0:00:02 > 0:00:05"If I'd asked people what they wanted," wrote Henry Ford,
0:00:05 > 0:00:08"they would have said, 'Faster horses.'"
0:00:08 > 0:00:12The coming of internal combustion relieved the horse and the donkey,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14and the mule and the elephant, of their burdens.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16And that was a good thing.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18But these beasts still have something to teach us.
0:00:18 > 0:00:23Because they're all equipped with a very intelligent 4x4 drive system.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25A horse is rarely stuck.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28An elephant doesn't generally spin off on a bend
0:00:28 > 0:00:29and throw you into a ditch.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Valuable lessons, then, for the makers of the Cars Of The People.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41'This week, the Cars Of The People engage all their wheels
0:00:41 > 0:00:44'to go off-road and off the map.'
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It's like having a brilliant butler.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48'I meet Britain's fastest Uber driver...'
0:00:48 > 0:00:50And lunatic!
0:00:51 > 0:00:54'..become a teenage mutant ninja...'
0:00:54 > 0:00:57This thing goes like an absolute bastard.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59'..and I have a race with a bunch of Americans...'
0:00:59 > 0:01:02I can see their dust, actually, I can taste their dust.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04'..who get their just deserts.'
0:01:04 > 0:01:06- Flat tyre.- Uh-oh.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17But, first, something so horsey, it's practically Princess Anne.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20MUSIC: Horse Of The Year Show Theme
0:01:22 > 0:01:26This, with the best will in the world, is not a car of the people.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29It is a fully-loaded, supercharged Range Rover.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35It will cost you around £120,000.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It takes up more space than it really ought to.
0:01:38 > 0:01:43And it will be chronically underused by the vast majority of its owners.
0:01:45 > 0:01:47And that's a bit of a shame,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50because this four-wheel drive marvel is no show pony.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54It can do some truly remarkable stuff and, to be honest, it has to,
0:01:54 > 0:01:58otherwise it isn't credible, it's just a designer handbag.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Holy mother of God! Look at that! Ha-ha!
0:02:10 > 0:02:13It's sorting all that out for itself.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15This thing really is bloody incredible.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18I'm now going to drown it.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I know it's ridiculous, you're not going to do this.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28It would be like going gardening in your best disco shoes.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31But it's nice to know it can, isn't it?
0:02:34 > 0:02:36This isn't a car of the people either.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39It's a Lamborghini Aventador.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43With a frankly unnecessary 700 horsepower
0:02:43 > 0:02:49and a price for this particular one somewhere north of £300,000.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And, what many Lamborghini owners don't realise is
0:02:56 > 0:02:59just how far you can bend the prescriptions of physics...
0:03:01 > 0:03:03..if you take one of these things on a race track.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Tricky left!
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Again, if you couldn't do this,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17it would just be a piece of designer tinsel, not a proper supercar.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27Not that you would do this with your own Lambo. Not at that price.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41"Hang on," you must be saying, "these cars are for the rich."
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Footballers, fund managers, Saudi playboys
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and Radio 2 DJs.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51They're about as of-the-people as Marie Antoinette's bread bin.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55But they are relevant to the story of the people's car.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57Allow me.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It's reckoned by some that, by 2030,
0:04:01 > 0:04:07half of all the affordable cars built will be a 4x4 of some sort
0:04:07 > 0:04:10or, at the very least, inspired by the breed.
0:04:13 > 0:04:17And why not? A tough, go-anywhere 4x4, more than any other car,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20appeals to our innate desire for liberty,
0:04:20 > 0:04:24to our human pioneering spirit, wherever we may be.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27For the car truly to serve the people,
0:04:27 > 0:04:32it must be ready to sally forth into territory as yet unformatted for it.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34Elgar.
0:04:34 > 0:04:35Go west, young man.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39North, to the ice caps, into the Australian interior.
0:04:39 > 0:04:43across the desert on the sun's anvil, as TE Lawrence put it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46Or, maybe up a slightly slippery woodland track,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50with your mountain bike strapped to the roof. Whatever.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57To explain how the 4x4 gave us this freedom,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02we must, inevitably, go back to a time when we almost lost it forever.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07As the lights went out all over Europe...
0:05:09 > 0:05:14..the Allies faced a deadly race to out-think and out-invent the enemy.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17The Brits had their radar
0:05:17 > 0:05:19and their bouncing bombs.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22The Russians, the mighty T34.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26And the Americans? Well, they came up with this.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32This, as I'm sure you know, is a World War II Willys Jeep.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Now, General Eisenhower said the three most significant instruments
0:05:39 > 0:05:41in securing Allied victory were
0:05:41 > 0:05:43the Douglas Dakota,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46the landing craft and the Jeep.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52I've just realised it may be the most significant car ever made.
0:05:54 > 0:05:55Yee-ha!
0:05:59 > 0:06:04There had been four-wheel drive army vehicles before this one.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06There were four-wheel drive trucks in World War I.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08And, believe it or not, before that,
0:06:08 > 0:06:11people experimented with four-wheel drive traction engines.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14But this was a new vehicle for a new role.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17It was a fast, light reconnaissance car.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24America knew that victory would depend on
0:06:24 > 0:06:28a massive land invasion of Europe. If they could find it.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32So, something like this was going to be necessary
0:06:32 > 0:06:34for beach landings, special ops,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and for transporting John Wayne across really rough terrain!
0:06:43 > 0:06:45Army chiefs called for a vehicle
0:06:45 > 0:06:48that could carry a quarter-tonne payload,
0:06:48 > 0:06:51with a wheelbase of not more than 80 inches.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55But, most importantly, it should be four-wheel drive
0:06:55 > 0:06:59to ensure that the gum and nylons got through!
0:06:59 > 0:07:02Compared with the other stuff the US was secretly building...
0:07:03 > 0:07:07..designing a little car from scratch might seem like a doddle.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11There was, however, a catch.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15The American military asked America's carmakers for proposals,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18giving them just 11 days to submit their bids.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21And then just seven weeks to build a prototype.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23And just two-and-a-half months
0:07:23 > 0:07:26to come up with 70 working vehicles for testing.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29To put that into context,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32it took VW three years to develop the latest Golf.
0:07:34 > 0:07:40Over 130 US manufacturers were invited to pitch for the job.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44But carmakers American Bantam were the only ones to deliver.
0:07:44 > 0:07:46Here it is, the so-called Blitz Buggy.
0:07:46 > 0:07:48And it does look a bit like a Jeep.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The problem was, American Bantam couldn't produce them
0:07:51 > 0:07:53in the numbers required.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56So, the American Government gave their drawings to Willys and Ford,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58who fiddled with them a bit.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Eventually, it was Willys who won the contract, largely because
0:08:01 > 0:08:05they had their excellent Go Devil engine and three-speed gearbox.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10But what really made the Willys Jeep stand out
0:08:10 > 0:08:13was its astounding all-terrain performance.
0:08:13 > 0:08:17A special gearbox allowed you to transfer into extra-low gear
0:08:17 > 0:08:20to tackle the toughest conditions.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29Even in 2015, you can sort of see why the Willys version was
0:08:29 > 0:08:32so popular with the military authorities.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35It has excellent low-down torque characteristics.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39The sort of thing people talk about in their 3 series diesel BMWs.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Anyway, over 600,000 Jeeps were produced during the war
0:08:45 > 0:08:48by Willys and under licence by Ford.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51While we're at it, we may as well get to the bottom of the Jeep name.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54A lot of people imagine that it's a reduction of GP,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58for general purpose, but I'm afraid, actually, this isn't true.
