0:00:11 > 0:00:14Tonight, Richard Hammond buys a cup of coffee.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18- James May slips on some snow... - I hate snow.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21And we show a picture of Steve McQueen.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:00:30 > 0:00:34Hello! Hello, everybody. We're back!
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Thank you so much. Thank you.
0:00:39 > 0:00:45It is a whole new series featuring many things.
0:00:45 > 0:00:51We go to Las Vegas, Italy, Monte Carlo, Albania, Loughborough...
0:00:51 > 0:00:52LAUGHTER
0:00:52 > 0:00:57But we start tonight with General Motors, which is a big company in America.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03Many people say that last year they stopped making the Hummer because it was too big and too silly.
0:01:03 > 0:01:11However, Richard Hammond says the reason it's gone west is because it wasn't big or silly enough.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23This is one of the deceased Hummers.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25The H3.
0:01:25 > 0:01:30And it is, you'll notice, a pretty sizable car.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33However, if you mourn its passing,
0:01:33 > 0:01:38don't worry because happily you can now buy something a bit bigger.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48It's called the Marauder, which is quite a scary sounding name.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51But Buttercup didn't feel quite right so, hey, live with it.
0:01:51 > 0:01:56I can't imagine it ever having one of those Christian fish symbols on the back bumper.
0:01:56 > 0:02:01The Marauder, which is built in South Africa, weighs ten tons.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07It's also 21 feet long and 9 feet high.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10So in traffic it does tend to stand out a bit.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21Ooh, don't people get out of your way!
0:02:21 > 0:02:23Don't they!
0:02:24 > 0:02:27CHUCKLES Yeah! Hmm...
0:02:27 > 0:02:34Tell you what, you do get some people telling you about how they feel a bit nervous in Johannesburg.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37I er... I don't, no! I don't.
0:02:38 > 0:02:44It's a weird feeling because I'm both worried about bumping into things because it's big,
0:02:44 > 0:02:46and NOT worried about bumping into things
0:02:46 > 0:02:48because, well, frankly, who cares?
0:02:51 > 0:02:58Like the original Hummer, the Marauder is a military-spec vehicle that ordinary civilians can buy.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00All you have to do is pass a background check
0:03:00 > 0:03:05to prove you're not a villain living in a hollowed-out volcano,
0:03:05 > 0:03:09and come up with a cheque for £300,000.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13That is Rolls Royce Phantom money,
0:03:13 > 0:03:17for a machine that's not exactly the last word in luxury.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Take the back seats, for instance.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23There are eight of them, which is good,
0:03:23 > 0:03:27but I don't think you'll be renting this out as a wedding car any day soon.
0:03:27 > 0:03:34And as for the dashboard, they clearly decided not to go for the walnut and leather option on here,
0:03:34 > 0:03:37partly because they need to leave room for the switches,
0:03:37 > 0:03:40partly because the wood might clash with the machine guns.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47However, the Marauder does compensate in other areas.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Take this annoying slow traffic that I'm stuck in now.
0:03:51 > 0:03:57Normally this is where you need some expensive sat-nav system to give you alternative routes.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59The Marauder doesn't need sat-nav.
0:04:07 > 0:04:09There you go. There you go.
0:04:12 > 0:04:13Oh, yeah!
0:04:14 > 0:04:18It really does control its immense weight very well.
0:04:20 > 0:04:21Yes!
0:04:24 > 0:04:28It really is like offroading quite a large building.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Right, now...
0:04:37 > 0:04:38That gap's big enough.
0:04:43 > 0:04:44I-It is now.
0:04:50 > 0:04:51Oh, Lord!
0:04:55 > 0:04:58ALARM WAILS
0:05:01 > 0:05:03This is a good town car.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15In fact, the Marauder has several benefits as a city runabout.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22Imagine, for example, that you nip off to get a coffee and this happens.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30Oh! That's not nice, no.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35Now, normally the towaway people leave you powerless and penniless,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37but not this time.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41The Marauder has got 290 brake horsepower
0:05:41 > 0:05:45and a top speed of just 70 mph, which admittedly isn't brilliant.
0:05:45 > 0:05:48However, the torque figure is astonishing -
0:05:48 > 0:05:521,100 Newton metres of it, which is...a lot.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56And that makes it pretty good in a towaway tug-of-war.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08We're going this way.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16Yes, there you go.
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Another everyday irritation -
0:06:19 > 0:06:22popping into the supermarket
0:06:22 > 0:06:26and coming out to find yourself blocked in. Again,
0:06:26 > 0:06:31no problem for the Marauder, thanks to its vertical climbing system.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35Low range, four-wheel drive, div lock,
0:06:35 > 0:06:38drive, handbrake off.
0:07:08 > 0:07:12It's really kind of the ideal shopping car.
0:07:14 > 0:07:19But let's not get carried away because, like everything,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22the Marauder has its weak points.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25Visiting a drive-through, for example.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28Normally at about this point you'd roll down the windows
0:07:28 > 0:07:31and get ready to say, "Cheeseburger and chips, please."
0:07:31 > 0:07:36But the problem is the Marauder's windows are for tough situations,
0:07:36 > 0:07:41they're 90 mm thick. They can shrug off an RPG
0:07:41 > 0:07:44and as a result you can't open them, so this is where it gets a bit awkward.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52Good morning, can I take your order please?
0:07:52 > 0:07:53Hello? If you're there...
0:07:53 > 0:07:57BOOMS OVER LOUDSPEAKER: ..I'd like a cheeseburger and some chips, please.
0:07:57 > 0:08:00This isn't a riot situation, don't be alarmed.
0:08:00 > 0:08:06But the real problem comes when you drive around to collect your order.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09Right.
0:08:11 > 0:08:13Don't be alarmed, I'm not shooting.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23So, a mark against the Marauder there.
0:08:23 > 0:08:28And if you happen to visit a safari park...
0:08:28 > 0:08:32you might find that the windscreen wipers aren't that tough.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38But is this the only weak spot? Let's see.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Now, this is where we're going to do a little test you won't find
0:08:45 > 0:08:51in the NCAP ratings, and we start not with this but with that.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53Our old friend, the Hummer...
0:08:56 > 0:09:01..whose underside was packed with seven pounds of plastic explosive.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Oh, dear.
