[12x04] November 23rd, 2008

[Dr_Grip]

Originally Posted by Daily Fail (example)
BARMY Eurocrats are going to FORCE you to pay £XXXX on car equipment you'll never need. Back in the war we got around in the dark, and we don't see why...

On the spot. I can literally read both german tabloids and the motoring lobby run amok.

ZUBEHÖR-WAHN!

Or they might spin it the other way round:

NOT MAKING a high visibility jacket MANDATORY puts CHILDREN'S life at RISK!

[garrett]

Anyone else notice the dent and wrinkle in the side skirt of the passenger's side on the Veyron?

[pitdog]

Another good enjoyable ep. The race was dragging on a bit towards the end, but other than that - especially the beginning of the whole thing - brilliant. Liked Jeremy's attitude in the throughout most of the race. I liked how the big Jag diesel performed, I have a car with similar engine (a bit stronger) and I know for a fact how good a modern powerful diesel can be - one can have a heavy foot and still not worry much about the fuel economy.

Cpt. Slow testing a fast car - that was fun.
SIARPC - I dunno, I guess I just have a soft spot for that comedian, even when so many perceive him as boring.
Veyron - well, not a bit surprised, a big chunky comfortable car, almost unbeatable in the straight but that's it. It was designed for the roads, not for the track, unlike many of the other top performers.

[Momo63]

Wasn't the switching on of the Blackpool Lights reported earlier this year? I remember reading it and noticing that James wasn't there, which made me wonder why, so it did make the result a bit predictable, but still a good race nonetheless.

It certainly was - broadcast on Radio One too so I knew who had won but that didn't matter to me. I really enjoyed the race - weirdly (cos I knew the outcome)I actually thought it was quite tense and exciting. The Stig in Blackpool was very amusing.

James' power test was great. I liked the gag of dressing the Stig in his signature pink and purple rugby shirt of doom. And the Veyron looks fab in white. I've seen that very one in Kensington High Street and you could hear the engine roar 3 floors up! as to the time of the Veyron - I don't care. It's a bigger heavier car and was slower for that reason. I saw no sig of Stig taking it easy - maybe he did but so what. The Zonda is an awesome machine too but for a trip to the South of France I know which one I want.

The news was average and I'm not a big fan of Harry Enfield though he was entertaining enough so in the end I've given it a high 8.

[M3_Powered]

A 10 for me. Just for May doing the Supercar review alone. I've waited years for it and I really enjoyed it. It was a nice change. Also the challenge i really liked and was impressed with the Jag.
And like most people I was pretty sad about the Veyrons lap time but then again, it was pretty predictable. I was just hoping to be proven wrong.

[watto]

Fucking brilliant!

[sturtles]

Ya know, I kind of think the fuel run challenge is rigged.

Looking at the amount of tape on the fuel lid of the winning cars, before, during and at the end of the race, it seemed that they topped up along the way.

Naturally they would do that, as they are obliged to attend. No amount of stupidity in the world would they disappoint their blackpool supporters.

Good for a laugh, but this does show appearance consistencies shown in the earlier challenges weren't kept up, which means people are not putting as much focus on their jobs. Just making an inference.

[jeremysg]

Ya know, I kind of think the fuel run challenge is rigged.

Looking at the amount of tape on the fuel lid of the winning cars, before, during and at the end of the race, it seemed that they topped up along the way.

Naturally they would do that, as they are obliged to attend. No amount of stupidity in the world would they disappoint their blackpool supporters.

Good for a laugh, but this does show appearance consistencies shown in the earlier challenges weren't kept up, which means people are not putting as much focus on their jobs. Just making an inference.

i remember reading somewhere... either on topgear.com or a clarkson article, stating that their challenges are real and unscripted. but sometimes they will go back, and retrace their route, to get better camera shots.

so this may be the case with this challenge as well.

[Wizegui]

Enjoyed it... a lot. Thats some proper good old Top Gear fun there Fantastic! 10/10

[mitchtj]

To give us the best footage they got and focus attention on how fast or slow a car is going round the track.

Sometimes you don't see the whole lap anyway but you wouldn't question the point of that, right

i'd just prefer to see the lap, we can make up our own minds on how it looks.

