Episode 6 Top Gear USA

'Now on Top Gear, Tanner drives a car made of wood...

'Michelle Rodriguez falls for her Suzuki SX4...'

Give it some.

'..and I get my sea legs.'

-Holy

-BLEEP!

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Welcome to Top Gear.

On this show, nobody will live in a house together, nobody will be fired,

but if you can hold a conversation about 0-60 times,

this is where you belong.

I'm Adam Ferrara, that's Tanner Foust

and this is Rutledge Wood.

We've got a ton of great stuff coming up,

including a race between a plane, a boat and a car

and Michelle Rodriguez is out on our test track.

But we start with this. It's a Morgan.

If you haven't heard of it, it's no surprise because it's built in a tiny town in Britain.

To buy the latest model, you've got to sit on a two-year waiting list

and to find out why somebody would wait so long

to own an obscure British car,

I jumped across the pond to drive one.

This is the tiny town of Dorchester-on-Thames.

Neolithic people lived here 4,000 years ago,

before the Romans marched in.

A place where you half expect to see Shakespeare or Robin Hood

or some other dandy Englishman running around in tights.

The Americans that come to England always mention three things -

warm beer, mushy food and questionable dental work.

But we came here because the Brits are at least very good at one thing -

and that's making cars.

Or at least they used to be.

Over the last few years, England's lost more car companies than they've lost colonies.

The classic British makes have fallen to foreigners -

Jaguar and Land Rover are now Indian,

Rolls-Royce and Bentley, German, Lotus, Malaysian.

Aston Martin, Kuwaiti.

Sadly, there are only a few boutique car manufacturers left

but one stands out.

And it makes its cars out of wood.

But that may not be such a bad thing.

Because this is the Morgan Aero Supersports.

It looks like no other car, sort of retro-futuristic,

like something they would have drawn up for Flash Gordon in the 1930s.

If Al Capone were still alive, this is what he'd drive.

The Morgan family started making cars in 1911

and it's run today by the grandson of the founder.

Morgans are still made by hand

and the car reflects the company's history.

It's got the classic swooping fenders.

The big grille.

Side exhaust pipes.

The chassis is built from aluminum, or as they say here, aluminium,

but in the frame they actually use wood, laminated ash,

a little old school, but it's light, flexible and incredibly strong.

Because they're hand built, no two are the same.

What we call a hood, the Brits call a bonnet

and this bonnet opens from the side.

No fancy buttons here. This is the retro part of retro-futuristic.

And what lies beneath the Morgan's plaque

is a BMW 4.8 litre V8 engine.

Yeah.

Let's go scare some natives.

TYRES SQUEAL

The first thing you notice about these English countryside roads...

-is they drive on the wrong

-BLEEP

-side of the road.

That was so close.

This is a car that is extravagant and simple both at the same time.

The interior is pure function. It's just minimalistic.

You have a speedometer and a tachometer, temperature and fuel.

You have this beautiful leather everywhere.

It's thick and designed to be worn in like a baseball glove.

As environmentally unfriendly as that seems,

it was worth it.

On the smoother English roads, the Morgan is perfect.

The suspension is actually really, really good.

It's soft but still controlled.

But to really get to know the Morgan,

I had to get it away from the 30mph speed limits.

Once you put your foot to the floor, it's a beast.

This thunders through the forest like a bugling elk looking for a mate.

It's awesome.

Forget the ancient towns.

Buzzing through the labyrinth of country lanes,

I'd found the Morgan's spiritual home.

Now, that's a sheep right there.

Empty roads twisting through fields of green -

this is what this timeless car was designed for.

But this car is called the Morgan Supersports.

Its makers claim it's high performance

and that was something I couldn't test on the roads.

I needed somewhere special.

This is Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground.

Two miles of open asphalt.

Built in 1962, Bruntingthorpe was actually an American Air Force base

during the Cold War

and now, like so many closed military facilities,

it's used to test cars.

But we're not here for a history lesson, are we?

ENGINE ROARS That's a manly sound.