0:09:05 > 0:09:11Really not much point trying to see if it'll start because some pretty important bits are missing.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16So the H3 is, like Hummer itself, very dead.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20But the important question is what happens to the Marauder
0:09:20 > 0:09:24when you put the same amount of explosives underneath it?
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Right, well, clearly, what has happened here is there was a fight
0:09:47 > 0:09:52between the Marauder and the earth, and the earth lost and the explosives have just dug a big hole.
0:09:52 > 0:09:57The question is, can it still be driven?
0:09:57 > 0:10:01OK, fingers crossed.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03ENGINE STRUGGLES
0:10:03 > 0:10:04ENGINE STARTS
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Ha-ha-ha-ha!
0:10:06 > 0:10:11That was definitely an inconvenience but really nothing more.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Oh, yeah.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29APPLAUSE
0:10:33 > 0:10:35Good car.
0:10:35 > 0:10:37It was great.
0:10:39 > 0:10:42Useful bit of consumer advice there.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Can I just say, though, I was looking carefully.
0:10:45 > 0:10:51The last little bit there as it came out of the hole, I noticed the rear tyre had been blown off the rim.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Seven pounds of plastic explosive and all it did was below the tyre off.
0:10:54 > 0:10:59But a car with the tyre blown off is as useless as a car that has been blown to smithereens.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02- Well, no, seven pounds... - He's right because it's like saying,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05"My watch survived the explosion completely unscathed.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07"The hour hand has come off, but apart from that..."
0:11:07 > 0:11:11It's like saying, "I survived the explosion apart from my head, which is over there."
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Would you two please just stop saying things?
0:11:15 > 0:11:17I think it's an excellent car, and now the news.
0:11:17 > 0:11:21- Yes, news.- Yes, it's the news. For people who think there's literally
0:11:21 > 0:11:28too much room in the back of a standard Mini, don't worry because there's now a coupe. There it is.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Whoa-ho-ho!
0:11:31 > 0:11:37- Any details? I can tell you it's, er... - It's between £18,000 and £24,000
0:11:37 > 0:11:40and the top model has 208 horsepower.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43People have been talking about its roof, unsurprisingly.
0:11:43 > 0:11:51Mini themselves say it's styled to look like a baseball cap being worn backwards.
0:11:51 > 0:11:52Why would I want that as my roof?
0:11:52 > 0:11:55I think this is a car that, probably, at night when you leave it,
0:11:55 > 0:11:58entertains itself by spitting at the elderly.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03- They should have called it the Lout. - The Slob.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Steal its own wheels and put itself on bricks.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10I like the idea of the Slob. Now, hey, you know when you're pregnant?
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Er, no. No. Yours is coming on nicely.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18- And you go for a scan and they're able to tell the sex?- Yes.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22Well a very kind lady has sent us a photograph of a scan she's had done
0:12:22 > 0:12:30of her forthcoming arrival, and it seems to suggest she's giving birth to a Stig. Look here.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34She is! Oh, look!
0:12:34 > 0:12:36All curled up, that's nice.
0:12:36 > 0:12:41We're worried about this because we've told him time and again to stop impregnating people.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45- It's awkward.- He made Michael Gambon pregnant twice.
0:12:45 > 0:12:50If there's any consolation, it'll probably be a fairly quick birth, I imagine.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53Unless it comes out sideways, like that.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Now, I've always wondered, I've always thought there was someone
0:12:56 > 0:13:01in Britain now driving around in, let's just say, a Renault Fuego Turbo. OK?
0:13:01 > 0:13:07How do they know that's not the last Renault Fuego Turbo in the whole country?
0:13:07 > 0:13:11Now there's a website called howmanyleft.co.uk,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15where you can go on it and find out precisely how many examples
0:13:15 > 0:13:18of each model are left in existence, OK?
0:13:18 > 0:13:20It's unbelievable.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24- How many Fuego Turbos are there? - I went on it, there are three.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26- Just three? - There were only three Fuego Turbos.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30- That makes them really special. - It's an incredibly rare car.
0:13:30 > 0:13:36No, I went on it, and did you know - because somebody doesn't - there's somebody driving around
0:13:36 > 0:13:43in an Austin Maxi 1750 automatic and probably doesn't realise it's the last one?
0:13:43 > 0:13:47- Only one Maxi 1750...- One. - He's not here, are you?
0:13:47 > 0:13:52- It's a Maxi 1750 automatic and it's unique.- Still crap though, isn't it?
0:13:52 > 0:13:55- It's terrible.- It's uniquely crap because there's only one.
0:13:55 > 0:14:01Whenever we're told there's one Amazonian green-backed nose turtle left...
0:14:01 > 0:14:04- God, is there?- We're all supposed to have these candlelit vigils
0:14:04 > 0:14:10and eat mud and not drive cars and turn our central heating down to save it because it's going extinct.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15There's only one Vauxhall Chevette GL automatic left, that's it.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17- There's only one left.- Look at it!
0:14:17 > 0:14:21What's being done to save this car?
0:14:21 > 0:14:24I put it to you, nothing is being done.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29Actually, in the Victorian era, chaps used to go off, when something was about to become extinct,
0:14:29 > 0:14:34they would go off, find it and shoot it as a trophy.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39"The very last one, blam! Ha-ha!" And then nail its head to the wall.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41Are you suggesting then we go out and hunt?
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Yes, nail its head to our wall in here. The last Chevette, like that.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49We've just thought of something to do in programme six of this show.
0:14:49 > 0:14:55We're going hunting the Chevette GL automatic. It's out there.
0:14:55 > 0:14:59Moving on, there was a poll recently to find the most important car
0:14:59 > 0:15:04from the 20th century, and I went for the Golf GTi
0:15:04 > 0:15:08because it was fast and practical, and classless.
0:15:08 > 0:15:14And it's been much the same story with all the models that have come along subsequently.
0:15:14 > 0:15:20But none of them have ever managed to capture, somehow, the magic of the original.
0:15:20 > 0:15:21Until now.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Now, I'll admit it's not actually a GTi
0:15:33 > 0:15:35or a Golf,
0:15:35 > 0:15:36or even a Volkswagen.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43What it is is a BMW - the new 1M.
0:15:46 > 0:15:53What BMW has done to create this is take a standard one-series and pump it up a bit.
