Episode 4 Top Gear: Extra Gear

Hi, I'm Rory Reid and welcome to Extra Gear -

each week serving up Top Gear exclusives as only Extra Gear can.

Tonight, we go behind the scenes of my Kia Stinger film...

I'm in a Kia and quite enjoying it!

..I draw on my limited engineering skills

to create Kia's other rear-wheel drive car.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking - this guy's a genius!

Chris takes the race-prepped Citroen 2CV from tonight's Top Gear

around Dunsfold.

45 horsepower in a 2CV, I mean, that's an enormous amount of power.

And I'll be joined by two-time British touring car champion

Colin Turkington and comedian Brennan Reece.

Oh, it's a good 'un. This is Extra Gear.

OK, let's get our guests out.

First up is Team BMW driver Colin Turkington!

Take a seat.

And actor, comedian and viral online sensation, Brennan Reece!

All right, Colin, I want to start with you.

You race for Team BMW?

Yeah, one of the best jobs in the world.

I race in the British Touring Car Championship in a BMW M125i.

I've driven the road car.

What's your race car like?

Nothing like the road car at all!

This is a thoroughbred racer.

It's a six-speed sequential gear box, two-litre turbo-charged,

about 370 brake horsepower, so it's a proper bit of kit.

You've won not one but two championships,

almost made it a hat-trick, but it didn't quite come off.

-What happened?

-Nearly got the Triple Crown this year.

It went right down to the final race,

round 30 of 30, and unfortunately I got knocked off in the end.

That's part and parcel of touring cars but I've got the hunger to come

back and hopefully get that third championships.

I read on the Team BMW website that apparently you're a rear-wheel drive

specialist. What does that actually mean?

-You're a bit of a hooligan?

-I think those guys are a bit biased, really.

You've got to be comfortable with the car sliding and moving about, so

that's what I'm used to, that's what I love, and that's why I think I've

won the championships.

All right, as you guys know, tonight on Top Gear,

I tested the Kia Stinger,

Kia's very first rear-wheel drive offering, and Extra Gear went

behind-the-scenes to capture this momentous occasion.

Morning, everyone.

Welcome to a very wet, very miserable Dunsfold.

We have a 20-foot tall tower with every country in the world on there.

And we're going to see where Korea comes in terms of fastest cars in

the world. It's actually quite a busy day - we've got three cars

but I'm going to try and get as many of the words out of the way

as possible so we can have fun, get some nice, slidy, dynamic stuff.

We had a long day ahead of us and it looked as though the notorious

Dunsfold microclimate wasn't planning on doing us any favours.

Classically, Dunsfold is a million seasons in one day.

We started off with rain, constantly wiping those lenses down.

I'm hoping for sun, get that lens flare going,

but I think it's a tall order today.

Looking a bit miserable.

First job of the day, my introductory piece to camera.

OK, here we go. Action, Rory.

But the Stinger isn't old school.

Sorry. It IS old school!

Three, two, one, action!

But the Stinger ISN'T a different take.

-It's old school.

-Good.

Cool, mate. OK, cut.

Right, enough of that.

Now for the fun stuff.

I'm in a Kia

and quite enjoying it!

OK, that went slightly wrong.

It will do 168 miles...

WHINING

As soon as the Stinger hit high speeds,

it began to sound as though it had developed what can only be described

as, well, digestive issues.

Was that you in there, Rory, or was that the engine?

I think that was the sunroof flapping around at high speed.

I think I need you going a bit more full beans.

Obviously when that vibration kicks in, then slow a tickle.

Let's just do one more, see what happens.

And action!

Oh, this is quick!

WHINING

Yeah, that's definitely the sunroof.

RATTLING

Oh, that's not right, is it?

I've got something in the back rattling around in here.

I think it's our equipment.

Mini cams.

With so much equipment,

it's inevitable that things come loose from time to time,

but with experts at hand to make a few adjustments,

we were ready to roll again.

Well, almost.

Why have you taken your shoe off?

Why have I taken my shoe off?

I'll let you in on a little secret, shall I?

This is my secret drifting technique, to remove my shoe.

I don't want to wear, like, driving shoes, racing shoes,

because they look rubbish.

I want to wear stuff I feel comfortable in.