0:08:58 > 0:09:01GP only appears on the Ford versions,
0:09:01 > 0:09:03and it's part of an internal coding system
0:09:03 > 0:09:05where G means government contract,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09and P is a code letter meaning a wheelbase of 80 inches.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14A more likely origin is Eugene The Jeep,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16a strange animal from the Popeye cartoons.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Popeye's Jeep was small, with wide-spaced eyes,
0:09:21 > 0:09:23and who would always do his master's bidding.
0:09:23 > 0:09:24A bit like Michael Gove!
0:09:26 > 0:09:28So, sorry about that. But, if it's any consolation,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30Princess Anne really did own a Reliant Scimitar.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33Anyway...
0:09:35 > 0:09:38..when the Allied invasion of Europe began,
0:09:38 > 0:09:40the Jeep would instantly prove its worth.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44- TV NEWSREEL:- Patton plunged towards Germany, 400 miles away,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46with extraordinarily successful results.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51From the Normandy beach heads across France and into the Low Countries,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54forward patrols in Jeeps would often lead the way
0:09:54 > 0:09:57in liberating the people from the evils of Fascism.
0:10:01 > 0:10:05'Soon, it was the turn of the Italian city of Bologna,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07'named after the famous sauce.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:11What's rather disappointing about this exercise is that there aren't
0:10:11 > 0:10:14thousands and thousands of young women throwing flowers at me.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Which, I'm pretty sure, would have happened first time around.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Shame, because I'm convinced this vintage Willys
0:10:21 > 0:10:25is capable of liberating the city all over again.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Unusually for a restored old car,
0:10:27 > 0:10:30and very unusually by the standards of this programme,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33this thing works absolutely perfectly.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52Bologna was liberated on the 21st April 1945.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55And we don't know this for certain, but it seems likely that
0:10:55 > 0:10:58the very first Allied vehicle that the locals saw
0:10:58 > 0:11:03entering the Piazza Maggiore where I'm standing now was a Willys jeep.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07It had proved the worth of a light, compact, all-terrain car.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It really had played a major role in saving the world.
0:11:12 > 0:11:16But now it would start another war.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Willys Jeeps were now scattered around the globe
0:11:20 > 0:11:23like army surplus combat trousers in a student house.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26And they would become an inspiration.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29One of those left-over Jeeps made it to the Welsh holiday home
0:11:29 > 0:11:31of a man named Maurice Wilks
0:11:31 > 0:11:35who happened to be the chief designer of the Rover car company.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38Post-war, Rover were in a bit of a tight spot.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41And Wilks was looking to build a simple, rugged 4x4 vehicle
0:11:41 > 0:11:43using readily available materials,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46to keep the company ticking over while the economy recovered
0:11:46 > 0:11:49and people started buying proper cars again.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52Wilks' first effort was based around his old Jeep chassis
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and had a strange central steering wheel.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00But, pretty soon, it had turned into this.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05The Series 1 Land Rover.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14It is powered by a 50-horsepower, 1.6-litre engine
0:12:14 > 0:12:16from the Rover P3.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20And it has a transfer gearbox, just like the Jeep.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24But it is permanent four-wheel drive, which people loved.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33There is none of that upstart American Jeep left
0:12:33 > 0:12:36but it is no surprise really that the wheel base is
0:12:36 > 0:12:38exactly the same at 80 inches.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42Or that the four-wheel drive system works in roughly the same way.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47To spread the word about their great little 4x4,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Land Rover would lend vehicles and spares to spotty students
0:12:51 > 0:12:53planning overland expeditions.
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- TV NEWSREEL:- In some places,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57it was easier to force a way through the virgin bush,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01rather than try battling forward up the rain-eroded trail.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07JAMES HUMS THE TUNE TO BORN FREE
0:13:08 > 0:13:10Something like that!
0:13:10 > 0:13:12# Born free... #
0:13:12 > 0:13:13JAMES LAUGHS
0:13:13 > 0:13:17# As free as the wind blows. #
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Soon, Land Rover held an impressive clutch of records,
0:13:20 > 0:13:25and orders flowed in from all manner of customer in all walks of life.
0:13:25 > 0:13:26- TV NEWSREEL:- The Land Rover.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30A tough, chunky, cheeky, versatile vehicle
0:13:30 > 0:13:32with an unlimited capacity for hard work.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38This Land Rover was actually originally supplied to the Army.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40It was one of the earliest batches they bought.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44I don't know if you watched Trumpton when you were younger, like I did,
0:13:44 > 0:13:47but there was a song in it about the humpity-bumpity army truck,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49and that's what this is.
0:13:49 > 0:13:54# Driving along in an army truck In a humpity-bumpity army truck. #
0:13:57 > 0:13:59It is largely bare metal on the inside.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01There's not much padding in the seats.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03There are a lot of sharp edges.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06If there's one thing a British soldier really enjoys,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08it's being uncomfortable!
0:14:12 > 0:14:14Soon, Land Rover would bring discomfort
0:14:14 > 0:14:16to multitudes the world over,
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and Britain's sturdy workhorse would gain
0:14:19 > 0:14:20an almost legendary reputation.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26The Land Rover may be one of the worthiest things
0:14:26 > 0:14:28that Britain has ever created.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32It's as commendable as the Dimbleby brothers.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Whenever life is distressed,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38a Land Rover is always on hand to save the day.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Mending telegraph poles, rescuing endangered species,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49recovering cars, delivering medical supplies,
0:14:49 > 0:14:54resupplying remote weather stations with Spam, keeping the peace.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57The Queen has one and is greatly amused by it, apparently.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01But let's not forget the people in all of this.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06It is estimated that the first car ever seen
0:15:06 > 0:15:10by one-third of the world's population is a Land Rover.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13And that's a lot of potential customers.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16Land Rover had the remains of empire as a ready market.
0:15:16 > 0:15:19It had Britain's record in vehicle exporting,
0:15:19 > 0:15:21and it had a car that represented salvation
0:15:21 > 0:15:25and everything that was good about Britain.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27Land Rover should have cleaned up.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36And yet...
0:15:37 > 0:15:41And, as an Englishman, this is quite difficult because,
0:15:41 > 0:15:46well, it's a bit like saying Melton Mowbray are crap at pies,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50but Land Rover got their butts kicked.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59In the ancient Shinto tradition,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03this is where Konohana, the daughter of the mountain god,
0:16:03 > 0:16:06gave birth amidst volcanic fires.
0:16:06 > 0:16:11And, 65 years ago, this mystic place would bear witness to the rebirth
0:16:11 > 0:16:14of a slumbering Japanese giant.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24This is the road leading up to Mount Fuji, a Japanese icon.
0:16:24 > 0:16:27And this car I'm driving is another one.
0:16:28 > 0:16:33Now, this is a model from 1980. But, for the moment I'm in 1951
0:16:33 > 0:16:38and reliving the work of the Toyota test driver Ichiro Taira
0:16:38 > 0:16:40who drove up the side of the famous mountain
0:16:40 > 0:16:42in pursuit of a new altitude record.
