later they make a replica of his favourite car...owned!

Replicas of the GT40 have been around for a long time, nothing new. And from the preview of Tiff's review this one seems to be a lot more of a racer than the GT.