If you notice, the green is co-ordinated

very tightly with the green of my jacket, OK?

That's what I need to make me feel good, so I take my shoe off so I can

feel the pedal so it enables me to judge how much power to apply.

-It's how

-I

-do it!

All right, dude, let's get you out there, and action!

150!

168mph!

In a Kia!

Finally, the Stinger could be crossed off the shot list,

but with the morning's rain and technical issues,

the crew were behind schedule.

Thank you, guys, we've got to go.

We were losing light and still had the league table and the Hyundai

to film. And with the league table still in pieces...

..it was a good job the i30 was up to the task.

Oh, yes, no problem!

There's plenty of grip there.

Turns in.

Ha!

Hyundai!

Whoo!

-BLEEP

-me, that's fast.

BLEEP.

Needless to say,

I was impressed, but there was one more vehicle for me

to get my hands on.

This is the Niftylift HR12N telescopic boom lift.

It has a working height of 12 metres,

fully proportional hydraulic controls

and a top speed of almost 2.1mph.

It was here to help us build this,

our seven-metre-tall

fastest-car-building country in the world

leader board, the same one I was going to have to get to the top of.

Now, I don't know if you've ever wondered about how to erect

a Top Gear international league table of countries

that make the fastest cars,

or TGILTOCTMTFC, for short, but this is how you do it.

You get a bunch of people who don't know what they're doing,

gather around a cherry picker,

and then use a lot of brute force and ignorance.

Any minute now, that's going to happen.

Any minute.

The longer I looked, the taller it got.

-You all right with heights?

-Yeah.

Well, we'll find out in a minute!

Just step into that, like a... like a jacket.

I've seen these in the shops.

Don't say what shop!

Help!

When the time came for me to position South Korea on the board,

there were merely minutes of daylight left.

We're probably only going to get one take of this going up.

It would have to be a one-take wonder.

Highly precarious.

We don't need Australia.

You know what, we don't need Spain, either.

South Korea, well done, you.

In your face, Spain!

You know where they don't take siestas?

South Korea.

I'm not doing that again.

Thank you, guys. Well done.

Thank you, Rory. Well done, everybody.

It's a wrap. Come on.

Right, how do I get down?

I'm serious. How do I get down?

Now, this is a pretty big deal for Kia

and I was actually more impressed

than I thought I would be, and these guys are claiming that the Stinger

is going to compete with the likes of BMW and Mercedes,

and now that Hyundai are doing so well in rallying,

I'm guessing we can expect to see more Korean manufacturers maybe

taking part in touring car championships.

It looks that way.

You know, we had the Hyundai i30

making its introduction to World Touring Cars last year. You know,

global championship, and it actually won on its debut, so, you know,

if the race car can win,

I suppose it shows it highlights how good it can be as a road car and,

yeah, I think we're going to see more and more of it.

Would you buy it? A rear-wheel drive Kia, personally?

Not yet, no. I do like my BMWs, so...

We know BMW are paying you but you can talk about other manufacturers as well!

You know, I'm also into my pick-ups as well.

-Really?

-Yeah. I like my pick-ups, you know,

and since I passed my driving test, you know, obviously getting...

You make that sound like it's just happened.

Ever since I didn't have that provisional!

It did take me a couple of goes, to be fair.

But, yeah, you know, I wanted to be in something rear-wheel drive and,

you know, a luxury sports car was well outside the range,

so I thought, you know, I can get myself a cheap pick-up,

it's rear-wheel drive, and have some fun.

It is alarming that you just said it took you a couple

of goes to pass your test.

How many did it take?

Well, twice.

It took two goes, and, yeah, failed the first time for speeding, so...

Oh, right. Ready-made racing driver!

Yeah. As a racing driver, it's not a bad excuse.

And Brennan, talk to me about your car history.

Well, it took me six times to pass.

Yeah!

It was quite bad, cos I had the same test person every time,

so I'd just turn up and he'd be like, "Oh, God!"

There was one time, I took off a wing mirror,

there was another time I backed into a white van man.

He was livid. The worst time, there was a cow in the road,

and I reversed and the guy said, "That is not how you do it.

"That's not in the Highway Code," so...

But, you did get a car eventually.

-Yeah.