0:16:44 > 0:16:46JAPANESE TV NEWSREEL
0:16:47 > 0:16:50He made it all the way to the sixth stage of the Mount Fuji ascent,
0:16:50 > 0:16:53that's 2,500 metres.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57That was further up the mountain than any car had ever been before.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03Ichiro's pioneering drive, however, would deliver far more
0:17:03 > 0:17:05than a mere altitude record.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09It would turn a company on the brink of ruin
0:17:09 > 0:17:12into the greatest car firm in history.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14If the post-war world was bad for Rover,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16it was disastrous for Toyota.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Toyota had been established in 1911 as a weaving company
0:17:20 > 0:17:22and a maker of powered looms.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25In the 1930s, they branched out, rather cautiously,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27into car and truck making.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29Now, World War II was excellent news.
0:17:29 > 0:17:30That meant loads of orders for trucks.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34But, come the defeat, Toyota was seriously short of work.
0:17:39 > 0:17:42By 1950, what is now the world's most successful carmaker
0:17:42 > 0:17:44was on the verge of collapse.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47In that year, Toyota, still discouraged by the occupying forces
0:17:47 > 0:17:49from making passenger cars,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53produced just 300 trucks, like this one.
0:17:53 > 0:17:57And they suffered the first and only strike in their history.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00It lasted for two months.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06What could save Toyota?
0:18:06 > 0:18:10Well, perhaps ironically, it was the occupying Americans,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13and, in a roundabout way, the Jeep.
0:18:15 > 0:18:18Cue another timely armed conflict -
0:18:18 > 0:18:20the Korean War of 1950. MACHINEGUN FIRE
0:18:23 > 0:18:27The Americans rushed to the aid of the South and needed trucks fast,
0:18:27 > 0:18:32and since the US ran Japan, they gave Toyota the job.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Bingo!
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Or pachinko, which is what they actually play in Japan.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47There now comes another twist,
0:18:47 > 0:18:50because the occupying American forces were so depleted
0:18:50 > 0:18:53by the events that had taken place in Korea,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56unarmed Japan suddenly felt very vulnerable,
0:18:56 > 0:18:59so a limited re-armament programme was permitted,
0:18:59 > 0:19:03including, critically, the provision of 1,000 four-wheel drive vehicles
0:19:03 > 0:19:07to the NPR - the National Police Reserve -
0:19:07 > 0:19:10essentially, Japan's Territorials.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Toyota swiftly came up with this - the BJ Jeep prototype.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18It was bigger than the original,
0:19:18 > 0:19:23produced more power and used an all-new drive system,
0:19:23 > 0:19:25but, despite all this, the police,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28who'd been forced to walk everywhere since 1945,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31seemed poised to commission copies of the Willys Jeep
0:19:31 > 0:19:34from Toyota's rivals, Mitsubishi.
0:19:34 > 0:19:35Until, that is,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37the heroic Ichiro-san went up the mountain...
0:19:44 > 0:19:48..after which the NPR placed an order for 289 Toyotas,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51making it their preferred off-roader.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Toyota's new Jeep division was soon ready to
0:19:55 > 0:19:57offer a BJ to the world.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00There was, however, a problem -
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and not just childish sniggering over the name.
0:20:03 > 0:20:07The term "Jeep" was a US trademark.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Technical director Hanji Umehara thought long and hard about it,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14and this is what he said.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18"In England we had a competitor Land Rover.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21"I had to come up with a name for our car that would make it sound
0:20:21 > 0:20:25"no less dignified than those of our competitors,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28"and that's why I decided to call it Land Cruiser."
0:20:30 > 0:20:31So, there you go,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33and some people think the Japanese just copy everything.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39So, Toyota should have been the underdog,
0:20:39 > 0:20:42except that the Land Cruiser brought with it
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Toyota's new approach to carmaking.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50Almost certainly, one of the things that made the Toyota Land Cruiser
0:20:50 > 0:20:53so triumphant was that the Land Rover stemmed from a time when
0:20:53 > 0:20:57a bit of nipple-greasing or the occasional axle-rebuild
0:20:57 > 0:21:01was all part and parcel of owning an expedition vehicle.
0:21:01 > 0:21:05The Land Cruiser was an early fruit of a more modern philosophy -
0:21:05 > 0:21:07one that said that the car should be spot-on by the time
0:21:07 > 0:21:09it reached the end of the production line
0:21:09 > 0:21:12and should remain as dependable as your penknife.
0:21:13 > 0:21:18By 1957, four in every ten vehicles exported from Japan
0:21:18 > 0:21:21were Land Cruisers, and soon they were ousting the Land Rover
0:21:21 > 0:21:25from its markets in the former British Empire and beyond.
0:21:25 > 0:21:30Now, this might come as bit of a shock, especially if you're British,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33but I'm afraid, in the real world of vital off-roading,
0:21:33 > 0:21:37most of the planet was conquered by Toyota.
0:21:37 > 0:21:39Sorry.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Australia, which you would expect to be a sort of heavily-barricaded
0:21:44 > 0:21:47last redoubt of Land Rover loyalty,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51is in fact a Toyota Land Cruiser fiefdom,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53and, as one Australian put it to me,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57"If you want to go into the outback, take a Land Rover,
0:21:57 > 0:22:00"but if you want to come out again, make sure it's a Land Cruiser."
0:22:02 > 0:22:04And I hate having to say that.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10So, that would appear to be a crushing victory for Toyota.
0:22:10 > 0:22:12Well, not quite.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Remember the great multitudes of saddle-sore Land Rover users?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Their prayers, and those of the beleaguered Rover company,
0:22:21 > 0:22:23were about to be answered.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Land Rover's response, in 1970, was this - the first Range Rover.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Still a very pukka off-roader,
0:22:32 > 0:22:35but now with modern coil-springs, disc brakes,
0:22:35 > 0:22:40a hefty V8 engine and a luxurious interior.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43Music: Layla by Derek And The Dominoes
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Rover's great new hope was born in an era that gave us
0:22:46 > 0:22:50polyester loon pants, Carry On Camping and overblown guitar solos.
0:22:53 > 0:22:55As a result, the distinctly classy Range Rover
0:22:55 > 0:22:59came as a welcome surprise for early '70s Britain.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02When I say "luxurious", that's all relative, of course.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Given what was to come, this Series 1 Rangey still feels
0:23:06 > 0:23:10incredibly basic and hosed-down.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12It is literally hosed-down - the seats are made of vinyl
0:23:12 > 0:23:15and so is the upholstery on that central tunnel,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17and you can actually come in here with a hose pipe.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20I just made the classic off-road error and left my thumb
0:23:20 > 0:23:24inside the steering wheel... HE GROANS
0:23:24 > 0:23:25..but we'll overlook that.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29# Let's make the best of the situation
0:23:29 > 0:23:31# Before I finally go insane... #
0:23:31 > 0:23:36And it was, and is, a genuinely very capable all-terrain vehicle.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40The first one, in fact, to cross both bits of the Americas
0:23:40 > 0:23:44in one go - including the Darien Gap.
0:23:44 > 0:23:45So there.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47MUSIC: Theme from The Avengers by Laurie Johnson
0:23:47 > 0:23:52The go-anywhere derring-do was still there -
0:23:52 > 0:23:55but the new Range Rover was subtly aimed at
0:23:55 > 0:23:57a whole new class of customer.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02It wasn't necessarily someone who looked like
0:24:02 > 0:24:03David Bellamy with a bad hangover.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07It could be people who looked more like Purdey from The Avengers.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12That wasn't going to do any damage, was it?
0:24:25 > 0:24:29Perhaps more importantly, you could drive it into the town
0:24:29 > 0:24:31without looking like some mad relation
0:24:31 > 0:24:33who'd escaped from Mudfordshire.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38The Range Rover looked cool...
0:24:41 > 0:24:43..and the world agreed.
0:24:43 > 0:24:44Almost instantly,
0:24:44 > 0:24:49Britain had a stylish hero to thwart her foreign commercial foes,
0:24:49 > 0:24:51and with each increasingly luxurious model,
0:24:51 > 0:24:56more and more well-heeled customers would fall under its spell.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59The Range Rover would soon allow the beleaguered Brummies,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02still reeling from the success of their challenger from Japan,
0:25:02 > 0:25:08to conquer quite possibly the most inhospitable place on Earth -
0:25:08 > 0:25:09Hollywood.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:25:21 > 0:25:24With 1.8 million sales worldwide,
0:25:24 > 0:25:29the Range Rover brand, like Bond, is a global icon,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31but, unlike 007,
0:25:31 > 0:25:34its handlers have often sent it on underwhelming missions.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36And "go anywhere" means just that -
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Go shopping, go visiting,
0:25:38 > 0:25:41go to work and go to school.
0:25:41 > 0:25:43A far cry, then,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47from the war-winning remit of its distant American ancestor.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50The Range Rover, across all its generations,
0:25:50 > 0:25:54has always been a fabulously capable off-roader,
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and yet, in reality, it has turned into a luxury car.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Some posh airlines ferry their first-class passengers
0:26:01 > 0:26:04to the airport in Range Rovers.
0:26:04 > 0:26:05How absurd is that?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10But despite its "Chelsea tractor" reputation,
0:26:10 > 0:26:15the Range Rover remains a deeply significant car -
0:26:15 > 0:26:18the world's first 4x4 to make that difficult leap
0:26:18 > 0:26:20from tough utilitarianism
0:26:20 > 0:26:25to high-performance, high-quality desirability.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27And do you remember what I was saying earlier,
0:26:27 > 0:26:30about how, by 2030, half of the affordable cars in the world
0:26:30 > 0:26:33would be inspired by the off-road breed?
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Well, if any one car could be said to have triggered that trend,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40it was surely the Range Rover.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46The original Ranger Rover's upmarket appeal would leave
0:26:46 > 0:26:50the redesigned Land Cruiser looking like something from CBeebies.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00But if Toyota had been snubbed by the toffs,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04they would be welcomed with open arms by an altogether rougher crowd.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08This is the Hilux -
0:27:08 > 0:27:11most people, though, know it simply as the Toyota pick-up truck.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18This one is from 1992 and it's done 250,000 miles.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25Ideal, really, for farmers, builders,
0:27:25 > 0:27:27landscape gardeners...
0:27:27 > 0:27:28or anybody looking for a scrap.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The launch of the Hilux in 1968 coincided with
0:27:33 > 0:27:38a new form of conflict being waged across the Third World.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42The age of the insurgent was upon us, and for lawless rebel armies,
0:27:42 > 0:27:46the sturdy yet adaptable Hilux rapidly became indispensable.
0:27:53 > 0:27:55Soon, wherever there was trouble,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58you were bound to spot a lurking Toyota.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Did you know, the Toyota pick-up has been so successful as an ad-hoc
0:28:01 > 0:28:07military vehicle, that there's been a whole war named after it?
0:28:07 > 0:28:08True fact.
0:28:10 > 0:28:16The Toyota War of 1987 saw 400 Hilux pick-ups from the Army of Chad
0:28:16 > 0:28:20nimbly take on and rout Colonel Gaddafi's forces,
0:28:20 > 0:28:22including 100 Russian battle tanks.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26MUSIC: Fight The Power by Public Enemy
0:28:26 > 0:28:29French officers working with the Chadians called it one of
0:28:29 > 0:28:33the most spectacular defeats suffered by an army this century.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Bad news for the Colonel,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38but great for Toyota's regional sales figures.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Toyota just make pick-up trucks.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42They're not trying to decide
0:28:42 > 0:28:45who should be in control of the Middle East.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49That's up to the bloke in the back with the half-timbered machinegun.
0:28:50 > 0:28:54That's as maybe, but today, Hilux and Land Cruisers are hanging out
0:28:54 > 0:28:58with none other than James Bond's worst enemies.
0:28:58 > 0:29:00Cue raised eyebrows everywhere.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04# Fight the power... #
0:29:06 > 0:29:08You'd think that everything that we've just seen
0:29:08 > 0:29:11would do very Toyota's reputation a great deal of harm,
0:29:11 > 0:29:12but not a bit of it.
0:29:12 > 0:29:15In some ways, it's the best advert they've ever had,
0:29:15 > 0:29:16because, let's be honest,
0:29:16 > 0:29:19you don't mount the heavy weapons of insurgency on anything that
0:29:19 > 0:29:22isn't absolutely dependable, do you?
0:29:22 > 0:29:25So if this is good enough for that lot,
0:29:25 > 0:29:26then it's probably good enough for you.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31Despite all this controversy,
0:29:31 > 0:29:33the Hilux is now in its eighth generation
0:29:33 > 0:29:36and is Europe's bestselling pick-up.
0:29:36 > 0:29:41In all its guises, worldwide, it's sold over 16 million.
0:29:41 > 0:29:45You'd think that sales figures like that would make it untouchable.
0:29:45 > 0:29:47Nah, hang on.
0:29:47 > 0:29:49That ain't even a hill of beans.
0:29:53 > 0:29:56This is a Ford F-series pick-up truck.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01Specifically, it is the current F-150 King Ranch FX4.
0:30:01 > 0:30:03Top of the heap.
0:30:03 > 0:30:04IN AMERICAN ACCENT: Awesome.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11The F-series family of trucks, across 13 generations,
0:30:11 > 0:30:14has been America's bestselling vehicle -
0:30:14 > 0:30:17and I mean vehicle - that's all types, not just trucks -
0:30:17 > 0:30:20for a phenomenal 33 years.
0:30:20 > 0:30:2233 years!
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Total production of the F-150?
0:30:25 > 0:30:2835 million vehicles.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34It wouldn't be true to say that the pick-up is as old as the car
0:30:34 > 0:30:35itself, but it's not far off,
0:30:35 > 0:30:39because the very first one was made by Ford on the chassis of a Model T,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42in 1917.
0:30:42 > 0:30:44So the idea does actually belong to Ford,
0:30:44 > 0:30:48but, more importantly, the idea, and everything it stands for,
0:30:48 > 0:30:49belongs to America.
0:30:54 > 0:30:57The pick-up truck is exactly what you'd expect this
0:30:57 > 0:30:59pioneering and prospecting bunch to come up with.
0:30:59 > 0:31:03You sit in the cab at the front, protected from the elements,
0:31:03 > 0:31:06from rattlesnakes and accusations of redneckery,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09but, then, in the back, you can chuck pretty much anything.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11There are no restrictions because of the roof,
0:31:11 > 0:31:14like there are on something like a Range Rover,
0:31:14 > 0:31:19so it could be building materials, guns, dead bodies, slabs of beer,
0:31:19 > 0:31:21General Stonewall Jackson,
0:31:21 > 0:31:24and wandering, hitch-hiking blues singers.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26I may have romanticised it a bit at the end,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29but you know what I mean - anything goes in.