That's not a British "I drink tea at six o'clock" sound.

Oh, no.

At 376 horse power in a car with about 2,700 pounds,

you're looking at the power to weight ratio of a Porsche 911 GT3.

But high-performance cars aren't just about driving in straight lines.

Pushed to the limit at corners,

the Supersports became twitchy and unpredictable.

In short, a handful.

Morgan claims a top speed of 170mph...

and with two miles of asphalt ahead of me, it was hard to resist.

The thing that scares me is that the car is an old-school shape.

In reality, these curves are like wings, lifting the car off the ground.

170mph is a very modern speed for the body shape of an old car.

In all seriousness, this is a pretty dangerous thing to do.

CAR REVS

I'm at 70 already. 80, 90...

100.

110.

Getting kicked by every single little bump and that's 120.

125.

130. Little bits of wind.

Go to fifth gear.

140.

It's getting very loud in here.

I can't hear a thing. That's 142, full throttle.

150. It's moving around, now. This is getting bad.

Oh, the front end's starting to float.

That's 160. Still full throttle.

162.

Oh, my God.

And I'm out.

Flogging it on the track seemed as inappropriate as taking the Queen to a frat party.

This car is all about being classy.

That was about the scariest thing I've ever done.

I don't want to do that again. That loud...

That much speed and the front end just starts moving around on you.

It's er...

I don't know what to say.

Morgan only makes about 600 cars a year

and only 200 of them will be the Aero Supersports like this one.

If you want one, get in line.

And the cost? 150 to 200 grand.

Driving this car, it's not a supercar.

It's not made to compete with Ferraris and Lamborghinis and Porsches.

It's a gentleman's sports car.

It might seem a lot to pay but you have to consider

when buying a Morgan, you're not just buying a car.

You're buying a piece of history.

APPLAUSE

I like it.

At 150, the front end started coming up off the ground and you kept going?

-Yes, had to.

-I'm very proud of you.

Well, I mean, this is a 53 and the shape is virtually the same.

It's not a car that's meant to be flogged.

It's almost like a violation to drive it that hard.

It's for cruising and when you do cruise the car in the countryside,

it's perfect.

-You know, there's only one of them in the US.

-One of them?

-One.

Who'd want to own something so obnoxiously British?

Simon Cowell.

APPLAUSE

Here on the show we pride ourselves on providing pertinent and accurate automotive information to consumers.

Specifically, we wanted to help Floridians

who maybe need to get from their plastic surgery appointment in Miami

to their vacation home in Key West as soon as possible.

This question is facing, literally, two to three people every year.

What is the quickest way to get between these two points?

We decided to find out.

Miami, Florida. A steamy, sultry, tropical paradise.

This is where America goes to party.

But we weren't here to party.

We were here to race.

We were told to meet at Jones's boatyard on the Miami River.

This was the heart of Miami

and the starting point of the race.

The finish line? 160 miles away in Key West,

the southernmost point of the United States.

Guys, I've seen Miami Vice enough to know

the fastest way around this town is in a boat.

I'm taking the 38-foot Donzi speed boat

and I've a professional driver.

Look, Tubbs. What's with the boat? This is a car show.

You see that Lotus? I'm going to get in that Lotus

and in 160 miles, I'm going to get out at the finish line

in air-conditioned comfort.

You guys are both idiots.

If you're going to go from Miami to Key West

the only way is by air.

Gentlemen, I have chartered myself a seaplane.

-A seaplane?

-A seaplane.

-It's an airplane that lands on the sea.

That has the skis on it, right?

The race car driver folds and takes the plane ride out.

-I'm not going to sit in traffic.

-You should be ashamed of yourself.

-Do you feel that breeze there?

-Yeah.

In the ocean, that is like waves this high.

It's going to be like a four-hour roller coaster from hell.

You are going to be in traffic the whole way.

Traffic's going the other way.

-Right. Are you guys ready for this?

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah.

-Ready?

-Ready.

-Set, go.

-Enjoy your flight, mister.

-I will.

-How are you doing, Captain?