[c63amg]

good episode.im especially astounded by how JC managed to reach the place.

Veyron power lap - I still believe it could do better. But at 5th place, considering it is still comfortable and not ripping itself apart at 250mph, is still a great car.

[awdrifter]

James May's review of the Zonda was refreshing to see. The Zonda F is just stunning. I'm a little bit surprised at the blown engine though since they are AMG built engines. But I guess they are thrashing it pretty hard.

When I saw the Gumpert on the top of the board, I didn't expect the Veyron to beat it. As ugly as it is, the Gumpert is a race car modified to meet street legal requirements. There's no contest. But I didn't expect the Zonda to beat it, since it's so much faster than the Zonda in the drag race.

The fuel economy race was alright. They could've do a little bit of a review of the cars on their drive. Like does the Polo feel aneimic or whatever. But it was entertaining.

Overall, 9/10.

[warren]

Why in Fuel Economy run none of them had used the Audi A8 as it did once Jeremy Clarkson? In Audi he did 775 miles in one tank of fuel. A8 is in the same class with that Jaguar, isn't it?

There are a couple reasons that seem pretty obvious:

One, they've already done a two-part segment on the Audi A8. Why do another two-part segment on it?

And two, sure, the A8 did 800 miles on a single tank, but Clarkson went very, very slowly, and hated having to carefully hypermile the whole thing. It took him two full days to do the trip -- he simply didn't have the time.

Plus, they already had a VW Group car in the race... having a Bluemotion VW and an A8 in a race together would just be weird.

[zeoniks]

Did anyone else think the Veyron is ridiculously quiet? I really didn't hear a W16 roar come from that thing. That car is amazing.

[The Fishman]

Could someone please explain Cannon and Ball? What is the big deal about selling fish at Morrison's?

[dannyboy_v6]

Does anyone know who makes (or where to get) the tire pump that Hammond uses before the race?

i've got one. it cost £29.99 from halfords.

[Dr_Grip]

i'd just prefer to see the lap, we can make up our own minds on how it looks.

Sadly, that's just not how brilliant TV works. Get the Supercar Showdown Behind the Scenes featurette from one of the FTPs and just look how much effort goes into what we see on screen. Supercar Showdown might be a Clarkson solo DVD, but it shares most of its behind the scenes crew with "regular" TG.

[warren]

Could someone please explain Cannon and Ball? What is the big deal about selling fish at Morrison's?

Short answer, this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannon_and_Ball

and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE5nCDv5GC4

[pepitko]

9/10 for me, not as epic as last week's US episode, but pretty damn excellent!

James in supercar and introducing the Stig, more of that in future please, a welcome wind of change.

Stig in Blackpool - lol-ed at Stig on the rides, and afternoon nap

Eco-challenge - well done by TG team, if it was anyone else doing the bit, I am sure it would have turned out boring. Although, I cannot believe all of them made it there without refuelling, how could V6 Jag made it? I guess that if you do a steady 56 mph on motorway.. Poor James, let down by his sense of direction again. Taking a longer route, while going so slow was never going to work.

This got me thinking, if your trip computer is saying there's 0 km left on current fuel, how much fuel is "really" left?

The route is 1236km long (according to viaMichelin), my car has a 55 liter fuel tank, so I'd have to do 4.45 l/100km to get there. I can get some 5.0 l/100 km out of the car if I drive it really carefully. So, it should be do-able, but a real stretch. It just goes to show that paying that bit extra for getting there faster is worth it.

[Plissken]

i'd just prefer to see the lap, we can make up our own minds on how it looks.

There is a million and one things that can, and usually do, go wrong with filming. TG has the comparative luxury of being able to do retakes and choose its footage carefully.

I've been part of a crew filming and producing live sport, it is very, very stressful, very hard work and you are never completely happy with the result. From the outside it is "just pointing a camera" but the camera operators are highly trained and incredibly talented. The old "to make it look easy, you've got to work hard" principle.

TG looks completely amazing because it is filmed, edited and post-productions within an inch of its life. Ironically, because of that high standard, a one-off shot - no matter how realistic - is going to stand out a mile. As it is, the banter between the three of them "looks" different from the review shots, and they've got the luxury of time for set ups.