-Was it you that bought the car, or...

Well, my first car, my mum and dad bought me a...

It was an old Renault Clio but they bought it for me

passing my first test and I didn't,

so it just sat on the drive for maybe about a year.

500 quid, and then he sold it after my first fail,

cos they just thought, "Oh, we'll just get him a bus pass!"

Now, I think we can all agree that the Stinger has potential but I want

to see more rear-wheel drive cars come out of Korea,

specifically really affordable ones.

Something like this, maybe.

Meet the Kia Rio.

Practical, affordable, and, the Stinger aside, like all Kias,

supposedly front-wheel drive.

And that's the problem, because the rear wheels are the fun wheels.

Skidding wheels. But don't worry,

because I have come up with a solution to this problem.

It's only a front-wheel drive car if you're facing the front.

Turn everything around, face backwards, and bang!

Rear-wheel drive. Tell me this isn't genius.

Right, let's see what this baby can do.

Into Chicago.

I've got a good feeling about this.

On the power. Yes!

No!

Ha-ha!

Doing a doughnut. Oh, yeah.

That's slightly out-of-control but good-ish.

This is actually really tricky.

It's fun, but it is unnecessarily tricky.

It's actually quite terrifying, but...

Rear-wheel drive? Yeah, I know what you're thinking -

this guy's a genius. But you would be surprised at how

little engineering this required.

OK, I do see a slight drawback to my plans.

My driving wheels are also my steering wheels.

OK, no. I've spun, I've spun.

Yeah. On balance, I'm not quite sure I've cracked this.

Ah!

OK, this was a bad idea.

-Oh.

-BLEEP.

Yeah. A little bit of ghetto engineering there.

It's actually surprisingly hard to make a rear-wheel drive car,

as I found out. Right, now,

I know that rear-wheel drive is considered the ultimate in handling

performance, but I think we can agree that you can have a lot of fun

in a front-wheel drive car as well,

and you probably passed your test in a front-wheel drive car, right?

-Yeah.

-Eventually.

-Yeah, eventually.

I learned to drive in a Citroen Saxo.

You know, that was my first car, so, you know,

so long as it's got a handbrake in there, you can still have

-a bit of fun.

-Yeah. And, Brendan,

we know that you're not quite a virgin to the Top Gear universe.

I seem to remember you had a little bit of fun down at Dunsfold,

with the Stig, and I think we should probably have a look at this, shouldn't we?

-Yeah.

-Let's take a look.

Bye!

BLEEP! BLEEP! BLEEP!

BLEEP!

Oh, my God!

BLEEP!

BLEEP!

BLEEP, BLEEP.

ENGINE DROWNS SPEECH

Oh, my God...

You're a dick.

Brings back memories, doesn't it?

Awful, awful memories.

Yeah. That, of course, was the Ariel Nomad.

I do love that car. I mean, 0-60 in about three seconds,

it costs next to nothing.

I think it's like 30-odd grand, but for that level of performance,

it's incredible. You've got something like 235 horsepower

and it only weighs about 670 kilos, so essentially,

you've got Bugatti-rivalling performance in something that's

super affordable, even though it is essentially

just a piece of scaffolding with wheels. It's a hell of a thing.

-Have you ever driven one?

-I haven't driven the Nomad but I've been lucky

enough to drive the Atom, and it's just raw power.

You know, it's what a racing driver loves.

Great car, great face.

Can we have another look?

It's awful, isn't it? Looks like I've got a face-lift off Groupon.

That is awful!

This is a face that went viral.

I think 3.2 million people actually tuned in to watch this.

When did you realise that you were, kind of,

in over your head on this?

-At what point?

-I think it was about three seconds in and then, like,

I think he must have known that I was really scared, cos at one point,

he put his hand on my hand. Like, he just put his hand...

The first time Stig has ever shown any emotion.

Nice. Now, our producer has actually had a look at some comments and it's

fair to say that a lot of them aren't very nice!

I want to read them out but I don't think I should be the person to do

this, so I was wondering if you might do the honours.

Yeah, well, there was loads, like, horrible ones.

Some of my favourites. There's one that says,

"He looks like an unfunny Steve Coogan!"

-Very true.

-Yeah, nailed that one.

"This guy shit himself and it's not even that fast!"

That just sounds like a guy who's been sat at home who's never been in

a car as well, cos you can't tell how fast it is.

That's my excuse. You can tell it's fast...

-We can tell by your face.

-..but not that fast.

We can tell by your face, trust me.

"His face had the same colour as his white helmet after the lap.

"I'm pretty sure his knickers didn't!"

-Is that true?

-I wasn't wearing any, so...

My jeans were ruined.

They went in the bin. And then my favourite/least favourite one is,

"His teeth are so big, he looks like he could eat

"an apple through a letterbox!"

You know, I am sure that if you could see Lewis Hamilton

racing his Formula 1 car with his

helmet off, he would have exactly the same face.

OK, it's that time again and, Brennan, just to warn you,

we're heading back to Dunsfold,

-so you might want to cover your eyes again.

-Oh, God!

-This week,

Chris hits the track in a race-prepared Citroen 2CV.

Oh, and she shoots off the line.

What a thing! Whether it's a road car,

a pick-up,

an old one, a new one, or, like this one, a racing car,

a 2CV is a thing of joy for me.

2CV racing began in the UK in about 1989, so a fair time ago.

The way you turn your 2CV into a racing car is quite simple.

You blueprint the engine to give you 45 horsepower.

45 horsepower in a 2CV!

I mean, that's an enormous amount of power.

You add a metal roof and you basically

lower the suspension till it's on

the deck, add some camber, stiffen everything up,

as much as you can, and away you go.

In a 24-hour race, you'd do an engine change that takes about five

minutes. Just take the engine out, and bolt another one in

cos they wear out. How cool is that?

Great-fun car to drive as well.

Gear shift is...an umbrella handle.

That bit there is sort of Citroen GS, I think, from the mid-'80s.

Or maybe it's a CX, I can't quite tell.

It has so little grip that on a slightly slippery day like this,

it is difficult to describe how little grip it has.

But if a relationship can be created between

the lack of grip and the fun you have in a car,

then that's a great thing.

Look at me, I'm just smiling! It's lovely.

And 45 horsepower in a 2CV is potent.

Cos my car has 12.5 horsepower, so this has nearly four times

that, so this is as powerful,

compared to an early 2CV as a Bugatti Chiron is to a Civic Type R.

This is the Bugatti Chiron of 2CVs.

Let's see if it stops going into this corner.

The brakes aren't bad, actually. Not too bad.

I mean, she understeers a bit. Use all the circuit.

Ooh, back comes round. It's quite lively at the rear.

It is quite lively at the rear.

And over the line.

I think that's probably the slowest

thing that Chris has ever taken around the track.

Only 45 horsepower.

It's basically a tin can, isn't it?

I mean, although, it's probably more your speed.

That's exactly what I want to be going around in.

It looks like the Brum. Like, do you remember the car Brum, the TV show?

It's looks like that. It's just gone into rehab. It looks so old.

Colin, 2CV racing's a real thing.

It is, it's a proper championship.

You know, for me, it's like racing in slow motion.

It reminds me of my first-ever race car, which was a one-litre Metro.

And I can only describe that as racing a block of flats, you know,

you turn into a corner and you just feel like you're going to topple

over every time.

But, you know, 40 brake horsepower, it's incredible fun.

As long as everybody's doing the same speed,

you can still have a good race.

We've actually got a clip of 2CV racing from tonight's Top Gear.

Let's take a look.

Go!

What a start.

What a start!

Get over to the right. Squeeze him!

First into the first corner!

Sorry, Chris! CRUNCHING

-Oh! That didn't sound good.

-No.

Down the middle, down the middle, my son.

Down the middle!

That's how we do it!

Final corner, dude. P3.

-Come on.

-We got a podium! We got a podium!

It's just a fleet of hideous 2CVs.

Fast and furious but, you know, you ask any racing driver,

does he want to get behind the wheel? And I bet he would.

Absolutely. All right, well, maybe if championship number three doesn't

materialise, then maybe we can see you in this!

There's a career for me there somewhere.

Excellent. And on that note, I'm going to have to wrap this up.

A big thank-you to our guests, Colin Turkington and Brennan Reece.

See you next week, guys. Goodnight!