0:15:53 > 0:16:00The wheel arches are flared, the car is slightly lowered, and, at the back, there are extra pooh chutes.
0:16:02 > 0:16:07Inside, there's a splash of suede on the dash with some orange stitching.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Otherwise, it's humdrum, normal.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12Not showy at all.
0:16:15 > 0:16:20Apart from the orange paint, you simply wouldn't guess that it can do this.
0:16:25 > 0:16:31Whoo! Whoo, yes! Blimey, this is good.
0:16:34 > 0:16:36So what have we got here?
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Well, there's a straight-six engine at the front,
0:16:40 > 0:16:45a manual gearbox in the middle, and drive goes to the back.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51That's page one, chapter one from the petrosexual handbook.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01It just feels so... beautifully balanced.
0:17:04 > 0:17:08Of course, all BMW M cars feel this way, they just feel
0:17:08 > 0:17:13better than Mercs, better than Audis, better than pretty much anything.
0:17:13 > 0:17:19And just when you think it can't possibly get any better than this,
0:17:19 > 0:17:22you push the little M button on the steering wheel...
0:17:24 > 0:17:26..and the whole car shimmies.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28It's like a shiver of excitement.
0:17:28 > 0:17:36The feeling you get if someone suddenly gave you permission to set fire to Piers Morgan. Ooh, yes! Ooh!
0:17:39 > 0:17:42In M mode, it's even more of a tyre-smoking mentalist.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53Honestly, I haven't driven anything
0:17:53 > 0:17:55this sort of perfect since...
0:17:55 > 0:17:59I don't know, since the original Golf GTi, in fact.
0:18:03 > 0:18:10And what makes that quite surprising is that the 1M is like a turkey curry on Boxing Day.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13It's made from leftovers.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17The door mirrors are from the current M3,
0:18:17 > 0:18:21the rear axle is from the old one,
0:18:21 > 0:18:23the engine is from a Z4.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27It's a recipe that shouldn't work, but it does.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29As we shall now see.
0:18:31 > 0:18:39What we have here is a new, lighter, more powerful Porsche, the Cayman R.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44And this is the new supercharged Lotus Evora S.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Both these no-compromise ground-huggers are purpose-built
0:18:48 > 0:18:54to go like hell, so they should cream the sit-up-and-beg Beemer.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59However, while the three-litre engine in this is from a Z4,
0:18:59 > 0:19:04it's boosted to 340 horsepower with two tiny little turbochargers.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14So, let's see how we get on.
0:19:25 > 0:19:30So, £50,000 Porsche, £60,000 Lotus,
0:19:30 > 0:19:37and the £40,000 BMW is showing them its many pooh chutes! Ho-ho-ho!
0:19:43 > 0:19:46A bit depressing if you've just bought a Lotus.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51And there's more.
0:19:51 > 0:19:57The Porsche and the Lotus are effectively two-seaters and there's hardly any luggage space at all.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00You get the speed at a price.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04But there's no price to pay with the 1M.
0:20:04 > 0:20:11There's space in the back for two children, and room in the boot for two more.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13It's a family saloon.
0:20:16 > 0:20:23This, then, does to today's sports cars what the original Golf GTi did to the MG and the Triumph Spitfire.
0:20:23 > 0:20:27It renders them...pointless.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31Drawbacks?
0:20:32 > 0:20:35Pfff, erm...
0:20:35 > 0:20:42Maybe the sat-nav screen is a bit far away, and perhaps the ride
0:20:42 > 0:20:48is a tad firm, but that said it's not as uncomfortable as my AMG Mercedes.
0:20:48 > 0:20:53Actually, falling down a flight of stairs isn't as uncomfortable as my Mercedes.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Sustained machine-gun fire would be better than popping to the shops in that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04And anyway, you won't notice the stiff suspension, partly because the seats
0:21:04 > 0:21:10are so comfortable and partly because you'll be having such a good time.
0:21:14 > 0:21:18This is a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant car...
0:21:20 > 0:21:24and that's all, really, I've got to say. The end.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Unbelievably good.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47It's one of the most spectacular cars I've driven in a long time.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50Fair enough, but hang on, hang on, hang on!
0:21:50 > 0:21:53£40,000 for a one-series!
0:21:53 > 0:21:56I'm sorry, were you not listening?
0:21:56 > 0:22:00I just said it's a brilliant car and that was the end. There was nothing more to say.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- Yes, but that's a big price tag. - There's nothing more to say.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06But there's something more to do. We have to find out how fast it goes
0:22:06 > 0:22:10round our track and that of course means handing it over to our tame racing driver.
0:22:10 > 0:22:15Some say he doesn't know what dogs are for, and that he recently
0:22:15 > 0:22:19took out a super-injunction to prevent us from revealing that he...
0:22:19 > 0:22:24SILENCE
0:22:24 > 0:22:26..with an enormous goat.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30All we know is he's called The Stig.
0:22:33 > 0:22:36And he's off. Wipers on, it's drizzling out there.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38Hopefully that won't hurt the time too badly.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42Let's see, coming up to the first corner.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Very tidy on the way in,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48tidy through the middle, tail out, there it is.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51The limited slip diff allowing him perfect control.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53# Ro-mah, rom-ma-ma
0:22:53 > 0:22:55# Gaga, ooh la... #
0:22:55 > 0:22:59For some reason the Stig is listening to Lady Gaga in French.
0:22:59 > 0:23:04Weird. OK, tidy through Chicago now, down to Hammerhead.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06I have a sneaking suspicion BMW have tried to
0:23:06 > 0:23:10make this car slow so it doesn't go faster than the more expensive M3.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13Look at that, tail really out there.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Stig looking where he's going out of the side windows.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23OK, follow-through.
0:23:23 > 0:23:25He's even sideways through that.
0:23:25 > 0:23:31BMW only bringing 450 1Ms to Britain, 300 of them already sold.
0:23:31 > 0:23:37OK, hard on the brakes, penultimate corner, still very greasy out there.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Into Gambon and there he is across the line.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46I have the time here.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49It did it in 1 minute 25 dead
0:23:49 > 0:23:54so, even though it was a damp track, it was faster than an M3.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59- Very good, but hang on, because I think there was a bit of film there we didn't see.- There wasn't.
0:23:59 > 0:24:04- There was, from the final run. I think the audience would like to see it.- They wouldn't.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Yes, they would. Let's have a look.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09There he is, you see, just past the tyres.