0:31:30 > 0:31:34This blue-collar hero comes with true off-road credentials.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40A 3.5-litre, 365-horsepower V6,
0:31:40 > 0:31:44four-wheel drive, Hillbilly Descent Control,
0:31:44 > 0:31:46and a built-in banjo soundtrack.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49All that and a luxury interior too.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55But what makes it a people's champion is the price.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59Entry-level F-150s start at just 26,000.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02That's about £17,000.
0:32:02 > 0:32:03How do they do that?
0:32:04 > 0:32:08I mean, it's partly because they build one every 58 seconds.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10They have three shifts building them,
0:32:10 > 0:32:11the factory never stops,
0:32:11 > 0:32:13and these pick-up trucks are so popular that
0:32:13 > 0:32:15if you work for Ford in management,
0:32:15 > 0:32:18you can't have one as a company car,
0:32:18 > 0:32:21because they can't spare one to give you.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24Imagine that...
0:32:24 > 0:32:26and it's a truck.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35The F-150 is so cheap that the average American can buy one
0:32:35 > 0:32:37and still afford to eat properly.
0:32:37 > 0:32:40- Thank you.- Thanks. - That looks divine.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Seriously, though, it does make a huge amount of sense.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47More sense than a lot of things in America -
0:32:47 > 0:32:49like the breakfast menu, for example,
0:32:49 > 0:32:50or the four-way intersection.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53And like its rivals from Europe and Japan,
0:32:53 > 0:32:57it's turned into a sort of luxury statement of belief,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01but, at its heart, it remains resolutely American.
0:33:01 > 0:33:03It's American like a five-egg omelette
0:33:03 > 0:33:06with cheese and extra cheese and a strawberry on top.
0:33:08 > 0:33:10As perhaps the icon of all things American,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12it is fitting that US culture
0:33:12 > 0:33:14reaches its undisputed high water mark
0:33:14 > 0:33:16at the wheel of a pick-up.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18Ladies and gentlemen,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21monster truck racing in E minor.
0:33:21 > 0:33:24CHOIR SINGS AND ORCHESTRA PLAYS
0:33:30 > 0:33:32CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:33:32 > 0:33:35ENGINE REVS AND TRUCK THUDS
0:33:35 > 0:33:36Let's be honest, though -
0:33:36 > 0:33:40a hillbilly circus is not a true test of a 4x4's worth.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48This place, however, is.
0:33:49 > 0:33:51The Mojave Desert, Nevada -
0:33:51 > 0:33:5550,000 square miles of desolation.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58A wasteland hostile to man... MACHINE BEEPS
0:33:58 > 0:34:00..and our machine.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03METAL CRUNCHES
0:34:03 > 0:34:06So, to recap, here we are, 70-plus years on
0:34:06 > 0:34:09from the global invasion by Willys Jeep,
0:34:09 > 0:34:13and we have here three of the most recognisable, most representative
0:34:13 > 0:34:17manifestations of our desire to be able to go anywhere in the car.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19We have the redneck American,
0:34:19 > 0:34:21the Japanese insurgent,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24and the repressed but still rather dapper Englishman,
0:34:24 > 0:34:26and what follows now is not a race.
0:34:26 > 0:34:31It's a televisual celebration of three great interpretations
0:34:31 > 0:34:32of the all-terrain vehicle.
0:34:32 > 0:34:35It's an epic off-road run from here,
0:34:35 > 0:34:39in the middle of the Mojave Desert...
0:34:39 > 0:34:41and it will finish here, 25 miles away,
0:34:41 > 0:34:44on this small side-street in front of the Sphinx
0:34:44 > 0:34:48and the Great Pyramid of Cheops, in Egypt, Las Vegas.
0:34:51 > 0:34:55Having said that, those two blokes with the Ford are from Ford...
0:34:59 > 0:35:01..and the two blokes with the Toyota are from Toyota...
0:35:04 > 0:35:07..and Melpomene, the Greek Muse of tragic drama,
0:35:07 > 0:35:11has allowed me the honour of representing the British Midlands,
0:35:11 > 0:35:15so, in a way, it is a race. All right?
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Are we ready? Let's go.
0:35:23 > 0:35:26The teams can take whichever route they want.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28I've cunningly chosen an old trail that
0:35:28 > 0:35:30Ford and Toyota have overlooked.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Go, go, go. Tally-ho, tally-ho.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37Whoa, that's good.
0:35:38 > 0:35:40Avoid that rock.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43Nobody else can be going this fast, surely.
0:35:46 > 0:35:49- I'd like you to watch those jagged rocks.- Yeah, I'll call them out.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51Rock to the left.
0:35:56 > 0:35:57Good job.
0:35:57 > 0:36:00One of the casualties of the switch from the Range Rover from
0:36:00 > 0:36:03a mud-plugging vehicle to a fashion accessory is that
0:36:03 > 0:36:05the wheels are big - they're 21 inches on this -
0:36:05 > 0:36:08and the tyres are very low-profile, so the most likely problem
0:36:08 > 0:36:11we'll have, to be honest, is a puncture.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13VULTURES SCREECH
0:36:16 > 0:36:17Over in the Land Cruiser,
0:36:17 > 0:36:21Mike and Paul don't fancy my chances.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22Did you see those buzzards circling?
0:36:22 > 0:36:26Buzzards circling - that's some type of foreshadowing of death.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28You notice it was circling James in the Range Rover.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31- You noticed that?- I did notice that.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33- I wonder how the English taste? - Hmm...
0:36:33 > 0:36:35A bit gamey.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39'Gamey? I'm not even sweaty.'
0:36:39 > 0:36:42It's 121 degrees Fahrenheit outside,
0:36:42 > 0:36:44but not in here,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46cos this is luxury off-roading.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48Bloody hell, it's quite quick.
0:36:48 > 0:36:49Rocks!
0:36:49 > 0:36:51More rocks!
0:36:53 > 0:36:56But if I'm staying well chilled,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00the mysterious desert appears to be doing strange things to Team Ford.
0:37:03 > 0:37:07So, Joe, you know they have the Loch Ness Monster in...
0:37:07 > 0:37:09in Sweden? And...
0:37:09 > 0:37:11Is this that crazy jackalope story?
0:37:11 > 0:37:13It is that. Yeah, you know what?
0:37:13 > 0:37:16They say that it's true, you know,
0:37:16 > 0:37:17and if you think about it -
0:37:17 > 0:37:21a body of an antelope and the head of a rabbit.
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Perfect environment for this, you know?
0:37:24 > 0:37:26I've got to tell you, I'm going to be disappointed
0:37:26 > 0:37:29if we don't see a jackalope on this trip.
0:37:30 > 0:37:32'Well, there's no chance of that...
0:37:35 > 0:37:37'..but while John and Joe might be
0:37:37 > 0:37:40'falling down a giant rabbit hole of superstition,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43'I've come up against an all-too-real obstacle
0:37:43 > 0:37:45'that even a Range Rover can't conquer.'
0:37:45 > 0:37:47Ah.
0:37:47 > 0:37:49Well, I thought that was a bit too good to be true.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51Will it go through there?
0:37:52 > 0:37:54Hmm.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57'It's a dead end.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59'Good job the others don't think it's a race.'
0:37:59 > 0:38:02MUSIC: Isla De Encanta by Pixies
0:38:02 > 0:38:03Look at that torque!
0:38:03 > 0:38:05God, I love that torque!
0:38:05 > 0:38:07Nothing but torque - it puts you back in the seat!
0:38:11 > 0:38:14There you go. Beautiful. Good line. Good line. Good line.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17# Hermanita ven conmigo... #
0:38:17 > 0:38:19It really is amazing how these vehicles have progressed
0:38:19 > 0:38:22from being very rugged and very primitive
0:38:22 > 0:38:24- to very rugged and very sophisticated.- That's right.
0:38:28 > 0:38:30An hour into the race,
0:38:30 > 0:38:35with the sun glaring down like a vengeful Aztec god...
0:38:35 > 0:38:38I've gone across country to try and hit a trail
0:38:38 > 0:38:40that actually leads somewhere.
0:38:40 > 0:38:42I know this doesn't look very dramatic on your screens,
0:38:42 > 0:38:46but, trust me, it is. It's nerve-racking.
0:38:46 > 0:38:47There is a bit of a bush in the way
0:38:47 > 0:38:50but I think the bush is going to have to buy the farm.
0:38:51 > 0:38:54I think I've done that slightly wrong.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57I'm going to try that way instead.
0:39:06 > 0:39:10'It's a lot steeper than I'd hoped,
0:39:10 > 0:39:15'but I owe it to the ghosts of those early Land Rover pioneers
0:39:15 > 0:39:17'to at least give it a try.'
0:39:17 > 0:39:20Right, now, for the terrifying, dizzying, vertiginous descent.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22There's nothing else I can do,
0:39:22 > 0:39:25except say it's been a pleasure to make television for you,
0:39:25 > 0:39:28and I hope my replacement is as good. Here we go.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- BLEEP- - a word I can't say on the television.
0:39:41 > 0:39:43Whoof!
0:39:43 > 0:39:46Thank you, car.
0:39:46 > 0:39:48I need to try and steer it left a bit,
0:39:48 > 0:39:50otherwise I'm going to fall off the edge.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55God, it's steep.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59I'm almost there.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01Oof!
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Traction control.
0:40:04 > 0:40:06Clear.
0:40:06 > 0:40:07And I'm off.
0:40:07 > 0:40:11MUSIC: Ace Of Spades (Motorhead) by Hayseed Dixie
0:40:11 > 0:40:13Thank you, Birmingham!
0:40:13 > 0:40:15The Rangey has earned its spurs,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17but now I'm miles behind the others.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19# You win some Lose some
0:40:19 > 0:40:22# It's all the same to me... #
0:40:22 > 0:40:23Up ahead, however,
0:40:23 > 0:40:26the curse of the were-rabbit is about to strike.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28# The pleasure is to play
0:40:28 > 0:40:30# Don't make no difference what you say... #
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Slight left, left, left, left, left.
0:40:32 > 0:40:36Big rock, right. There you go. Whoa. Yeah.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39# The ace of spaces All right... #
0:40:39 > 0:40:44- Oh, I've got TPMS. The tyre - flat tyre in the back.- Uh-oh, do we?
0:40:46 > 0:40:50You know, Joe, I called out, "Rock on the right."
0:40:50 > 0:40:51It must have been that jackalope
0:40:51 > 0:40:53you've been telling me to look at on the left.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57Well, no time to look for jackalopes. OK, let's get the tools.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Let's get the spare and get the heck out of here.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04The wheel change has evened things up a bit,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07but, way ahead,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10Team Toyota have escaped the mountains to reach
0:41:10 > 0:41:13the empty vastness of El Dorado Lake.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20Once again, Japan can leave everyone for dust.
0:41:22 > 0:41:24Here's where whatever skill you have comes in.
0:41:24 > 0:41:26Feel free to start screaming at any moment.
0:41:26 > 0:41:28Whoa-ho!
0:41:36 > 0:41:38Meanwhile, I tear through the foothills like a man
0:41:38 > 0:41:40late for the Fortnum & Masons sale.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43Give it the berries.
0:41:45 > 0:41:46Find the grip. Find the grip.
0:41:46 > 0:41:48It's done that by itself. Isn't that nice?
0:41:48 > 0:41:51It's like having a brilliant butler.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Permission to say "Yee-ha"!
0:41:58 > 0:42:00Keep going left. Keep going left.
0:42:00 > 0:42:01You got it. Beautiful, beautiful.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04Right, right, right, right, right. Wonderful.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12- And here's the trail.- Hey-hey, this is what I'm talking about.
0:42:12 > 0:42:14- Outstanding.- You're the man!
0:42:14 > 0:42:19This trail on the far side of the lakebed leads directly to Vegas...
0:42:19 > 0:42:20and the finish line.
0:42:20 > 0:42:23One team, one dream.
0:42:23 > 0:42:25I wonder where the other guys are.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28I don't know. I think they're stuck back on the dry lakebed.
0:42:28 > 0:42:29Stuck?
0:42:29 > 0:42:32This is the fastest stuck you'll ever see.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35MUSIC: Can't Go Back by Primal Scream
0:42:39 > 0:42:41Engage supercharger.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43I can see their dust.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45Actually, I can taste their dust.
0:42:45 > 0:42:48I'm hauling in your asses, truck boys!
0:42:51 > 0:42:52Here I come.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03510 horsepower versus 370-something. I've got them.
0:43:05 > 0:43:07Yee-ha!
0:43:10 > 0:43:13He may have 500 horses, but we've got massaging seats.
0:43:17 > 0:43:21I might have lassoed the rednecks,
0:43:21 > 0:43:23but there's no sign of the Land Cruiser.
0:43:23 > 0:43:25MUSIC: Low Rider by War
0:43:25 > 0:43:27So, I think, just up over this hill.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29- Oh.- There it is!
0:43:29 > 0:43:30Do you see what I see? Civilisation.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33- Yeah, baby.- Outstanding, brother. - That's what I'm talking about.
0:43:35 > 0:43:37And I see Vegas on the horizon.
0:43:37 > 0:43:41# All my friends know the low rider... #
0:43:42 > 0:43:44Aw...
0:43:44 > 0:43:48Oh, honestly, that's like coming in from outside, in bare feet,
0:43:48 > 0:43:49and walking on the carpet again.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Hey, hey, there it is - the Las Vegas sign.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59There it is.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05We went through some of the toughest parts of the desert
0:44:05 > 0:44:10and we're cruising in Las Vegas in a vehicle that feels like a limousine.
0:44:10 > 0:44:11I tell you what,
0:44:11 > 0:44:14I'm pretty impressed with this beast, right here.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19And I'm proud of the Midlands.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22They've rescued me from the desert without a sweat...
0:44:24 > 0:44:27..but have they beaten Japan and America?
0:44:27 > 0:44:30I'm curious to see where I've come in this, cos I'm pretty sure
0:44:30 > 0:44:33I'm ahead of the Ford, unless they've done something very sneaky,
0:44:33 > 0:44:35but I don't know what happened to the Toyota.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37I haven't seen it all day.
0:44:37 > 0:44:40MUSIC: Theme from True Romance by Hans Zimmer
0:44:40 > 0:44:43- I'm not seeing anyone. - I don't see anybody here.
0:44:43 > 0:44:44Outstanding.
0:44:48 > 0:44:50- Victory, baby!- First place, baby!
0:44:50 > 0:44:52That's enough baby talk.
0:44:52 > 0:44:54It's not as if they've won a race.
0:45:09 > 0:45:11Bah...
0:45:12 > 0:45:15Thank you for taking part. I'm sick of off-roading.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18It's like an affront to tarmac. It's like going outside
0:45:18 > 0:45:21and cooking on a barbecue when you've got a perfectly good oven
0:45:21 > 0:45:22in the house. What's the point?
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Anyway, look, here's a stroke of luck.
0:45:24 > 0:45:29It's that Lamborghini I won earlier on, on the roulette.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32Yes! See you.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34MUSIC: Stayin' Alive by Bee Gees
0:45:36 > 0:45:38ENGINE PURRS
0:45:46 > 0:45:48I mean, I like the Range Rover, I like the Toyota as well,
0:45:48 > 0:45:50and I like the big, brash Ford,
0:45:50 > 0:45:52but I really like the Lamborghini.
0:45:54 > 0:45:57And I'm sure you've worked out the connection already -
0:45:57 > 0:45:59it's all-wheel drive.
0:45:59 > 0:46:00Yeah.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02# Somebody help me, yeah... #
0:46:02 > 0:46:06'The Lamborghini Aventador is just an extreme example of the benefits
0:46:06 > 0:46:10'that all-wheel drive brings to strictly on-road cars,
0:46:10 > 0:46:12'and I love it.'
0:46:12 > 0:46:13It's the jackpot.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17ENGINE ROARS
0:46:17 > 0:46:20But the all-wheel drive road car almost didn't happen at all,
0:46:20 > 0:46:23were it not for a single extraordinary breakthrough
0:46:23 > 0:46:26and a single extraordinary vehicle.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28ENGINE ROARS
0:46:31 > 0:46:33This is the car that kick-started
0:46:33 > 0:46:37the on-road, all-wheel drive revolution.
0:46:37 > 0:46:40ENGINE ROARS
0:46:45 > 0:46:47This is the Audi Quattro -
0:46:47 > 0:46:50the "Ur-Quattro" as it's known amongst aficionados.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53A bit of brake.
0:46:53 > 0:46:56And you will have guessed that I'm in the rally version,
0:46:56 > 0:47:00and this is Dave Higgins, who is a pro rallyist...
0:47:00 > 0:47:02and lunatic!
0:47:02 > 0:47:04ENGINE REVS
0:47:04 > 0:47:06'Unfortunately for my coccyx...'
0:47:06 > 0:47:08Ow! '..the story of this on-road revolution
0:47:08 > 0:47:10'has a very off-road start.'
0:47:12 > 0:47:16At the time, most car engineers thought that four-wheel drive
0:47:16 > 0:47:20would be too heavy, too clunky and actually too fragile
0:47:20 > 0:47:23to use in a performance car - especially a rally car,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26but one man at Audi thought differently.
0:47:30 > 0:47:32What had always held back the production of
0:47:32 > 0:47:36a four-wheel drive road car was the heavy and clunky transfer gearbox,
0:47:36 > 0:47:41which had changed little since the days of Willys Jeep,
0:47:41 > 0:47:45but, when in 1978, rallying authorities opened up a new class
0:47:45 > 0:47:47for four-wheel drive cars,
0:47:47 > 0:47:51Audi engineer Jorgen Bensinger went back to the drawing board.
0:47:53 > 0:47:55His design - a lightweight, hollow prop shaft,
0:47:55 > 0:47:57driving a central differential -
0:47:57 > 0:47:59did away with the heavy transfer box
0:47:59 > 0:48:01and proved that four-wheel drive
0:48:01 > 0:48:04was possible for all road cars. ENGINE REVS
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Audi had come up with a fantastic four-wheel drive system
0:48:08 > 0:48:10that definitely wasn't clunky,
0:48:10 > 0:48:15definitely wasn't heavy and certainly wasn't in any way fragile.
0:48:15 > 0:48:18It was as reliable as Angela Merkel's haircut.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26And when this agile 420hp beast entered competitive racing,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29the rallying world didn't know what had hit it.
0:48:40 > 0:48:43For six years, the Quattro ruled supreme.
0:48:43 > 0:48:46Rally legends Hanna Mikkola, Stig Blomqvist,
0:48:46 > 0:48:49Oz Clarke, Michele Mouton and Walter Rohrl
0:48:49 > 0:48:53won 23 world heats, bringing back four world titles between them.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Their dominance only ended
0:48:56 > 0:48:59when the Group B rallying class was abolished altogether,
0:48:59 > 0:49:01following a number of accidents.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08This is the Quattro that went on sale as a road car in 1980.
0:49:13 > 0:49:16The engine is a 2.1 litre turbo-charged five-cylinder.
0:49:16 > 0:49:18Remember when they were all the rage?
0:49:18 > 0:49:20And it delivers 200hp.
0:49:24 > 0:49:26The Audi did work.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29It gave you grip, it gave you security.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32That is why, when an emergency happens in Ashes to Ashes,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36DCI Gene Hunt doesn't say, "To the 911!" or, "To the Golf!"
0:49:36 > 0:49:38He says, "To the Quattro!"
0:49:38 > 0:49:41# Imagination...#
0:49:41 > 0:49:44If you were a debonair man-about-town
0:49:44 > 0:49:47with a girlfriend from a Hot Gossip tribute act,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49you'd buy into the dream too.
0:49:49 > 0:49:52# Imagination... #
0:49:52 > 0:49:56Hang the hefty price tag, this was top quality German engineering.
0:50:05 > 0:50:06But there was more to it than that.
0:50:06 > 0:50:10There was the provenance that came with driving
0:50:10 > 0:50:12the conquering hero of the rally world.
0:50:12 > 0:50:14There was the quality, there was the reliability.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18And there was the kudos of being able to stand in the pub
0:50:18 > 0:50:19and say to your mates,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22"My high-performance road car has four-wheel drive."
0:50:22 > 0:50:24Because nobody else's did,
0:50:24 > 0:50:29and when it rained, which it would obviously, as we were in Britain,
0:50:29 > 0:50:31it made a difference.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32It did!
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Despite its well-earned credentials,
0:50:37 > 0:50:41the Quattro remained pricey, exclusive and rare -
0:50:41 > 0:50:43only 11,000 were sold.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48What we really wanted was an affordable people's champion.
0:50:48 > 0:50:51Something a bit more... down on da street.
0:50:51 > 0:50:53So, how about this?
0:50:53 > 0:50:59It is an original first edition Subaru Impreza WRX STi.
0:50:59 > 0:51:00Japanese market edition.
0:51:00 > 0:51:05It has a 2.0 turbo-charged engine and four-wheel drive,
0:51:05 > 0:51:09and gold wheels, and by reputation, it is for yobbos.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13So, what I thought I'd do is drive it from here in Nagoya
0:51:13 > 0:51:17to a very famous local road, the Suzuka Skyline, very, very popular
0:51:17 > 0:51:21because of its winding curves, with local Japanese...
0:51:21 > 0:51:23yobbos.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26OK?
0:51:26 > 0:51:31MUSIC: Omen by The Prodigy
0:51:34 > 0:51:38The chilling squawk of an Impreza turbo's wastegate
0:51:38 > 0:51:41is the sort of sound that sends women and children running
0:51:41 > 0:51:43for the sanctuary of doorways.
0:51:44 > 0:51:47If you imagine the camera in our car is your rear view mirror,
0:51:47 > 0:51:51then this is how you're probably used to seeing Subaru Impreza WRXs.
0:51:53 > 0:51:54Come on.
0:51:54 > 0:51:55Thank you!
0:52:00 > 0:52:03In Britain, at least, it is the calling card of the hooligan.
0:52:03 > 0:52:04But is that fair?
0:52:07 > 0:52:10The Impreza gained its bad boy reputation
0:52:10 > 0:52:13burning up multiplex car parks in Essex and the like.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Crowds would gather in their hundreds
0:52:15 > 0:52:17in the hope of catching an STi.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22STi stands for Subaru Technica International.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27WRX, by the way, originally stood for World Rally Experimental.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33And, like the Quattro, rallying turned the Impreza into a legend.
0:52:33 > 0:52:38In 1995, British motorsport company Prodrive tweaked it
0:52:38 > 0:52:42for the World Rally Championship and it won, three years on the trot!
0:52:44 > 0:52:46And that activity spawned this,
0:52:46 > 0:52:48the version you could buy in the showrooms, the WRX,
0:52:48 > 0:52:52and suddenly everyone wanted to be Colin McRae.
0:52:55 > 0:52:56And so do I!
0:52:59 > 0:53:01This thing goes like an absolute bastard!
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Yes, a dark blue Subaru Impreza with gold wheels
0:53:12 > 0:53:16strikes fear and horror into the hearts of right-thinking people,
0:53:16 > 0:53:20but hang on a minute, because I like gold wheels.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23In fact, I have them on my car. And there's something else.
0:53:23 > 0:53:28This car combines an intelligent and effective four-wheel drive system
0:53:28 > 0:53:30with superb engineering provenance
0:53:30 > 0:53:33and a first-class competition pedigree.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36That sounds like a right load of old twaddle, and it possibly is,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39but if I said those words and then attached them to a name like Porsche
0:53:39 > 0:53:41you'd think, "Hmm, yeah!"
0:53:41 > 0:53:44So, let's not have any of this "yob's car" nonsense.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46This is a thing of excellence.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52Right, let's start giving this car the credit it deserves.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59At the heart of the Scooby-Doo
0:53:59 > 0:54:05is a flat-four, two-litre turbo-charged engine, giving 280HP.
0:54:07 > 0:54:08And this neat engine layout
0:54:08 > 0:54:12leaves room for a perfectly balanced four-wheel drive system.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15And the advantage of symmetrical four-wheel drive,
0:54:15 > 0:54:19Subaru owners will tell you, is that it will pretty much anticipate
0:54:19 > 0:54:20what the grip is for each wheel,
0:54:20 > 0:54:23rather than having to wait for a wheel to start slipping,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25and then sorting it out.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27It's a largely mechanical system
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and, by modern standards, I suppose it'd be considered quite dated,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32but it does work.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34It works an absolute treat.
0:54:34 > 0:54:36It's a very, very lively car.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38It changes direction like a local councillor.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42# You better make way cos I'm coming through
0:54:42 > 0:54:46# In my late '92 Betty blue
0:54:46 > 0:54:48# Subaru... #
0:54:48 > 0:54:53I'm not going to claim that the WRX STi was ever a cheap car,
0:54:53 > 0:54:56but when this one was out in 1996,
0:54:56 > 0:54:59it cost £17,500,
0:54:59 > 0:55:03and that was £5,000 less than an Escort Cosworth.
0:55:03 > 0:55:05And I think this is cooler.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10This doesn't feel like an old car.
0:55:10 > 0:55:12I mean, it's 20 years old, this thing.
0:55:12 > 0:55:16It's absolutely as tight as a drum and it still feels good.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Grip, grip, grip, grip, power out of the bend.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23No problem whatsoever.
0:55:23 > 0:55:26Why haven't I got one of these? They're fantastic!
0:55:27 > 0:55:28It's got gold wheels!
0:55:44 > 0:55:48This, I think, is a deeply significant car.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51In the '60s and '70s, style and exclusivity
0:55:51 > 0:55:55were democratised by the Ford Mustang and the Capri.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59In the '80s, sports-car performance was democratised by the hot-hatch.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01In the '90s, genuine competition-bred,
0:56:01 > 0:56:03all-wheel drive systems
0:56:03 > 0:56:06were democratised by the likes of the Subaru Impreza.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09It really is genuinely a great car,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12spoiled only by slightly dubious head furniture.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14Actually, I'd quite like to finish there,
0:56:14 > 0:56:18but I think we can get even more of-the-people than this.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Almost an hour ago, I said that all this stuff,
0:56:24 > 0:56:27Willys Jeep, Range Rovers,
0:56:27 > 0:56:28deserts, mountains,
0:56:28 > 0:56:30monster trucks,
0:56:30 > 0:56:31that Lamborghini,
0:56:31 > 0:56:33the jackalope, rally cars,
0:56:33 > 0:56:34and hooning about in a Subaru,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37was relevant to the cars of the people.
0:56:37 > 0:56:39And it all is.
0:56:42 > 0:56:43Awesome!
0:56:44 > 0:56:46Without these safe and sure-footed cars,
0:56:46 > 0:56:49we, the people, would not have conquered adversity,
0:56:49 > 0:56:51developed new technology,
0:56:51 > 0:56:54brought help to the needy and affordable joy to the masses.
0:56:56 > 0:56:57Yee-ha!
0:57:00 > 0:57:03But, if it's the truly affordable and dependable
0:57:03 > 0:57:05people's champion you're looking for,
0:57:05 > 0:57:09I could have saved you all that trouble and just taken you here.
0:57:14 > 0:57:18It all comes together in this. It's a perfectly normal car.
0:57:18 > 0:57:20It's also a bit of an off-roader,
0:57:20 > 0:57:23the ghosts of the Jeep and the rally cars,
0:57:23 > 0:57:25and the all-wheel drive supercars,
0:57:25 > 0:57:27there's a little bit of them in this.
0:57:32 > 0:57:33It is...
0:57:36 > 0:57:37Ta-da!
0:57:38 > 0:57:40The original Fiat Panda 4x4.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45I hope you're not disappointed, because you shouldn't be.
0:57:47 > 0:57:49It definitely qualifies as a people's car.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54It will take a family, just, it's cheap to run and easy to maintain.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58It's as much car as it needs to be, and no more.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03But never mind all that worthy old rubbish.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06My own research, gained from travelling around Europe
0:58:06 > 0:58:07over the years, suggests
0:58:07 > 0:58:11that least half the vineyards of France and Italy
0:58:11 > 0:58:14wouldn't be able to function without the services of
0:58:14 > 0:58:17a rather battered old Panda 4x4.
0:58:17 > 0:58:19Which is ironic really, isn't it?
0:58:19 > 0:58:23Because the two things we know don't mix are alcohol and cars.
0:58:23 > 0:58:25So I've come up with an idea.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28I don't know what sort of car you've got, but it almost certainly
0:58:28 > 0:58:32owes a debt somewhere to one of the great cars of the people.
0:58:32 > 0:58:34Which is a marvellous thing, isn't it?
0:58:34 > 0:58:36So, here's the deal.
0:58:36 > 0:58:38You drive, I'll have a drink.
0:58:42 > 0:58:43Mmm.
0:58:44 > 0:58:46Fruit.
0:58:47 > 0:58:49Goodbye!