-I need a taxi at Jones's boatyard.

Yeah, as quick as you can get here.

I knew the others would begin slow

but soon they would be topping 100mph,

so I had to get the best head start possible.

Let's hit it.

I am driving the 2010 Lotus Evora.

This is the first new Lotus since 1995.

This mid-engine sports car has a six-cylinder, with 276 horse power.

I know it doesn't sound like a lot but the car is so light

it goes 0-60 in 4.9 seconds.

Not bad for a car that is basically powered by the engine from a Toyota Camry.

Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman started Lotus in 1952

to build race cars.

He is immortalised on every Lotus badge.

Those stacked letters above the word Lotus are his initials.

Now the others were surprised that I didn't go for the Lotus.

Don't get me wrong.

I love driving Lotuses on a curvy road or a race track.

But taking the Evora out on the parking lot disguised as the road to Key West

is just pointless, like putting mustard on a penguin.

This is the Donzi 38 ZR Comp.

Donzi was founded by Don Aranow, who also owned Magnum and Cigarette,

the favourite aquatic transport of importers and exporters

of exotic plant products.

Donzi's sort of the Ferrari of the racing boat.

This baby has two Mercury Marine V8s.

They're both 502 cubic inches, supercharged and intercooled,

so they each make 700 horse power.

That's 1400 horse power on the water,

more than twice what the Lotus and the seaplane have combined.

This all sounded great but begged an obvious question.

Why are we going so slow?

We're going so slow because we're in a no-wake zone.

-We're idling.

-You're going to idle for about one hour.

-An hour? At idle?

-At idle.

So far I'm liking the Evora. It's not like all the other Lotuses.

It's wider, it has more headroom.

It also has a back seat,

which you could fit your passengers comfortably in if you cut off their heads and legs.

I will tell you, the Evora is very comfortable.

It's got Recaro seats, leather, air-conditioning.

This is a sports car that you can drive every day.

SAT-NAV SPEAKS IN SPANISH

I'm glad we're not going through Arizona.

'Finally, after 20 minutes, my cab arrived.'

-How are you doing?

-Where are you going, sir?

-I'm going to Watson Island.

-How long will it take?

-45 minutes.

45 minutes?

-MOBILE RINGS

-Hello?

Adam, how's the traffic? I bet you're stopped at a red light.

There's no traffic whatsoever, my friend.

-Where are you?

-Oh, we're in the ocean.

-Really? It sounds so smooth.

All right, let me ask you something. Do you speak Spanish?

Why? Is your GPS in Spanish?

-I'm in a race, like where there's a winner and then two losers.

-OK.

-I don't want to be a loser.

-OK.

Losing to Adam would be bad enough

but losing to a man with a big head in a bedazzled carrot

would be just too much to handle.

HORN TOOTS

I now 30 miles ahead of the others.

Rutledge was idling in the Miami River slow zone

and Tanner was still five miles from his seaplane base.

SAT NAV SPEAKING SPANISH

Lotus always had sort of an identity crisis.

It's a mid-engine sports car made in England, not in Italy.

It doesn't have the horse power of a Ferrari or a Lamborghini

but they also don't have the price tag.

This Evora starts around 73 grand.

It is kind of exotic-looking and they're only making 2,000 of them,

so you'll be the only one in your neighbourhood that has one.

Key West. Keep left.

From here it was a straight shot to victory,

down US1 all the way to Key West.

El Navigationo was historio.

So now I'm on Highway 1, which is called the Overseas Highway

because... look at it.

You're basically over water the entire time.

There's 42 bridges on this stretch of road alone.

It's mostly two lanes and it's the only way in and out of the Keys,

so traffic can be heavy.

But it wasn't the traffic that was killing me.

It was this 50mph speed limit.

People in Florida drive slow

to make the most out of whatever time they have left.

Let this baby out.

Let's go.

Not me. I didn't come down here to die, I came down here to win.

SIREN WAILS

Oh, not now!

I warned the crew when I came up on the bridge ten minutes ago

not to speed on the bridge.

Can we just, you know...

go right towards the airplane?

After being released by Sheriff Buford Pusser,

I was back on the road -

at 50mph.

The Donzi had finally reached Biscayne Bay.

-Are we ready?

-We're ready. I'm ready to go fast.

ENGINES ROAR

Now we're cooking. Now we're cooking.

'It was time to play catch-up.'

This thing rides like a Cadillac.

After a smooth ride across the bay,

we passed under the Rickenbacker Causeway.

No more speed limits.

That, my friends, is 91mph on the water.

I would equate it to maybe removing the springs and shocks from your car

and then finding the bumpiest road you can

and then see how fast you can hit it.

How long are I going to be on this thing? I want to do some open-field running.

HORN TOOTS AND HE SIGHS

There's 42 bridges. What, are you building another one? Come on.

After an hour and a half of involuntary sight-seeing,

I finally saw a seaplane.

Miami Seaplane Base.

This is the Cessna 206, often called the SUV of the sky.

With a 520 cubic inch, 285 horse power engine,

she'll do about a buck 20.

That is awesome, getting on the water like that.

Oh, right!

Now we're talking.

Two hours down and Adam was still way ahead.

The race was on.

As I flew south over the azure waters and palm-fringed paradise below,

I got this strange feeling of deja vu -

a desire to wear a pink t-shirt and roll up my pastel jacket sleeves.

I keep hearing the theme to Miami Vice.

-APPLAUSE

-I like that!

It's great.

All right, OK.

And now it's time for the news.

Now here's something you won't believe.

GM has just announced a special edition Camaro SS.

-Oh!

-It's convertible. It's very limited to 100 models.

It's the Neiman Marcus edition Camaro.

Yeah, and get this. They pre-sold it. It sold out in three minutes.

100 people paid 75 grand for a Neiman Marcus edition Camaro,

three words which have never been uttered in the same sentence before.

-Neiman Marcus Camaro?

-Yeah.

-It's like an Del Taco Lamborghini.

-Right?

-Rolls-Royce by Sears.

I obviously, being from the South, I would have painted that yellow and black

and made the Waffle House edition Camaro.

-That's cool.

-Yeah.

-And if you think three minutes is fast,

that sucker would sell out instantly.

All it is is it's burgundy and two-tone leather interior.

Maybe I'm missing where the extra 25 grand went.

There's probably cocaine in the trunk.

-What else you got, Rut?

-I don't know about you but I spend a lot of time on-line looking at cars

and some of favourite time to do that is looking on Craig's List

because you can find these insane descriptions of cars

but as soon as you read it, you think I've got to meet this person.

Like this is a great one.

"I have a '91 Olds POS.

"It runs but you have to be able to bypass the computerized key."

Well, that sure sounds like it doesn't run, sir.

"Been sitting for a few weeks, neighbour and spouse are getting annoyed.

"Would be perfect for a welding class demolition derby."

Now, that was good. Here's another one I really liked.

'94 Buick Century.

"Inside is in great condition and has very low miles.

"Everything works. Only thing it needs is a new transmission.

"And may need a new muffler."

See that, in my eyes, when you're reading a car description

if it needs a new transmission and mufflers, everything does, in fact, not work.

I believe you're right.

When we were all turning 16, Craig's List wasn't there.

We'd go to the grocery store and we'd look at the board and see what cars were for sale

and if you liked the car, you would tear all the numbers off,

so that no-one else would have the chance to call.

LAUGHTER

In another story, you know The Stig? You're familiar with our fourth member, yes?

Tireless.

We decided that we needed to reward him,

so we found ourselves a one-of-a-kind in this country Lamborghini

-and we've let him take this machine around the track. Let's take a look.

-OK.

ENGING REVVING

Very rare. One of a kind.

There it is.

It's a Lamborghini tractor.

Look how comfortable he looks on that thing. It's amazing.

It's surprisingly smooth in the corners.

-Look at that.

-Now, this tractor has a top speed of 15mph.

It's a 12-speed.

First gear goes to 0.3 mph.

0.3 mph out of first gear.

-Is this the tear drop?

-This is the tear drop.

Having to avoid wheel spin in this part of the track.

The slowest part of the track.

All I'm hearing in my head right now is # Da-da da dah-dah da da. #

Do you see the rear fenders?

This was built the year before the Countach hit paper for the first time

and those angles went straight into the Lamborghini Countach.

Amazing how it all connects together.

Oh, he's coming up to the finish finally.

And he is across the line.

-APPLAUSE

-Wow!

Now, not a lot of people know that Lamborghini started out as a tractor company

and he owned a Ferrari

and his wife kept burning the clutch out,

so he put his tractor clutch in the car,

went and told Mr Ferrari, "I've fixed your car for you."

That was so offensive, they got into a fight,

and Mr Lamborghini hired the Ferrari engine and suspension technician,

-started his own car company - the rest is history.

-Wow.

Isn't that great? Don't you love it when Italians get pissed off?

Great things happen.

Most of our times are in the minute and a half range.

That tractor went around the track in five minutes and 22 seconds.

-Wow!

-Yes, yes. It's pretty respectable.

It's still an amazing machine.

Each wheel and tyre combo on that tractor,

each side weighs 1,000 pounds.

As a man from the South, that was an inspiring, inspiring piece.

That... Who knew a tractor could look so good on a track?

-That was the Neiman Marcus edition.

-Oh, was it?

-Yes.

APPLAUSE

And now it's time to put a Big Star In a Small Car.

Please help me welcome Michelle Rodriguez.

CHEERING

-Hi.

-How are you doing? Good to see you.

-How are you?

-Hi, guys.

-Thank you so much for being here.

I have to ask because they told me and I didn't believe it.

You actually got your driver's licence for The Fast And The Furious?

Yes, I did and my crash course in driving

was at the car-racing school in Arizona.

-Really?

-Yeah.

-My father took me to a parking lot.

-And you got to...

-Yeah, my dad tried that but I don't consider that...

-It didn't work.

-Really?

-Yeah.

But you know, when you go to car-racing school

and you learn how to go really fast, it just becomes normal.

And then you get a lot of points on your licence

and then, you know...

you end up having to buy a Prius so the cops leave you alone.

LAUGHTER

-Do you have a Prius?

-Yeah, I own a Prius now.

-AUDIENCE: Ah!

-Wah, wah.

But I'm about to get my points back down to a reasonable level

so I can buy a sports car again.

CHEERING

Yeah! Wha-hoo!

All right, cos I thought like, a Prius, you're the fast and the frugal.

Yeah.

Did you buy the Prius on your own or did the State of California go, "Lady, this is a good idea."

Well, after using, you know...

-and that not working with the cop...

-Oh.

..it was like you realise you've either got to slow down or get a car that's slower.

-OK, so you were being responsible.

-Yeah, yeah.

Because I thought not only did we think that Priuses were punishment but so did California.

-Now, you drove a 240 SX in The Fast And The Furious.

-Yeah.

WHOOPING Oh, somebody there likes that car.

-Right on.

-And you liked the Nissans after that

-and because of the movie you went and bought a truck Nissan?

-I did.

I bought the truck for surfing

because that was back in my I'm-an-idiot, Jackass days.

If there were a female version of Jackass,

me and my home girls from Jersey would have been the show.

Yeah, 80mph on the turnpike on top of my Nissan Frontier, that's my record.

-Whoo-hoo!

-That's great.

-Yeah.

I love Jersey girls surfing. "Come on, we're gonna go fricking surfing."

Now, you were in Avatar, you were a helicopter pilot.

I have to ask. Did you get your pilot's licence just for Avatar?

No but I sure as heck did get some really awesome lessons

where I got to fly over Los Angeles.

The guy actually let me control the damn thing.

I thought he was crazy, you know?

But yeah, right over Burbank, baby. It was so awesome.

See, I can't... I have ADD. I cannot...

I'd be flying around, "Oh, look a bird."

I just, I couldn't do it.

I think you'd find it fun. There's something really awesome about being able to control that thing.

Very cool.

So did you have fun doing this?

I'm sure your race-school stuff must have come in handy with the Suzuki.

It actually...

The car-racing school stuff is with the pedals.

You're in a Formula 2 car.

But it's different, this whole thing, than this.

-Right.

-So I had to get used to it.

So today, I learned how to manoeuvre a stick-clutch vehicle.

This is the first time you drove a stick is on our track?

The first time I was actually able to do it appropriately, yes.

-A-ha!

-Yeah.

-You want to see how she did?

-Yeah!

So do I!

Uh-oh!

All right, nice start.

-Oh, I'm looking angry there.

-You really wanted that gear.

I totally did.

It's the first turn. It is wet.

I do! Why do I look so angry?

You're focused. Look at you.

You're moving pretty good, even though it is a wet track.

This is the tear drop.

I almost flipped it. It felt like I almost flipped it a couple of times.

OK, this is really difficult and you're doing very well.

-Dude, I'm keeping it nice and safe.

-Nice and composed.

Here you come. Now this is where you can really pick up some speed.

LAUGHTER I want some gum.

Apparently you're chewing tobacco while you drive.

This is the back straight, the fastest part of the track.

Give it some.

Whoa!

Here we go again.

Here we go, coming into the last corner here.

Nice bit of speed and you're across the line.

CHEERING

Good job. Good job.

Have mercy on me, man.

I am merely the reporter. How do you think you did?

I think I sucked worse than those guys. That's what I'm thinking.

Well, let's see how you did.

You did it in one fifty-five...

point two.

-CHEERING

-1:55.2

Ah, dude!

-So...

-I'm going to put a W on it because it was a very wet lap.

-So I'm right under Buzz Aldrin?

-You're on top of an astronaut.

-Oh! So...

-There you go. 1:55.2.

-CHEERING

-Michelle Rodriguez.

Tonight we're trying to find the fastest way from Miami

to the southernmost point of the United States - Key West.

I'm in a Lotus Evora,

Rutledge is an a 500,000 Donzi speed boat

and Tanner is in a seaplane.

Let's rejoin the action.

All three of us were racing as fast as we could

for the finish line in Key West.

Adam lead in the Lotus and was just 60 miles from the finish.

Rutledge in the Donzi was just 20 miles behind him

and I was 10 miles behind the boat.

The race was truly on.

Right over there there's a yellow Lotus cruising along somewhere

with a metrosexual New Yorker in it.

How big do you think the alligators get down here? They scare me.

It's Rutledge I'm worried about, in the boat.

Whoa! Yeah!

That boat will do the same speed as the plane.

80mph in the boat. It feels like a gang initiation.

The downside to having 1,400 horse power is we already blew through half a tank of gas.

To guarantee we make it to Key West, we needed to top off.

Once we get through here, it's open ocean,

wide open throttle the whole way down.

These huge supercharged motors use a lot of gas.

This thing will hold 210 gallons and at four bucks a gallon,

it's almost 800 to refuel

but if you had a Donzi, would probably wouldn't care, would you?

So did you see the Lotus at all?

Yeah, it passed me just before we came across the bridge.

-It passed you just before this little bridge right here?

-That's right.

That's about 15 minutes. OK, make sure it's real good and full.

The island of Marathon.

Marathon marks the start of the world-famous Seven-Mile Bridge.

It was first completed in 1912

and has been destroyed by hurricanes and rebuilt twice since then.

But the most important fact was it meant I was only 50 miles from the finish line.

All that open water, I don't see an orange boat,

nor do I see anybody up in the sky in a seaplane.

What I did see was the opening I was looking for.

No traffic, no cops and a bridge that was all mine.

Back in the open ocean, the swell had picked up

and I'd left my sea legs back at the gas station.

I was on the verge on puking

and was beginning to rethink my mode of transportation.

Man, I think that's him on the bridge.

Oh, no. Not now! Damn it!

At the Seven-Mile Bridge I finally caught up to the Lotus.

Let's go, let's do him!

Passing Adam was like a dose of Dramamine

but then Tanner crashed my party.

80mph and being passed by a plane!

The lead was finally mine and nothing could stop me now.

In this part of the world, the seaplane reigns supreme.

Down here in Key West there used to be a navy base

where seaplanes would go out into the ocean looking for German submarines

and when they found them, they dropped grenades on them.

Inspired by history, we went hunting,

though we had a much larger target in mind than a submarine -

Rutledge's bobbing head.

-Holy

-BLEEP!

Holy crap!

-Oh,

-BLEEP.

Tanner just gave me a haircut with the plane.

-Holy

-BLEEP.

-That was close.

20 minutes later and Key West was in my sights

but rough seas by the Southernmost Point meant we had to land three miles to the northeast.

I was now on the outskirts of town.

The traffic gods were smiling down upon me.

I got to be close to the end.

This is 69 Whiskey Tango, we'll be landing now.

With three miles to go, running wasn't going to cut it.

I needed something that burns fuel - anything.

-You rent scooters?

-Yeah.

-Can I rent one?

-OK.

-All right.

-How do I get to the Southernmost Point?

-On this road, there's signs.

So the quickest way would be right down the street?

-Can I take a copy of that?

-Yeah.

It might not have been superbike but the little Honda did have a top speed of 22mph.

I was finally on shore with just a mile to go.

Hey, how are you doing?

Enjoy Key West.

-Hey, which way's the marker?

-The marker?

-The Southernmost Point.

-It's all way the way down the street there.

-All right, thanks.

It was hot, the finish was far

and I hadn't run this fast since I tried out for the '96 Olympics.

Right, there's a taxi.

Come on, we're almost home!

This has to be the last right turn in the United States.

How far would you say we are from the marker?

And this is definitely the quickest route?

Incredibly, all three of us were less than a mile to the finish.

Come on. I'm running out of country.

Oh, you little miserable...

Come on!

-Yes!

-No!

Where are you, scooter boy?

By just that much.

That's.. I was... I...

Oh, crap.

Here's good.

Look who's come ashore.

Hey, it's the pirate. APPLAUSE

CHEERING

All I want to know is how many times did you throw up?

None.

Come on. Seriously.

Three or four, tops.

What I want to know is how fast the Lotus goes around our test track

at the hands of our silent racing driver. Take it away, Stig.

Now, even though the track is wet,

an experienced racer like the Stig has driven in all conditions,

so let's see what it'll do.

That's a lot of wheel spin off the line.

0-60 in about five seconds in the dry,

with the mid-engine weight balance helping the Lotus in the wet.

Surprisingly grippy out there for how much rain has fallen,

as he finds his way through the crows.

That's one of the heaviest Lotuses ever built - 3,000 pounds.

He heads through the chicane and into the tear drop.

Wow, Stig looking amazingly comfortable.

Dives his way into the tightest section.

This is where there's typically a lot of wheel spin in the wet.

Very difficult, even with only 270 horse power, to put the power down.

A little bit of a wag of the tail

but he does get great momentum out and onto the back straight.

Oh, he's moving there at 120mph.

Diving into the most treacherous part of the track, the S's,

at over 100mph, into Camera Man's Corner.

Diving into the last section of the track,

moving those crows out of the way,

sawing at the wheel as he finds his way into the last corner...

and across the line.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Wow!

Pretty good, right?

This is a very difficult one to call because it's wet.

We know the Lotus is going to be quick.

It's one of the heavier Lotuses at 3,000 pounds

but only 270 horse power.

On the board we have a lot of fast cars.

On the top of the board we still have the Viper ACR at 1:22.

and the VelociRaptor at 1:39 is the slowest.

The Evora somehow puts in, in the wet, a 1:28.4,

-two tenths slower than the Vantage.

-Wow.

-Wow.

Wow.

Really quick.

That could potentially be one of the fastest wet times we ever have.

So far it's the only wet time we have.

So far it is and that's all the time that we have.

Thanks for watching. Goodbye.

CHEERING

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