0:24:09 > 0:24:12He's doing about 115 mph and, oh, look, it's spat him off!
0:24:12 > 0:24:15But even on the wet grass it's still in shape.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19No, that's just how good The Stig is, not the car, you fool.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22It spat him off. AUDIENCE: Oooh!
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Big price, small car, big price, fell off.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31LAUGHTER
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Now time to put a star in our reasonably priced car.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37My guest tonight was christened Vincent
0:24:37 > 0:24:44but then he became a rock star and decided he needed a rock-starry name so he changed it to Alice.
0:24:44 > 0:24:49Ladies and gentlemen, we're not worthy. Please welcome Alice Cooper!
0:24:54 > 0:24:56I can hardly believe you're here.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59Alice Cooper!
0:24:59 > 0:25:02A legend. Have a seat.
0:25:04 > 0:25:05Thank you.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Why is it Alice?
0:25:07 > 0:25:10- Why Alice?- You know,
0:25:10 > 0:25:14you had to come up with a name that was going to piss off every parent in America.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20- It translated across the ocean so, you know, and Mary Whitehouse just hated us.- Because you were banned.
0:25:20 > 0:25:25Yes, she banned us for no apparent reason but it was the best thing that ever happened to us.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29School's Out came out, we went right to number one, sold out...
0:25:29 > 0:25:34Because the British public said, "How dare you tell us what we can see and what we can't see!"
0:25:34 > 0:25:39So the British public was all for us but there was the one lady and we sent her flowers...
0:25:39 > 0:25:44Mary Whitehouse - in essence, she was the Daily Mail but in a pearl necklace really.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46She was a terrifying woman.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49It was the stage shows, I think, that made everybody say,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52"Hang on a minute, why are these people coming here?"
0:25:52 > 0:25:56There was the story, which I don't believe is true, that you ripped a chicken in half.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00- No, that was Colonel Sanders. - Made a chicken die anyway.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Somebody threw a chicken on stage in the middle of a concert.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08I'm from Detroit, I've never been on a farm in my life, so I picked it up.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It had feathers, it was a bird, it should fly.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18I threw it and it didn't fly as much as it plummeted
0:26:18 > 0:26:22into the audience, and the audience tore it to pieces.
0:26:22 > 0:26:27Then the next day it was "Alice Cooper rips a chicken apart and eats it."
0:26:27 > 0:26:32Because in your shows, you often got decapitated, hung.
0:26:32 > 0:26:36I got killed four times in my last show, but I play the villain.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39I always play the villain, so the villain has to get it in the end.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42The Darth Vader, the Hannibal Lecter, always has to get it in the end.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44So when's the next time we can see you in the UK?
0:26:44 > 0:26:49We'll be here in Halloween, of course because I own Halloween, it's mine.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- It is. The Prince of Darkness.- We're doing a big show at the Ally Pally.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54I think it's kind of interesting, Alice at the Palace.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Will you be killed many times?
0:26:57 > 0:27:01Just once in this show, one good one.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Although you've been killed many times, obviously on stage,
0:27:04 > 0:27:10you didn't die in the '60s and '70s when so many of your contemporaries did.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15Yeah, well my big brothers were Keith Moon, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18I can go right down the list of everyone that died
0:27:18 > 0:27:22at 27 years old, and I was the little brother trying to keep up with them.
0:27:22 > 0:27:27- It almost got me. - Who was the biggest? - Nobody can compete with Keith Moon.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30I've heard this many times, that Keith Moon was the maddest.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33If you think of it this way, about 40% of what you've heard
0:27:33 > 0:27:37about me or Iggy or Ozzy or anything like that is probably true.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40Everything you've ever heard about Keith Moon is true.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44LAUGHTER And you've only heard a tenth of it.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48He'd come to Los Angeles and stay at the house for a week, you know.
0:27:48 > 0:27:54And I'd go out to a recording session, come back and he'd be dressed like a French maid.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57And your car was in the swimming pool.
0:27:57 > 0:28:00And my wife would go, "Who is this?!"
0:28:00 > 0:28:04How did you manage to survive, then, when obviously so many people didn't?
0:28:04 > 0:28:10I woke up one morning, and instead of just throwing up beer, it was blood.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14- But real blood. I mean, not...? - Yeah, it wasn't fake blood.
0:28:14 > 0:28:21You know, throwing up blood on stage is very theatrical and it looks great.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24In your Holiday Inn room, you know,
0:28:24 > 0:28:26where the only person who can see is the maid
0:28:26 > 0:28:30and she's really not impressed because she has to clean it up,
0:28:30 > 0:28:33that was a good message for me that this is really it now.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37- If I keep drinking, I'm going to die. - So what did you replace it with?
0:28:37 > 0:28:38Golf.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43- That would clear Keith Moon up. - Golf and cannibalism.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48I don't want to talk about golf.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52- I want to talk about Detroit, which is where you're from.- Yep.
0:28:52 > 0:28:59A lot of people think of it as the music town, obviously Motown and the Motown acts, but the amount of
0:28:59 > 0:29:02rock-and-roll stars that have come out of Detroit is simply unbelievable.
0:29:02 > 0:29:08Iggy Pop, Ted Nugent, Bob Seeger, Madonna is Detroit, which a lot of people don't realise.
0:29:08 > 0:29:09- The MC5.- White Stripes.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13Bits of the Eagles, everyone thinks they're from California. They're Detroit.
0:29:13 > 0:29:18- Detroit, yes. - Behind this music, which was huge,
0:29:18 > 0:29:25obviously cars were also big and there's no question, you're a big car freak. Massive petrolhead.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28Yes, I love cars. And they gave me a Kia to drive!
0:29:28 > 0:29:32Yes, we do. Down-to-earth, it's the star in the REASONABLY priced car.
0:29:32 > 0:29:37- How many cars do you think you've owned over the years?- At least 100.
0:29:37 > 0:29:41I'm assuming most of your cars you've had over the years,
0:29:41 > 0:29:43I guess are American. Would that be the case?
0:29:43 > 0:29:47Yeah, well, we were always addicted to the Mustangs and Camaros.
0:29:47 > 0:29:48Detroit.
0:29:48 > 0:29:53Yeah, the Detroit muscle cars. And you know, of course the Hemi Cudas.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57What's the Alice Cooper Corral that you read about all the time?
0:29:57 > 0:30:03- I'm so into the cars and in Phoenix, Arizona, where I live, we build cars and then...- This is the Corral.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Yeah. Then we put my name on it and I go and help sell it.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08So we have a picture of...
0:30:08 > 0:30:10That was a Lincoln Zephyr.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14That's billion-dollar bills burning up the flames
0:30:14 > 0:30:18and we said, "Who would buy a car, the billion dollar babies car?" We said, well, Trump, maybe?
0:30:18 > 0:30:21What would make it
0:30:21 > 0:30:22really appealing to them?
0:30:22 > 0:30:27You open the trunk in this car and there's your own private ATM machine.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30- Oh, really? - Yes, your own bank money machine.
0:30:30 > 0:30:34- A cash machine in the trunk. - Yeah! You open it up and...
0:30:34 > 0:30:38So when you're touring, are you looking for these unusual cars to buy?
0:30:38 > 0:30:44I just found a really nice little '65 Mustang that looks like it came out of
0:30:44 > 0:30:48the shop in Nashville. I drove by it every day going to the studio
0:30:48 > 0:30:52and I finally went in and said "What do you want for this car?" They said 22,000.
0:30:54 > 0:30:55- Because that's cheap.- Absolutely.
0:30:55 > 0:31:00You didn't have the heart to say, "You do realise cars like that are worth a lot more these days"?
0:31:00 > 0:31:04I didn't tell them. LAUGHTER
0:31:04 > 0:31:08OK, so, anyway, you came over here to try your hand at a lap
0:31:08 > 0:31:12and I guess a lap is quite unusual with corners for an American.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Yeah. No, you're really right because in America we drag race.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19We go from light to light. You pull up next to a car.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21This is the sign, this means race.
0:31:21 > 0:31:28- Really?- You go, OK, you rev it up, put it in first gear and whoever gets to that light next is the winner.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33But you burn rubber up, it's just drag racing so you don't even think about turning.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37But this was interesting for me to get in a car,
0:31:37 > 0:31:39the shift on the left side.
0:31:39 > 0:31:41It was like dyslexic driving
0:31:41 > 0:31:46- because I'm going 3rd, 9th?- Opening the door, no, it's not there.
0:31:46 > 0:31:50So they gave me an automatic and it was a really, really fast Kia(!)
0:31:53 > 0:31:57- Who would like to see Alice's lap?- Yeah.
0:31:59 > 0:32:03Here we go. Let's have a look.
0:32:03 > 0:32:04Oh, that's pouring with rain.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07Look at that thing go.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11- Come on now. All right. - That's an intense stare you've got going on there.
0:32:11 > 0:32:14Clint Eastwood for a second.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16And into the first corner.
0:32:16 > 0:32:20This can go as a very, very wet lap.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23No brake lights there, that's good.
0:32:23 > 0:32:24Trundling.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26Come on, you pig. Keep going.
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Did I say "Come on, you pig"?
0:32:28 > 0:32:30Yes, I think you probably did.
0:32:30 > 0:32:32The Cee'd gripping well as it...
0:32:32 > 0:32:35- Where are you going?- I've no idea.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37It's tricky. Now the Hammerhead, was this OK?
0:32:37 > 0:32:39You managed to stay between the lines?
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Yes, come on, get the back around. TYRES SQUEAL
0:32:41 > 0:32:46A bit of understeer and some tyre squeal despite the conditions.
0:32:46 > 0:32:49Yes, you're moving, just.
0:32:49 > 0:32:50Come on, come on, come on!
0:32:50 > 0:32:53Come on, Kia.
0:32:53 > 0:32:58- How many people say "Come on, Kia?" - Now where are you going?
0:32:58 > 0:33:02- Left! Left! Left! - I was getting a big...
0:33:02 > 0:33:05That's not fast there,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07not fast at all.
0:33:07 > 0:33:09I was floored right there. I had it floored.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13There's obviously something stuck behind the accelerator pedal.
0:33:13 > 0:33:15Come on, spin a little bit. Come on!
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Where are you now?
0:33:18 > 0:33:24And you're being a rock star there, all over the place. But across the line, there we are!
0:33:28 > 0:33:29So...
0:33:33 > 0:33:36..here is the board with many, many names on it.
0:33:36 > 0:33:38Where do you think you've come?
0:33:38 > 0:33:40Oh, man, I have no idea.
0:33:40 > 0:33:44If I broke two minutes I'd be the happiest guy in the world.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47I can make you the happiest man in the world.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50- But not by much. - LAUGHTER
0:33:50 > 0:33:56Because, Alice Cooper, rock legend, all-round unbelievably nice guy,
0:33:56 > 0:33:58you did it in one minute...
0:34:00 > 0:34:05- ..56.3.- Oh, yes!
0:34:16 > 0:34:20I don't know, really, what to say about that other than it was terrible.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23- But, you know what? I'm proud of that.- Do you know what I am?
0:34:23 > 0:34:26I'm so grateful to you for coming on because it's been
0:34:26 > 0:34:29such an honour to meet you. You were nothing like I was expecting.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33I thought you'd eat the television and kill someone in the audience.
0:34:33 > 0:34:35Come and see the show, I do that.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39- I'd love to see it. Ladies and gentlemen, Alice Cooper. - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:34:51 > 0:34:56Now, as you know, here on Top Gear it's our job
0:34:56 > 0:34:59to keep you up-to-date with all that's new and cutting edge
0:34:59 > 0:35:02in the ever-changing world of modern motoring.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11Hello, viewers. James Paddy May Hopkirk here,
0:35:11 > 0:35:17driving a rally version of the original Mini Cooper S.
0:35:17 > 0:35:21And that's quite a special feeling because, even though it rose to fame
0:35:21 > 0:35:29because of all that Swinging '60s stuff, the Mini is actually the most iconic rally car of all time.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34If you're one of our younger viewers or were hoping
0:35:34 > 0:35:38to watch the Antiques Roadshow but you can't find the remote, let me give you a quick history lesson.
0:35:42 > 0:35:46This tiny machine shocked the rally world by winning the prestigious
0:35:46 > 0:35:54Monte Carlo Rally in 1964, '65 and '67.
0:35:54 > 0:35:59The 0 - 60 time might have been a dreary 13 seconds but its light,
0:35:59 > 0:36:03compact body meant it cornered like a go-kart.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09It's bloody brilliant!
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Everybody should drive a Mini, everybody should own a Mini
0:36:13 > 0:36:16at some point or you're incomplete as a human being.
0:36:19 > 0:36:25Now, like any form of motorsport, rallying needs cars that are stars in their own right.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28It's why Formula 1 needs Ferrari.
0:36:28 > 0:36:32And that's why modern rallying needs another Mini.
0:36:32 > 0:36:37And now, at last, it's got one.
0:36:42 > 0:36:47This is the brand-new World Rally Championship Mini.
0:36:50 > 0:36:55But whereas the old car was something of a giant slayer, this new one is really...
0:36:55 > 0:36:59just a bit of a giant and it's because it's based on this car,
0:36:59 > 0:37:02the Mini Countryman which isn't really a Mini at all.
0:37:02 > 0:37:05It's more of a trendy school-run car with four-wheel drive.
0:37:05 > 0:37:11But if you look down here, you'll see it says Mini.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13So it must be true.
0:37:13 > 0:37:16Let's not get bogged down in that now...
0:37:16 > 0:37:20because this is the modern Mini we're interested in.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22ENGINE ROARS
0:37:22 > 0:37:24Yes, what a racket!
0:37:26 > 0:37:32Whereas the original Mini had 70 horsepower, this one has around 300.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35It does 0 - 60 in 3.5 seconds.
0:37:39 > 0:37:43And this brilliant sequential gearbox, look at this.
0:37:43 > 0:37:45And go!
0:37:45 > 0:37:50In fact, I got a bit carried away with the gearbox.
0:37:50 > 0:37:55Bang! Oh! Go! Yes!
0:37:55 > 0:37:57Oh! Yee!
0:37:57 > 0:38:00By the time you watch this film,
0:38:00 > 0:38:04the Mini will have taken part in its first proper rally.
0:38:04 > 0:38:05No, I've buggered it!
0:38:05 > 0:38:10But, as I drive it today, it's yet to turn a wheel in real anger.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19So, we're here to find out how good it is and we're going to do that
0:38:19 > 0:38:26with a typically unscientific yet informative and hopefully invigorating Top Gear race.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31And to do that, we've come back to one of our old Top Gear stomping grounds -
0:38:31 > 0:38:35the Winter Olympics site of Lillehammer in Norway...
0:38:37 > 0:38:42..where, several years ago, we raced a rally car against Richard Hammond in a bobsleigh.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46And on that occasion it was the men in tights who came first.
0:38:49 > 0:38:54So the motor car was given a bloody nose and has come back with a score to settle.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58And because of that, the rally mechanics here have told
0:38:58 > 0:39:02Captain Paddy Slow to get stuffed and make way for their driver.
0:39:02 > 0:39:09He's Kris Meeke, intercontinental rally champion and quite possibly the fastest ginger on the planet.
0:39:11 > 0:39:14And as for the bobsleigh team...
0:39:17 > 0:39:18They're not here.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23Instead, the ice-sliding community is fielding one of its biggest guns.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Olympic skeleton gold medallist Amy Williams.
0:39:39 > 0:39:43Right, in case you can't get Dave on your telly, or for some other reason
0:39:43 > 0:39:49you haven't seen the original race between Hammond and me, here is why Lillehammer is the ideal venue
0:39:49 > 0:39:52for a rally car versus skeleton bob shoot-out.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57We begin here, and this red line is the bob track,
0:39:57 > 0:40:02almost two kilometres of twisting, turning, icy terror.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06And this blue line is the road - almost exactly the same length,
0:40:06 > 0:40:13nearly two kilometres - and it too is twisting, turning, yumping, icy terror.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17And they both end here at the finish line.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21The first person there is the winner. You realise that the car must win this one
0:40:21 > 0:40:23because the car is 1-0 down.
0:40:23 > 0:40:27The car that has been around for 125-odd years now is being challenged by...
0:40:27 > 0:40:30My two year-old sled.
0:40:30 > 0:40:35A tea tray. Do you mind if I...? I don't think people will have seen one of these close-up.
0:40:35 > 0:40:36This is a skeleton bob.
0:40:36 > 0:40:40- Your face goes that way.- Face this end and I steer here and here.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43- By doing what?- By pushing my shoulders in and moving the sled.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46So your face is actually over the end.
0:40:46 > 0:40:50My chin and head and helmet will be scratching the ice on the way down.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54- 70 mph with your face... - Scraping the ice.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57Our faces aren't going to scrape along the road, are they?
0:40:57 > 0:41:02Hopefully not. That's only if we're going upside-down, which we don't plan to do.
0:41:02 > 0:41:03Right, let's do it.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27As Amy imagined her way down the run,
0:41:27 > 0:41:33I imagined Kris going too fast in the dark and the pair of us rolling end-over-end in a huge fireball.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44OK, here we go! Three, two, one.
0:41:51 > 0:41:52And we're off.
0:42:07 > 0:42:09Go! Go! Go!
0:42:11 > 0:42:13For Amy, the start is everything.
0:42:13 > 0:42:19Just a tenth to slow at the top and she'll be two seconds off the pace at the bottom.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Sadly for us, she had a great start.
0:42:26 > 0:42:27To the left.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35No sign of Williams at the crossover.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38'That's because Williams was ahead.'
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Go! Go! Go!
0:42:52 > 0:42:56At the halfway point, both Kris and Amy were losing precious time.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Kris because of the slushy ground,
0:43:00 > 0:43:04and Amy because of rough ice.
0:43:04 > 0:43:06Fortunately, Kris could rise above the problem.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27Here we go. Whoa!
0:43:31 > 0:43:34Less than a kilometre to go, Kris had closed the gap.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Yes, sir! Loving that.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44Right.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Here it is, here we go.
0:43:51 > 0:43:53Rrr!
0:44:07 > 0:44:09AMY PANTS
0:44:18 > 0:44:20Oh, no! What did you get?
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Amy Williams, you did it in...
0:44:24 > 0:44:26What is it? What is it?
0:44:26 > 0:44:30You did it in 61...
0:44:30 > 0:44:34- Point?- 61.04.- Yeah?
0:44:34 > 0:44:37We did it in...
0:44:37 > 0:44:39- 59.73!- No!
0:44:39 > 0:44:43- Sorry!- Fair enough.
0:44:43 > 0:44:46- Congratulations to you too.- It's traditional, I'm really sorry...
0:44:46 > 0:44:50It's bad manners, but...loser.
0:44:50 > 0:44:52Well done.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56Disappointing. Well done, Mini.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02I hate snow.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:45:08 > 0:45:12- So, Kris...- Amy! Amy!
0:45:12 > 0:45:19Can I first of all just say what a pleasure it is for me to have you back here on our show.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22You always bring... a touch of joy to my heart.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Thank you.
0:45:24 > 0:45:30This steering thing - you say you use your shoulders - how does that actually work?
0:45:30 > 0:45:37So the inside of a sled pretty much is like a pivot point in the middle so, if I steer one shoulder there,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41the pivot point will move and the runners grip the ice.
0:45:41 > 0:45:43Do you have to do that really fast?
0:45:46 > 0:45:47Sometimes, yes.
0:45:47 > 0:45:49Sometimes slow, sometimes fast.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52Is your hair naturally curly?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54Yes, this is normal.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56It's normal? Very lovely.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01- What's your favourite song? - Oh, for God's sake.
0:46:01 > 0:46:03- Kris.- Sorry, we don't have time to talk to the man.
0:46:03 > 0:46:08No, we do have time to talk to the man. How did it get on, the Mini, in its first proper rally?
0:46:08 > 0:46:11- Well...- Well, there we are, good. Now I want to talk
0:46:11 > 0:46:14about planning permission because, if you want to change your house
0:46:14 > 0:46:18in this country, you have to go to the council for permission.
0:46:18 > 0:46:25This is to stop people putting up pink conservatories and generally ruining the heritage of Britain.
0:46:25 > 0:46:30It all makes sense but I think the planners have overlooked an important detail.
0:46:33 > 0:46:37This is the pretty little village of Chilham in Kent.
0:46:40 > 0:46:45And careful planning means all of the houses are still very lovely.
0:46:45 > 0:46:49But look here. The owner of this house wouldn't be allowed
0:46:49 > 0:46:56by the planners to fit uPVC windows or stone cladding, but he's allowed to festoon
0:46:56 > 0:47:02the parking space outside his house with a hideous Chrysler PT Cruiser.
0:47:02 > 0:47:04It makes no sense.
0:47:06 > 0:47:12If I had my way, only one car would be allowed in a village as lovely as this.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16A car that, this year, is celebrating its 50th birthday.
0:47:16 > 0:47:20The beguiling, bewitching, beautiful
0:47:20 > 0:47:22E-type Jag.
0:47:27 > 0:47:32Over the years, there have been many pretty cars.
0:47:34 > 0:47:39But Enzo Ferrari described the E-type as the prettiest of them all.
0:47:43 > 0:47:47And what makes that extraordinary is that it was shaped at night
0:47:47 > 0:47:51in a rudimentary early-days wind tunnel that used so much electricity
0:47:51 > 0:47:56it could only be operated when the rest of the country was asleep.
0:47:58 > 0:48:02And everyone was still asleep when the car itself was tested
0:48:02 > 0:48:10because the only place where they could actually run it up to its 149 mph top speed
0:48:10 > 0:48:11was at 5am on the M1.
0:48:13 > 0:48:18It was on one of those high-speed runs they discovered the roof
0:48:18 > 0:48:19would flap about so,
0:48:19 > 0:48:24to weigh it down, a string of lead shot was sewn into the canvas.
0:48:24 > 0:48:28And there was a similar make-do-and-mend attitude to the rear suspension.
0:48:28 > 0:48:34The chief engineer was given just a month to design an entirely new system.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38The boss, Sir William Lyons, bet him a fiver he couldn't do it.
0:48:38 > 0:48:45He did, and Jag used exactly the same set-up for the next 25 years.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50Lyons, in fact, was completely underwhelmed by the finished product.
0:48:50 > 0:48:55He didn't like the look of the back end and didn't think it would sell. He was wrong.
0:48:55 > 0:49:02Because when the E-type was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March 1961,
0:49:02 > 0:49:04it was an instant hit.
0:49:05 > 0:49:09Such was demand for test drives that a second demonstrator
0:49:09 > 0:49:14was driven through the night from the factory in Coventry to Switzerland.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18And this is that very car.
0:49:25 > 0:49:27OK, let's see what the old girl can do.
0:49:27 > 0:49:32I know it's genesis, I know this is the very first convertible E-type ever,
0:49:32 > 0:49:36but I have to find out what it's like when we give it some noise.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40Oh-ho-ho!
0:49:41 > 0:49:43Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha!
0:49:46 > 0:49:50Can you imagine what it must have been like in 1961?
0:49:50 > 0:49:55You've been to the bakery, you've queued for a week for a loaf of bread, you're on your way home
0:49:55 > 0:50:01in black-and-white in your Humber and you were overtaken by one of these.
0:50:01 > 0:50:04It must have been staggering.
0:50:04 > 0:50:05"What was that?!"
0:50:07 > 0:50:11It's the same age, this car and me, give or take.
0:50:11 > 0:50:13It has aged better.
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Still looks good.
0:50:16 > 0:50:22But it wasn't just the looks that astonished everyone back in 1961.
0:50:22 > 0:50:28Back then, the equivalent Ferrari or Maserati was £6,000. A little bit more, in fact.
0:50:28 > 0:50:33This was £2,098, and this,
0:50:33 > 0:50:39thanks to its 3.8 litre straight-six engine, was faster.
0:50:41 > 0:50:42Oh-ho-ho!
0:50:44 > 0:50:46This is just heaven.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52Even by today's standards, that's a lot of go.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04Small wonder the E-type became a must-have accessory for the jet set.
0:51:04 > 0:51:09Princess Grace, Steve McQueen, Tony Curtis,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12Britt Ekland, Frank Sinatra, George Best,
0:51:12 > 0:51:16Roy Orbison, Charlton Heston, Count Basie.
0:51:16 > 0:51:19They all had E-type Jags.
0:51:22 > 0:51:26No car before ever caused such a stir
0:51:26 > 0:51:28and no car has since, really.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Until now.
0:51:39 > 0:51:42This is called the Eagle Speedster.
0:51:42 > 0:51:48Made by a small engineering company in Sussex, it looks like an E-type.
0:51:48 > 0:51:52It's even based on an E-type but there have been some changes.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55The aluminium body is deeper,
0:51:55 > 0:51:59the windscreen is lower and more steeply raked.
0:51:59 > 0:52:03The wheels are new, and the tyres, and the brakes.
0:52:03 > 0:52:05And the interior.
0:52:08 > 0:52:12If someone had come to me asking for planning permission to alter
0:52:12 > 0:52:17an E-type Jaguar, I'd have said no, don't be stupid, you'll mess it up!
0:52:17 > 0:52:20But they haven't.
0:52:20 > 0:52:27I think this, by a long way, is the most beautiful car I've ever seen.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33It might actually be the most beautiful THING I've ever seen.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40And the surgery isn't just cosmetic.
0:52:40 > 0:52:46Under the bonnet there's a fuel-injected 4.7 litre straight-six
0:52:46 > 0:52:53which sends its power to the rear wheels through a five-speed gearbox and an aluminium differential.
0:52:58 > 0:53:01As a result of all the aluminium, which doesn't weigh very much,
0:53:01 > 0:53:05this has a better power-to-weight ratio than a Porsche 911 Turbo,
0:53:05 > 0:53:10and, as a result of that, it can do 0 - 60 in 5 seconds.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14Flat out, it'll do 160.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22- And then there's the noise. - ENGINE ROARS
0:53:25 > 0:53:28Ha-ha-ha!
0:53:30 > 0:53:33It's spitting fire.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36It's a spitfire! That's what it is.
0:53:43 > 0:53:45The looks, the noise!
0:53:57 > 0:54:00This, to me, is...
0:54:00 > 0:54:04absolute perfection.
0:54:05 > 0:54:08I'll put my hand on my heart and say here and now
0:54:08 > 0:54:14I've never ever driven a car, ever, that I've wanted more than this one.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23I yearn to have it.
0:54:30 > 0:54:35There is, however, a problem.
0:54:35 > 0:54:41Because every single piece of this car, pretty much, was hand-made,
0:54:41 > 0:54:42the price is fantastic.
0:54:42 > 0:54:44Enormous. Eye-watering.
0:54:44 > 0:54:51I didn't know numbers went this high, but it turns out they do, so sit down, I'm going to say it.
0:54:51 > 0:54:54Here we go. The Eagle Speedster...
0:54:55 > 0:55:01..is half a million pounds. Half a million.
0:55:03 > 0:55:08That's a lot for a toy. A car that doesn't even have a roof.
0:55:08 > 0:55:11But this is more than a toy.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14It's a modern take on the E-type Jag.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17And the E-type, with the possible exception of Concorde,
0:55:17 > 0:55:22is almost certainly the last truly great thing Britain made.
0:55:24 > 0:55:29I think we should be more proud of it than we actually are.
0:55:29 > 0:55:35Its 50th birthday was marked by a small piece on page 16 of the Daily Telegraph
0:55:35 > 0:55:41and I don't think that's right, which is why I've organised something a little more substantial.
0:55:41 > 0:55:46- BAND PLAYS - I've organised something which recognises that this is the soul,
0:55:46 > 0:55:51the spirit, the beating heart of all that we can be.
0:55:51 > 0:55:59The E-type isn't a plucky Brit that's happy to come home second, it wouldn't be humiliated by Barcelona.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02It wouldn't simply wave Sebastian Vettel by.
0:56:02 > 0:56:06And if you asked an E-type to organise a royal wedding,
0:56:06 > 0:56:10it wouldn't ferry the guests to Westminster Abbey in a fleet of minibuses.
0:56:10 > 0:56:15The E-type doesn't know what a minibus is.
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Every country has an icon.
0:56:17 > 0:56:22The great nation of France has the big brown pylon in the middle of Paris.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24Australia has a rock.
0:56:24 > 0:56:27The Belgians have a urinating infant.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30Well this, I put it to you, is ours.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34Our Jerusalem, our chariot of fire, the maypole around which the people
0:56:34 > 0:56:39of this funny little rock in the North Atlantic can gather, to remind ourselves
0:56:39 > 0:56:42that, once upon a time, we really were as great...
0:56:44 > 0:56:46..as we think we are now.
0:57:21 > 0:57:24ENGINE FAILS
0:57:25 > 0:57:27It won't start.
0:57:29 > 0:57:31APPLAUSE
0:57:39 > 0:57:42A stirring but nicely understated tribute there, I thought.
0:57:42 > 0:57:46But you said something that worried me - with the possible exception of Concorde,
0:57:46 > 0:57:50the E-type was the last great thing Britain made. Is that right?
0:57:50 > 0:57:55Can you think of anything we've made since which you go, "that's a world-beater"?
0:57:55 > 0:57:59The E-type was a third the price of the Ferrari, as I said, and faster, and better-looking.
0:57:59 > 0:58:04The only thing I can think that even gets close really is Monty Python, that moved the world on.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07What about those vacuum cleaners with no bags in them?
0:58:07 > 0:58:09We invented those and they're pretty good, they're clever.
0:58:09 > 0:58:13Hammond, I'm not sure that, in 50 years' time, people will be having
0:58:13 > 0:58:17a big birthday party on Beachy Head with people going, "These Dysons are brilliant!"
0:58:17 > 0:58:20I'm not sure that's going to happen.
0:58:20 > 0:58:25- Moving on, the Eagle Speedster - is it really that good?- Look at it.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28Seriously, just look at it.
0:58:28 > 0:58:32It's beautiful to behold, yes, but how can it really be worth
0:58:32 > 0:58:35five times more than an immaculate original E-type?
0:58:35 > 0:58:37I can demonstrate that, Hammond.
0:58:37 > 0:58:41I can demonstrate that because, if I step in here, OK? Listen.
0:58:43 > 0:58:45ENGINE FAILS
0:58:45 > 0:58:47LAUGHTER
0:58:47 > 0:58:48ENGINE STARTS
0:58:48 > 0:58:51CHEERING
0:58:51 > 0:58:52It starts.
0:58:52 > 0:58:54On that bombshell, it's time to end.
0:58:54 > 0:58:57Thank you very much for watching. Good night!
0:59:09 > 0:59:12Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:59:12 > 0:59:15E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk