0:00:11 > 0:00:16- Tonight, James asks a girl for a favour.- No.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18Richard listens to a man.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21And I polish a bishop.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:00:28 > 0:00:31Hello, good evening!
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Hello, thank you, everybody, thank you. Now.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37New cars come out so fast these days,
0:00:37 > 0:00:40sometimes it is difficult to keep up.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44Nissan, for example, said the other day that over the next six years,
0:00:44 > 0:00:47they will be bringing out a new model every six weeks.
0:00:47 > 0:00:50Happily, however, there are some car companies,
0:00:50 > 0:00:53usually Italian ones, that won't be rushed.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57That like to take their time, have some lunch.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00And nobody is better at this than Lamborghini,
0:01:00 > 0:01:03as Richard Hammond shall now explain.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14When it comes to their big V12 cars,
0:01:14 > 0:01:16their flagship battle cruisers,
0:01:16 > 0:01:21Lamborghini really, really like to take their time.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Just these four - the Miura,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28the Countach, the Diablo...
0:01:29 > 0:01:33..and the Murcielago, span half a century.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36And now, at last, there's a new one.
0:01:41 > 0:01:42It's called the Aventador.
0:01:44 > 0:01:47It costs £248,000.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51And it's the closest thing to a stealth fighter jet
0:01:51 > 0:01:53that you'll ever see on the road.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00It even has a starter button that's straight out of Top Gun.
0:02:11 > 0:02:16The current boss of Lamborghini said recently that in the old days,
0:02:16 > 0:02:20the order of priority for Lamborghini was top speed, acceleration,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and handling, in that order.
0:02:24 > 0:02:25The thing is, for this car,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28he says that order is the other way round.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Handling comes first, with top speed being given a lower priority.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35So, let's find out just how low a priority that is, shall we?
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Whooooa! Waaaah-hah!
0:02:47 > 0:02:490 to 60, 2.9 seconds.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52So they still care about acceleration, then!
0:02:53 > 0:02:55220 kilometres an hour,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58250!
0:02:59 > 0:03:00260!
0:03:03 > 0:03:06270. 280 kilometres.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Oh!
0:03:09 > 0:03:11290 kilometres an hour.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Oh my God!
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Oh, OK, and relax.
0:03:19 > 0:03:24If that's them giving top speed a low priority, bring it on!
0:03:24 > 0:03:30Flat out, the Aventador will do 217 mph -
0:03:30 > 0:03:33which makes it faster than the old Murcielago.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37How Italian is that?
0:03:37 > 0:03:42ITALIAN ACCENT: No top speed, OK, 270, no more, no more than that!
0:03:44 > 0:03:51This pulverising performance comes courtesy of the Aventador's massive 6.5 litre engine...
0:03:52 > 0:03:56..their first all-new V12 for almost 50 years.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00But what's surprising is that they bothered to make one at all.
0:04:02 > 0:04:07You see, these days, a lot of carmakers are shying away from bigger engines.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10BMW's new M5, for example, will have a V8 instead of a V10.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14AMG are ditching V12s in favour of V8s.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16It's called moving with the times.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20But that's not so easy with a big Lamborghini.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24A V12 is kind of its signature dish, it defines the car.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28And the engineers insisted that whatever happened with the Aventador,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30it had to have a V12.
0:04:30 > 0:04:35And, of course, the by-product of a V12 is lots of horsepowers.
0:04:38 > 0:04:43This has got 691 of them, which in Top Gear maths is 700.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49That power is fed to all four wheels
0:04:49 > 0:04:53through a unique design of flappy paddle gearbox.
0:04:53 > 0:04:56It can change in less than 50 milliseconds, which...
0:04:56 > 0:04:59I can't demonstrate that even if I blink an eye.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03There are other high-tech features too.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We're in strada mode right now, which is for the road.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Let's put it in corsa, track mode.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Whoa, hang on!
0:05:14 > 0:05:16All right, fella, all right!
0:05:18 > 0:05:23That's absolutely brutal! It kicks you in the back of the head.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26And now we're in corsa mode,
0:05:26 > 0:05:30let's find out how they've got on with their new number-one priority -
0:05:30 > 0:05:31handling.
0:05:33 > 0:05:38Traditionally, always the scariest part of testing a big Lambo.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40OK, here we go, I'm nervous.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46I'm OK.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Still on the track.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03I'm in a V12 Lambo, I just threw it at a corner at insane speed,
0:06:03 > 0:06:04and it went round.
0:06:07 > 0:06:12So why am I not buried in row 85 of that 747?
0:06:12 > 0:06:17This is partly because the grip is just unbelievable.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Also it's got push-rod suspension which is very clever,
0:06:20 > 0:06:24and unheard of in an road car - that's F1 stuff.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30So even when it's coming under some pressure, like that,
0:06:30 > 0:06:32the steering is just...
0:06:32 > 0:06:34It's just...I'm turning a dial.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42So, whilst the Aventador looks as Miami Vice mental
0:06:42 > 0:06:47as everything else in its family tree, it's now a serious player.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53The noise it makes is spirited rather than deafening.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56The chassis is made from carbon fibre, not pig iron.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59The air-conditioning works.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03It's a proper car, rather than a machine that wants, most of all, to kill you.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08And that makes me a bit sad.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Basically, what's missing is that Lambo fear factor,
0:07:13 > 0:07:17that knot in the stomach test pilots must have felt in the '50s
0:07:17 > 0:07:21when they headed for the sound barrier in unproven jet aircraft.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26Of course, you might think that's a good thing.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29To be honest, I'm not so sure.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35If a big Lamborghini is all about pantomime, drama, theatre, which it is...
0:07:37 > 0:07:39..then I want people watching
0:07:39 > 0:07:42not just to go, "Wow, that's a stunning-looking thing."
0:07:42 > 0:07:47I want them to look at me inside and think, "Whoa, there goes Chuck Yeager Hammond.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51"He's brave." But in this, I'm not being brave.
0:07:51 > 0:07:55It's as easy to drive as a big Audi, that's the truth of it.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59I finally understand what they mean by that, is it Helsinki syndrome?
0:07:59 > 0:08:01When people who've been kidnapped,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04when they're released, miss their kidnappers.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10I don't know that I want to be in a big, loud V12 Lambo
0:08:10 > 0:08:13that doesn't every now and again try and kill me.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15I miss that.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:08:25 > 0:08:28- Very good. - It's beautiful but it's just not...
0:08:28 > 0:08:30I think he made a mistake.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33Hammond... Whoa, hang on, hang on.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37- Hammond, did you say, did you say Helsinki syndrome?- Yes, I did.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39You mean Stockholm syndrome.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45Yes I do. Yes. What is Helsinki syndrome?
0:08:45 > 0:08:48I think it's when you're an idiot and get your syndromes mixed up.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50Yeah, I've got it.
0:08:50 > 0:08:55Anyway, the Lamborghini. What you're saying is, it would be better if it were a bit worse.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58No, it's like that McLaren MP4-12C you drove the other week.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00It is brilliant, undeniably.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- But somehow it's just not exciting enough.- He's right, actually.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06I've driven this as well and it isn't boring
0:09:06 > 0:09:10but it somehow lacks that sort of Lamborghini theatre.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13It's too refined and it's sort of too clever.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16It's as though Lamborghini are trying to be Ferrari
0:09:16 > 0:09:18instead of making cars specifically for...
0:09:18 > 0:09:20Lunatics. Rod Stewart. Fish.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23- Tadpoles. What? - No, people who like a laugh.
0:09:23 > 0:09:28A Lamborghini should be an instrument of terror and this just isn't.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Well, now, let's examine the scale of their failure
0:09:31 > 0:09:33by seeing how fast it goes round our track.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36That means handing it over to our tame racing driver.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Some say that his favourite T-shirt
0:09:39 > 0:09:43has a picture on the front of a T-shirt.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47And that he spent all week waiting for a big cheque from the Germans,
0:09:47 > 0:09:50because he too has spent the last 2,000 years
0:09:50 > 0:09:54sitting on his backside doing absolutely nothing at all.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58All we know is, he's called The Stig.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03And he's off! Ooh, I love that pop as it shifts up.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Single rather than double clutch system.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10Changes are still lightning-fast as he spears into the first corner.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Wobble under braking, shows how much speed he's already carrying.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17He's got it all together for the exit.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20MUSIC: "Downtown" by Petula Clark
0:10:20 > 0:10:24Stig listening to Petula Clark in French, very unusual.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28Clean through Chicago. Coming up now to Hammerhead.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Despite carbon fibre construction, this is still a big, heavy car.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Will it get out of shape? Not a bit of it.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38None of the traditional Lambo flamboyance there.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40PETULA CLARK SINGS IN FRENCH
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Now, follow-through, the spoiler fully extends at 80 miles an hour.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51He's doing a lot more than that now.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Fast through the tyres, just two corners left.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Here he comes now. Hard on the ceramic brakes,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02an old V12 Lambo would have bitten him in the face by now.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04Through Gambon and across the line.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08Now...
0:11:09 > 0:11:11Now, if we look here...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15..this is the old Lamborghini, the Murcielago,
0:11:15 > 0:11:19the LP670 did it in 1:19. Here's the Aventador.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25- AUDIENCE:- Ooooooh...
0:11:25 > 0:11:281:16.5.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30CHEERING
0:11:32 > 0:11:36That's interesting, isn't it?
0:11:36 > 0:11:42So... So it looks absolutely fantastic.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46And it's faster round our track than a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50And I think it's clear now why Hammond and May hate it so much.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56He's no idea. He knows what we're on about, he does know.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Right, it's time for us to do the news and we begin with this.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Attention morons everywhere.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05Mercedes have a new hardcore AMG version of one of their cars.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09It's from their especially ridiculous range of black editions.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13Oh, now, I'm sorry, this is a car for connoisseurs.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18- It's a car for idiots.- It's for people who know the difference between Sweden and Finland.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20Yes, all right, sorry.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23This is the new black edition of the C-class.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28It will cost you £110,000. It's got the old 6.2 litre V8,
0:12:28 > 0:12:33tuned version of that, rather than the twin turbo AMG engines of today.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37You also get the seven-speed flappy paddle gearbox from an SLS.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- But I think it looks fantastic. - Ridiculous.- It's fantastic!
0:12:41 > 0:12:43I think it looks infantile.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45It does.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49James, you are so old, you think Werther's Originals are infantile.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54Can I just clarify this a little bit? He has got the old CLK black.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57- Yes, I do.- And I went in it the other day.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00- And you loved it.- I hated it!
0:13:00 > 0:13:04It's ridiculous! The ride is stupid.
0:13:04 > 0:13:08- It's like being in a touring car. - What's wrong with that?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Nothing at all, if you're, I don't know, let's say, in a touring car race.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16If you want to use it, let's imagine, on a road,
0:13:16 > 0:13:17in, let's say, the world,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22- it's absolutely stupid. It's a terrible car.- You may mock...
0:13:22 > 0:13:24Thank you, it's ridiculous.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29The fact is, the fact is, that the CLK black is holding its value
0:13:29 > 0:13:32a lot better than, I don't know, 911s that you two have.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36- Because they only sold 100 of them. - Yes, they did.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39They'd have sold more but most of the people who bought them
0:13:39 > 0:13:42were wearing those jackets that do up at the back.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45They were only out for the day. "I want one of those!"
0:13:45 > 0:13:49- Like that.- They'd eaten the pens you use to fill the options form in.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53- It's a stupid car.- It is a stupid car.- It's ridiculous.
0:13:53 > 0:13:57Oh, don't feel sorry for him! Look at the wheel arches on it!
0:13:57 > 0:13:58- AUDIENCE:- Aaaah!
0:13:58 > 0:14:03- Let's move on. - Yes, let's move on. Now...
0:14:03 > 0:14:05we have been sent, by a viewer,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08a copy of a motorcycling magazine from 1976.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11We have a picture of it here, the front cover.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13Sort of thing you love, isn't it, James?
0:14:13 > 0:14:16- Mmm. Lovely. - What distressed us greatly was,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20there was an advertisement on the back page, for some leathers.
0:14:20 > 0:14:24And it was the model that was being used that has terrified us.
0:14:24 > 0:14:26Here it is.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28LAUGHTER
0:14:30 > 0:14:31APPLAUSE
0:14:33 > 0:14:37Now...don't say that isn't you, look!
0:14:39 > 0:14:43- 1976!- Is that 1976?- 1976.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47There is no point denying that it's you. He's wearing brown shoes.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49- It's got to be you.- It is you.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53You looked exactly the same in 1976 as... When were you born?!
0:14:53 > 0:14:58- I was only 12! - You weren't, though, were you?
0:14:58 > 0:15:02You know, I have speculated many, many, many times over the years
0:15:02 > 0:15:06on what sort of a man appears as a model in leather.
0:15:06 > 0:15:11Yeah. You've let the motorcycling side down there, badly.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Last year, my CLK Mercedes...
0:15:13 > 0:15:19Stupid, stupid car. With stupid wheel arches.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22You may think it's stupid, but it's very determined.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24My CLK, it said one day when I got in it,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26"24 days until the next service."
0:15:26 > 0:15:29I mentioned this on the programme a year ago.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32I thought, I wonder what will happen if I take it to 25 days.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Its German brain won't be able to compute the fact that somebody has disobeyed a direct order.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Thing was, on the 24th day, Mercedes turned up while I was out
0:15:43 > 0:15:48and took it away for a service, which really annoyed me. Good news.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52Yesterday, it suddenly said, "Nine days until service due."
0:15:52 > 0:15:55What I've done this time is I've parked it
0:15:55 > 0:15:57in a London underground garage
0:15:57 > 0:15:59and I'm not going to tell anybody which one.
0:15:59 > 0:16:04I want to see what happens when it goes to minus one.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07No! That's dangerous. It could panic,
0:16:07 > 0:16:09like a horse in a stable, and just go mad.
0:16:09 > 0:16:13Or it's probably already been building a glider so it can escape.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17That's why I've put it in an underground car park
0:16:17 > 0:16:20and not a multi-storey, so it can't fly away.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24It's probably been specially trained to take a cyanide pill.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26It's hidden it in one of its massive wheel arches.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29GERMAN ACCENT: "I must end it now!"
0:16:29 > 0:16:31So when I go back to it, you think it'll be dead?
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Completely.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Last week, we had the Lotus T125 down here.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40It's kind of a Formula 1 car that you can buy
0:16:40 > 0:16:43if you have £650,000 lying around.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46We wondered how fast it would go around our track,
0:16:46 > 0:16:50whether it would be faster than an actual Formula One car.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Sadly on the day we were going to try for a lap, it was raining.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57So we said we'd bring it back when it wasn't. We have.
0:16:57 > 0:16:59And it isn't. Did that make sense?
0:16:59 > 0:17:00I know what you mean.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03Anyway, let's find out how it got on.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Away he goes. Lighting up the back tyres a treat.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Not quite the sound of an F1 car. Not as high-pitched.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14That is the sound of torque.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16The first corner.
0:17:16 > 0:17:21The Stig sawing away at the wheel. It is an animal, this thing.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Down the gears, into Chicago.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Wrestling it through there.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31Stig actually demanded a softer chassis set-up
0:17:31 > 0:17:33and a softer tyres for today.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35Will it have enough heat in those tyres
0:17:35 > 0:17:38to cling on through Hammerhead?
0:17:38 > 0:17:40Yes, he does. Bit of a wiggle there.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44Now he can really open it up. Through the follow-through.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Stationary, this car weighs 640 kilos.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51Flat out, thanks to the air pressing down on those wings,
0:17:51 > 0:17:56it weighs two-and-a-quarter tonnes. Coming up to the penultimate corner,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58hard on the brakes.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00Crackle on the over-run up to Gambon,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03Stig still working hard. And across the line.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06APPLAUSE
0:18:06 > 0:18:07Now...
0:18:07 > 0:18:11the actual Formula 1 car we had down here a few years ago,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15that did it in 59 seconds.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20The T125 did it in 1 minute 3.8.
0:18:20 > 0:18:25So it's about four seconds a lap slower than the Renault F1 car,
0:18:25 > 0:18:28which means it's the same pace as a current Lotus F1 car.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31LAUGHTER
0:18:31 > 0:18:35The fact is that the electric car is very much with us.
0:18:35 > 0:18:40You can actually go into a dealership and simply buy one but the big question is, should you?
0:18:40 > 0:18:43What are the pitfalls? What are the advantages?
0:18:43 > 0:18:47To find out, James and I decided to do a sensible test.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51No clocking about, no catching fire, no Richard Hammond.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55We would simply get two of the cars that you can actually buy these days
0:18:55 > 0:18:59and take them on a perfectly ordinary run to the seaside.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05This is the Nissan Leaf
0:19:05 > 0:19:08and there are no visual clues that it's powered by electricity.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11It looks like every other five-door hatchback.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15It also drives like every other five-door hatchback,
0:19:15 > 0:19:19except the engine doesn't shout or bellow or roar.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24It just sort of...hums, like a monk.
0:19:24 > 0:19:25Hmmmmmmm.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Peugeot has gone down a different styling route.
0:19:31 > 0:19:36Their new electric car, the Ion, is designed to look futuristic
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and different and unusual.
0:19:39 > 0:19:44But, just like the Nissan, it is like a car.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Here I am driving along the A46 towards Cleethorpes
0:19:47 > 0:19:51and the situation is completely normal.
0:19:52 > 0:19:58- Clarkson, May.- Yeah, what? - Is your Nissan like a car?
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Yes, nothing to see here.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04And as I said before, nothing to hear.
0:20:04 > 0:20:06This car is so quiet,
0:20:06 > 0:20:09they had to design a special windscreen wiper motor for it
0:20:09 > 0:20:13because the one they fit in all other Nissans was too loud.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16They had a similar problem with the door mirrors
0:20:16 > 0:20:21cos as you were driving all you could hear was the air rushing over them, not a nice sound.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23So they've sculpted the head lamps
0:20:23 > 0:20:26to deflect air away from the mirrors.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29So, what about performance?
0:20:29 > 0:20:33The top speed is only 81 miles an hour.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36And 0-60 takes something like 16 seconds.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39It doesn't feel like you're a liability on the roads.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43It doesn't feel like I'm holding people up or anything like that.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46The Nissan has a much bigger electric motor.
0:20:46 > 0:20:50It develops the equivalent of 108 brake horsepower.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52That means a top speed of 90 miles an hour
0:20:52 > 0:20:54and sufficient acceleration to consider,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58at least, overtaking someone.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00James for example. Here we go.
0:21:00 > 0:21:04One problem I have with electric cars is they're not very heroic.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06"Quick, James, I have the antidote.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08"We need to be at the hospital in 20 minutes.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10"Only you can save me."
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Hmmmmm...
0:21:12 > 0:21:14JEREMY LAUGHS
0:21:15 > 0:21:16You may regret that.
0:21:16 > 0:21:2168, 69 miles an hour. 70.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- Or let me put it this way. - WHISPERS:- 70.
0:21:24 > 0:21:29Soon we pulled over to examine our cars more closely.
0:21:29 > 0:21:32I want to see what it is that's making no noise,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34that's humming like a Trappist monk.
0:21:34 > 0:21:38Oh, that's an electric, is that an electric...
0:21:38 > 0:21:41that's an electric motor, is it? It must be.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44- And one moving part. - Effectively, yes.- And no gearbox.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49- And there's no fuel tank so you get a big boot.- That's not bad.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54- What's that for? - Solar panel.- Is it?- Yes.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It's a £260 option which means you could use
0:21:57 > 0:21:59the air-conditioning while parked,
0:21:59 > 0:22:03- so you don't drain the main batteries.- Very clever. I like that.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06'The Peugeot, though, is even cleverer.'
0:22:06 > 0:22:10- Where's the engine? - Ah, it's in the back.- Is it?
0:22:10 > 0:22:16- It's rear-engined, rear-wheel drive. - It's a 911.- It is a 911.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19This is what the 911 will look like in another 10 - 15 years' time.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20So the engine's in there.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23It's under there, the batteries are under there.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26That's not a very big boot. You wouldn't get a dog in there.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Discussing luggage space is like I'm back on old Top Gear.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Can I get a beard?
0:22:32 > 0:22:34So far then, all seems well with these cars.
0:22:34 > 0:22:38But they're not what you'd call cheap.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42The Nissan is £30,990.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Nearly twice what you'd pay for a normal car of this size.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48The Peugeot is even more expensive,
0:22:48 > 0:22:53£33,155.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Yes, with both you get £5,000 back from the Government
0:22:59 > 0:23:02but even with that, they're not good value.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05Mine isn't even very well equipped.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07Have you got Sat Nav in your car, James?
0:23:07 > 0:23:10- No, I haven't. Have you? - Yes. Cruise control?
0:23:10 > 0:23:15- No.- So that's £3,000 more expensive than this
0:23:15 > 0:23:18and isn't as well-equipped or as big?
0:23:18 > 0:23:20And what's more,
0:23:20 > 0:23:25the Leaf can even deliver your own personal Greenpeace lecture.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27It's talking!
0:23:27 > 0:23:31'By the 12th of May, electric cars worldwide
0:23:31 > 0:23:34'saved a total of 344,000 eco-trees.'
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- What!?- 'And 659 tonnes of carbon-dioxide has been reduced.'
0:23:38 > 0:23:43What does that mean? What's an eco-tree? What are you saying?
0:23:43 > 0:23:47Still, there is an upside to the nagging and the cost.
0:23:47 > 0:23:52These days eco-ism is seen as cool.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56People like James May and me, petrol heads, we're dinosaurs.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59If you have one of these cars with zero emission
0:23:59 > 0:24:02and full electric plastered down the side,
0:24:02 > 0:24:04you are more likely to get a girlfriend.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07You just have to hope she doesn't live
0:24:07 > 0:24:09at the other end of the country.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13James, can I just ask, what range do you have left?
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I have 19 miles.
0:24:16 > 0:24:21I was down to 14 miles. So, as is the way with all cars,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25we decided to buy some go juice in the next town,
0:24:25 > 0:24:27which turned out to be Lincoln.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32And then I realised we might be there for quite a while.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36James, I have another read-out on my dashboard.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Guess how long it will take
0:24:38 > 0:24:42to charge this up to 100% fully charged?
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Well, a few hours I suppose. Is it?
0:24:45 > 0:24:48- '11 hours.'- What?!
0:24:48 > 0:24:51By the time we reached the city centre,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54my range was down to seven miles.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59So I looked on the Sat Nav for the nearest official charging point.
0:24:59 > 0:25:04- LAUGHS:- The nearest charging space it gives me is 45 miles away.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06I can only go seven.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09That's very useful function you've got there(!)
0:25:09 > 0:25:13OK, Covent Garden car park. 77 miles away.
0:25:13 > 0:25:16'What possible use is that?!'
0:25:18 > 0:25:22We pulled in at the council offices to see if they could help.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Do you have any idea where we can charge electric cars up in Lincoln?
0:25:25 > 0:25:28Electric cars...
0:25:28 > 0:25:31- It just needs a socket, really. - You do, don't you?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34'We didn't have to wait long for an answer.'
0:25:34 > 0:25:39- I checked with our team, there are definitely no points within Lincolnshire.- Not in Lincolnshire?
0:25:39 > 0:25:42Who's pushing who?
0:25:42 > 0:25:47'Various people suggested friends who might be able to help
0:25:47 > 0:25:49'but they were all too far away.'
0:25:49 > 0:25:53- 32 miles.- 32?- 32 miles.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57So, we stopped at a restaurant in the marina
0:25:57 > 0:25:59to ask if we could buy some of their electricity.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04Use some of your charm. It will begin with the word "hello".
0:26:04 > 0:26:06- Ready? "Hello."- Hello.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10We were just wondering, we're trying to... We've got two electric cars.
0:26:10 > 0:26:12Right.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14James has a way with women.
0:26:14 > 0:26:17I should imagine he'll be able to talk her into it, no problem.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20..it's going to take 12 hours.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25No.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28James, I do apologise,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31those boats must be getting power from the shore.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33Yes, they'll have plugs like caravan sites do.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Getting to the boat park meant more driving,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41so now my car was saying it would need 13 hours to charge up.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46'Very low battery charge. Search for nearest charging station.'
0:26:46 > 0:26:47HE LAUGHS
0:26:47 > 0:26:50You're just wasting electricity telling me that.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54I've only got four miles left, Jeremy must be running on
0:26:54 > 0:26:57whatever the equivalent of empty is for a battery.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00We've just got to stop somewhere and beg for the use of a socket.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02'Hello, that's it.'
0:27:02 > 0:27:03That's it, that's it.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05Oh, not there.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11This is the future of motoring here.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13This is all of your lives here.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15This is what's going to become of you all.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Obviously, the solution would be to get a tow from James.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24However... "Do not tow this vehicle with all four wheels on the ground.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28"This may cause serious and expensive damage to the motor."
0:27:28 > 0:27:29Thank you.
0:27:29 > 0:27:35Thankfully, some of the large crowd we'd attracted kindly pushed me to the boat park.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36However...
0:27:38 > 0:27:39I can see two problems with this.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41You have got to get across that water.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44- And the other one is... - It's too short.- Yes.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46We'll have to push it somewhere else.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51So, once more, we appealed to the good people of Lincoln
0:27:51 > 0:27:57who pushed me to the university where, finally, we found somewhere to charge up.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00See that, blue light on the dashboard.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05- When all three are flashing, it's fully charged. OK?- Right.
0:28:05 > 0:28:12We now had a 13-hour wait but, thankfully, we were in the magnificent city of Lincoln,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14where there are many things to see and do.
0:28:14 > 0:28:17I like a good cathedral.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I would never normally be brass rubbing
0:28:22 > 0:28:24and do you know why I've never done it?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28All the cars I've ever owned have been powered by petrol or diesel.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31Look, it's Hammond, only in a diving bell.
0:28:31 > 0:28:33It does look a bit like Hammond, actually.
0:28:35 > 0:28:39Lincoln Castle was founded by William the Conqueror 1068,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41two years after the Norman Conquest.
0:28:41 > 0:28:44You can't build a stone castle on the earth and banks,
0:28:44 > 0:28:48initially, you have to wait for the banks to compact down.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51- That is the best building in the world.- Really?
0:28:51 > 0:28:55For a department store, that's a fantastic piece of architecture.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01- What's he doing? - I'm doing an abstract floor rubbing.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03Look at that, that's quite interesting.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Basically, in the Ice Age,
0:29:06 > 0:29:09the Lincolnshire edge - a big lump of limestone.
0:29:09 > 0:29:11- Do you know what this hill is called?- Hill?
0:29:11 > 0:29:16- No. Steep Hill.- Is it? - Yes, it really is. They spent ages thinking of that.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19Can you see the square frontage?
0:29:19 > 0:29:22- Yeah.- There's a square within the square.- Yeah.
0:29:22 > 0:29:25That is like a Norman fortified building...
0:29:26 > 0:29:29You know Nissan are going to start putting
0:29:29 > 0:29:32fast-charge points at all their dealerships?
0:29:32 > 0:29:34- You'll be able to charge your car up in 30 minutes.- Hmm.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37The problem is, do that all the time, then you could
0:29:37 > 0:29:40ruin the battery pack in three years.
0:29:40 > 0:29:43- Yeah, how much is a new battery pack?- £7,000.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45- Really?- Actually, Nissan can't say how much,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49but we rang an expert. He said, in today's money, £7,000.
0:29:49 > 0:29:53How long do they think batteries last if you charge them slowly and don't thrash them?
0:29:53 > 0:29:57If you charge them up when they're half empty, rather than
0:29:57 > 0:30:01letting them get all the way flat, maximum, ten years.
0:30:01 > 0:30:06- Possibly five. - It's not that long, is it?- No.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10- Are you going to go? - I can't go, actually.
0:30:10 > 0:30:14Since you put that in... my word doesn't fit any more.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21As evening fell, we really were running out of things to do.
0:30:22 > 0:30:28- I think mine's worked quite well. - Yeah, not bad.- Hurt like hell.
0:30:28 > 0:30:31Is mine all right? Look.
0:30:31 > 0:30:33JEREMY LAUGHS
0:30:33 > 0:30:35What is it? What does it say?
0:30:39 > 0:30:40What?
0:30:44 > 0:30:47The next morning, after the longest refuelling stop in history,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49we set out once more for Cleethorpes.
0:30:51 > 0:30:57'As of the 12th May, your energy economy was 0.1 kilowatt hours per mile.'
0:31:00 > 0:31:06The cost of charging this up at the university with its cheap deal was £2.34.
0:31:06 > 0:31:09But, if you charge it up during the day, depending on
0:31:09 > 0:31:14who your supplier is and what deal you've done, it could cost you £8.30.
0:31:14 > 0:31:19That's £8.30 to do - it says - 100 miles.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24To do 100 miles in a Golf BlueMotion diesel will cost about the same.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29But remember, the Golf is over £7,000 cheaper to buy.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33And its fuel tank is unlikely to be worn out after five years.
0:31:33 > 0:31:36There are other issues, too.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39One of the problems with the electric car is
0:31:39 > 0:31:43you drive constantly as if on an economy run, because a part of your brain is acutely aware
0:31:43 > 0:31:47that when it's gone, you're in for a big wait.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50It will get different. They'll have quick charging,
0:31:50 > 0:31:52three-phase charging, batteries will improve, yes.
0:31:52 > 0:31:57But today, with this car on sale, you simply have to accept
0:31:57 > 0:32:00that you're going to learn a lot of medieval history.
0:32:01 > 0:32:05Plus you really do need to be able to work out where you'll be
0:32:05 > 0:32:07when the charge runs out.
0:32:07 > 0:32:08And that's not easy.
0:32:08 > 0:32:12So I've now done 26 miles since I set off
0:32:12 > 0:32:16but I've lost 40 miles of range.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Interesting. I've also done 26 miles but this is the bit you'll like,
0:32:21 > 0:32:23I've gained two miles of range.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29A lot of people think I have a downer on the electric motor.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31I don't. Nothing wrong with it at all.
0:32:31 > 0:32:35Theoretically, it could be immensely powerful. And I like the Leaf.
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Beautifully made, is very quiet. It's extremely comfortable.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42And spacious. Good car.
0:32:42 > 0:32:46But the batteries it uses have to be recharged from the mains
0:32:46 > 0:32:48and I don't think that's the answer.
0:32:48 > 0:32:53I think that what I'm actually driving is a squariel or a laser disc
0:32:53 > 0:32:55or a Beta tape machine.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02Batteries? Batteries are rubbish. Batteries are rubbish in everything.
0:33:02 > 0:33:05Think of all the things that are battery-powered.
0:33:05 > 0:33:08Torches and mobile phones and digital cameras and laptops.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13I bet you, they're all either completely flat or going flat very quickly.
0:33:15 > 0:33:19Eventually we arrived in Cleethorpes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21We've made it to the seaside.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30And it was on the dodgems that we had an epiphany.
0:33:32 > 0:33:37This is an electric car. But it has no on-board battery.
0:33:37 > 0:33:41It takes its power from the chicken wire in the roof.
0:33:41 > 0:33:43Yes, all we have to do, really, is put chicken wire
0:33:43 > 0:33:46above all the motorways and dual carriageways in Britain.
0:33:46 > 0:33:50You drive to your nearest one, extend the pole on the back of your car,
0:33:50 > 0:33:52and off you go driving on the mains.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55It gets better than that, you know, because if the traffic's
0:33:55 > 0:33:59really busy on the motorway, the government could just cut the power a bit
0:33:59 > 0:34:02and everyone would go slowly, then if it was empty they
0:34:02 > 0:34:04increase the power and everyone goes fast.
0:34:04 > 0:34:08Actually if there was an accident or some bad congestion ahead
0:34:08 > 0:34:12they could just turn it off and everybody would glide to a safe halt at the same rate.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14We have solved it.
0:34:14 > 0:34:16We have solved it.
0:34:16 > 0:34:21If you think about it, if you're driving along the motorway and you're really bored,
0:34:21 > 0:34:24you could just deliberately crash into someone to amuse yourself.
0:34:24 > 0:34:27- That's true. Motorways are boring, aren't they?- Exactly.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30So you just drive along doing this to the man next to you...
0:34:30 > 0:34:32These cars, then, are not the future.
0:34:35 > 0:34:38But they did at least bring us to where the future lies.
0:34:38 > 0:34:40Oh, no, I've got oversteer.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43Nobody does this deliberately on the motorway. Do they?
0:34:43 > 0:34:46CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:34:49 > 0:34:53- Er...- What?- Chaps.
0:34:53 > 0:34:58So, you are proposing a sort of chicken-wire grid above all of
0:34:58 > 0:35:01the nation's motorways. Have you two completely lost your minds?
0:35:01 > 0:35:03Bringing you out in a Helsinki syndrome?
0:35:03 > 0:35:06- Yeah, it's itching. It's bad, it is.- It is a brilliant idea.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10I've had another one. It's based on the London tube network.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12- It's electrified roads. - Yeah, brilliant.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15I'll just cross the road to that shop there. Dzzzz. It's a stupid idea.
0:35:16 > 0:35:21I've had an even better idea. What about, you fit a car with a special tank,
0:35:21 > 0:35:25into which you put a flammable liquid.
0:35:25 > 0:35:29When the liquid runs out, you pull into, let's call it a petrol station, fill it up
0:35:29 > 0:35:33in a couple of minutes, and you'd never have to go brass rubbing.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36- I think that might catch on. - But seriously,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39what are we all going to do when the oil finally becomes
0:35:39 > 0:35:42too expensive to use for personal transport? Which it will.
0:35:42 > 0:35:48Well, it's tricky, the government recently said that there will never be a charge point.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51On every street corner so you will be reduced to going to universities -
0:35:51 > 0:35:53and that's not practical - like what we did.
0:35:53 > 0:35:59And you can't use a hybrid because that uses a petrol engine to charge up the batteries.
0:35:59 > 0:36:04So, we're going to have to have a whole new approach. Dodgems.
0:36:04 > 0:36:06No, Honda are already there. It's hydrogen. It has to be.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09Truth be told, it is hydrogen.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Yes, but isn't hydrogen very complicated to work out?
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Yes, but it was complicated to take television from Logie Baird's attic
0:36:16 > 0:36:21to the point where you're now appearing on a television in Syria, but they did it.
0:36:21 > 0:36:22- In a very short time.- They did.
0:36:22 > 0:36:28Anyway, it is now time to put a star in our reasonably priced car.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31My guest tonight is responsible for bands such as Boyzone,
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Westlife, and Jedward.
0:36:34 > 0:36:39And yet surprisingly, he hasn't been tried for crimes against humanity.
0:36:39 > 0:36:43Ladies and gentlemen, it's the other one from the X Factor, Louis Walsh.
0:36:48 > 0:36:50Have a seat.
0:36:50 > 0:36:52Have a seat.
0:36:52 > 0:36:54Louis Walsh, he's come among us.
0:36:56 > 0:37:02And, um, now, to be fair,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05I happen to know you do have very good musical taste.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08- Of course I do, yeah. - I mean, it doesn't LOOK like you do.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11- In my job, in my day job? - Yeah.- That's what I sell.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14- I'm in the music business. - So, you sell?
0:37:14 > 0:37:17What I listen to at home is totally different.
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I happen to know that you and I share a...
0:37:19 > 0:37:23- What, one person, yeah.- Bob Seger. - And the Silver Bullet Band. - Silver Bullet Band.
0:37:23 > 0:37:27- Who here is familiar with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band?- Yes.
0:37:27 > 0:37:31Yes? A big fan? That's one big fan and I think that's enough of a reason
0:37:31 > 0:37:34to discuss Bob Seger at some length.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37What is your favourite Bob Seger song?
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Ooh. Night Moves, I think.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43I agree. What would you go with, Night Moves, best one?
0:37:43 > 0:37:46- No, Old Time Rock And Roll. - Old Time Rock And Roll.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49- Old Time is good, yeah.- As used in Risky Business?- Absolutely.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52- Starring Tom Cruise. - I've a Wurlitzer jukebox,
0:37:52 > 0:37:54all the old 45s. I'm a fan of music.
0:37:54 > 0:37:58- So are you just flogging the noises that come out of...?- I sell.
0:37:58 > 0:38:01- You sell Jedward? - Yeah, they do incredibly well.
0:38:01 > 0:38:07- Do you listen to Jedward at home? - No. Honestly, no, no, I don't.
0:38:07 > 0:38:09Does anybody own a Jedward record?
0:38:09 > 0:38:14- They've a new album out next week. - Have they?- Yeah.- I'm not interested. - Doing really well around Europe.
0:38:14 > 0:38:17- Still not interested.- Your kids would like them.- No, they wouldn't.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21- They would! Kids love Jedward. - They'd get savagely beaten!
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Kids like Jedward and Westlife and Take That.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27Having established that you are a man of great musical taste.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30- At home. At home, yes.- At home.
0:38:30 > 0:38:34Is it Cowell, then, that's got the Celine Dion fixation?
0:38:34 > 0:38:37Has Simon Cowell got a rubbish musical taste?
0:38:37 > 0:38:39Yes.
0:38:39 > 0:38:43- Absolutely. He gave us Robson and Jerome.- He did, actually.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45And he gave us Zig and Zag.
0:38:45 > 0:38:49Has he, do you think, in his house got any Led Zeppelin at all?
0:38:49 > 0:38:52No. Absolutely not. I have Led Zeppelin albums at home.
0:38:52 > 0:38:54Bad Company?
0:38:54 > 0:38:56Bad Company, Can't Get Enough? He wouldn't know who they were.
0:38:56 > 0:39:00He has a lot of bad company but it is not the band.
0:39:00 > 0:39:04So, anyway, X Factor, when is that back? What stage are we at now?
0:39:04 > 0:39:07That's series eight, it's back, we've got three new judges.
0:39:07 > 0:39:10We've got Gary Barlow, Kelly Rowland, who was in
0:39:10 > 0:39:13Destiny's Child, and we've got Tulisa from the N-Dubz.
0:39:13 > 0:39:17- I know Gary Barlow.- Yeah. You'd know Destiny's Child.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19It's three girls, Beyonce was like the front lady in the band.
0:39:19 > 0:39:24- Boncey what?- Beyonce. Beyonce! She's like a big, big star.
0:39:24 > 0:39:29- Boncey and who? - She's married to Jay-Z.- What?
0:39:29 > 0:39:31Jay-Z. He's very cool.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Literally no idea what you're talking about now. So, anyway,
0:39:34 > 0:39:37the important thing to establish is when is the X Factor back?
0:39:37 > 0:39:41- Back on TV August, ITV. - Until September?
0:39:41 > 0:39:43December 12th.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45I have to ask you this because we have to go out
0:39:45 > 0:39:48on Top Gear on a Sunday night when you're not on.
0:39:48 > 0:39:49And my children say,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52when we are sitting on a beach freezing ourselves to death
0:39:52 > 0:39:54in December, "Daddy, why are we here now?"
0:39:54 > 0:39:58- "Because Louis and Simon..." - Simon's not on this year.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Oh, he's gone. "Because Louis and Boncey's mate..."
0:40:01 > 0:40:06- Beyonce.- "..are watching a girl who last week was working behind a till in Asda
0:40:06 > 0:40:07"and she's on a journey."
0:40:09 > 0:40:11Everyone's on a journey.
0:40:11 > 0:40:16We have to move Top Gear to get out the way of the ratings juggernaut.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19Because people wouldn't watch Top Gear. They'd prefer X Factor.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22- We know, which is really annoying! But anyway...- Anyway!
0:40:22 > 0:40:24..while we're on the subject of the X Factor.
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Is it true that Simon Cowell bought you all Botox vouchers?
0:40:29 > 0:40:31He actually did, last Christmas.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34- You know what, you know something? I haven't used mine.- No(!)
0:40:34 > 0:40:39- I'd like to... Jeremy, Jeremy... - LAUGHTER
0:40:39 > 0:40:43I'd like to offer it to you. Seriously. I won't use them.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Is that where you get injected, or is that collagen?
0:40:45 > 0:40:48- What do you do with Botox? - It's your face.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- What do you do with it? - Ask Simon next time he's on.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54- (Does he do Botox?)- Hello!
0:40:54 > 0:40:56Every time he's on he goes, "You really should..."
0:40:56 > 0:41:01- "Darling!"- "Darling, take more care of your appearance."
0:41:01 > 0:41:03I always think, but what could I do to improve myself?
0:41:03 > 0:41:07- Do you want my Botox vouchers?- No!
0:41:07 > 0:41:11I want to talk to you about cars. Because this is a car show.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15- What turns you on about a car? - I like the look of cars. I just love looking at cars.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19I love looking at Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Ferraris.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Bentleys, Rolls, I love... I'm always taking pictures of them.
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I don't like driving fast but I love looking at cars.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29- It's the aesthetics of a car? - Absolutely.- After... Which was the first one? Boy's World?
0:41:29 > 0:41:33- I had a Toledo. Boyzone was my first band.- Your first band?
0:41:33 > 0:41:36My first car was a Toledo. It was a white Toledo.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39Yes, and I took it out the very first time ever.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42I was parking it at home and I put my foot on the accelerator.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45I went bang into the wall and wrecked the car.
0:41:45 > 0:41:47- The first time I took it out. - The first time?
0:41:47 > 0:41:51- The first time I'd taken it out. - And were you employed as a record-company chauffeur?
0:41:51 > 0:41:57I wasn't employed as a chauffeur, I was an agent. I used to bring artists to Ireland, singers,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01- different singers, like Sinitta. I used to drive them around to the gigs.- In your Toledo?
0:42:01 > 0:42:05No, I had a Mustang. I had a really nice Mustang.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07Do you remember what period Mustang?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11It was red and black, that's all I remember.
0:42:11 > 0:42:17- I'm driving a Maserati now. I've had it three years. A Gran Turismo. I've done 3,000 miles in it.- 3,000 miles?
0:42:17 > 0:42:19- 3,000 miles.- In three years?
0:42:19 > 0:42:26- Yeah.- Do you like it?- I love it! I love looking at it. I wash it every week. I love the car.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29That's the first time we've ever had a guest who says,
0:42:29 > 0:42:31"I love my car, I watch it every week."
0:42:31 > 0:42:34- I wash it. Wash it. - Oh, wash it! I'm a bit mutton.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38So you have a penchant for American cars and good-looking cars.
0:42:38 > 0:42:43- But you're not really a driver?- I'm not a fast driver. So, the bad news.
0:42:43 > 0:42:47I know I'm a terrible driver. I know.
0:42:47 > 0:42:53- How do we know?- I know! I drove around that bloody track.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58I ended up on the grass. I know I'm not good. I'm probably the worst you've ever had.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01Sadly, when you went on the grass, the cameras weren't running.
0:43:01 > 0:43:07- Oh, good.- Yes, they were! Unusually, I believe this is the first corner.
0:43:10 > 0:43:13Yes, look, here you go. Foot still in it.
0:43:13 > 0:43:17That's the dictionary definition of understeer. Still in it!
0:43:17 > 0:43:21I love the way that you had the hope that it was going to be
0:43:21 > 0:43:24- OK as a lap time. "Still keep going!"- Have many people done that?
0:43:24 > 0:43:29The only person who ever went off there was Lionel Richie.
0:43:29 > 0:43:34- Lionel?- The wheel fell off. That was the only reason.- OK, OK.
0:43:34 > 0:43:40- Who would like to see the actual lap?- YEAH!- Let's have a look. Here we go.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43Racy start.
0:43:44 > 0:43:46No wheel spin. Why not?
0:43:46 > 0:43:50There's a terrible smell of oil. The handbrake is on.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53- It was on, yes! - You set off with the handbrake on?
0:43:53 > 0:43:57OK, let's have a look at turn one. Have we got it right this time?
0:43:57 > 0:44:00CAR SCREECHES
0:44:00 > 0:44:02Yes, no, yes. Just held it all together there.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06- Ooh, changed gear. - I need Stig, badly.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09I need Stig, yes. He was good.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11You're going a very long way round.
0:44:11 > 0:44:12Argh!
0:44:12 > 0:44:13- Oh...- BLEEP
0:44:13 > 0:44:16I'm going to be the last person ever.
0:44:16 > 0:44:19You really do need to get those gear-changes worked out.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22- It's going, ra-ra-ra! - I drive an automatic car.
0:44:24 > 0:44:25Change gear!
0:44:25 > 0:44:29- Change gear.- What are gears? - There we go, that's it.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33OK, here we go. I'm finally going to fly this one.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Scary doing that. Here we go.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40I hope I'm insured.
0:44:42 > 0:44:46No, you don't needs to be insured. Nothing to hit.
0:44:46 > 0:44:50Second to last corner. That's rather a neat line through there, if I may say.
0:44:50 > 0:44:55And Gambon. That's also very nicely done.
0:44:55 > 0:44:56Across the line, everybody.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58APPLAUSE
0:45:03 > 0:45:04So...
0:45:06 > 0:45:08There it is, where do you think?
0:45:08 > 0:45:09I'm near the bottom.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13These are wet times. Ignore the wet times. Anything with W after it.
0:45:13 > 0:45:17The slowest we've ever had was Amber Heard, and she did a 1.50.3.
0:45:17 > 0:45:20- You think you were slower than that? - Am I under Angelina Jolie?
0:45:20 > 0:45:22LAUGHTER
0:45:23 > 0:45:24I don't know!
0:45:24 > 0:45:28Right, 1:53 is the slowest so far. You did it in 1...
0:45:30 > 0:45:32- 40...- Oh, really?
0:45:32 > 0:45:35- 7.7.- That's not bad.
0:45:35 > 0:45:37APPLAUSE
0:45:37 > 0:45:38That's good!
0:45:42 > 0:45:45Sitting there between Alastair Campbell and Danny Boyle.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48- Wow.- A weird place to find yourself.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51- So I did better than Geldof? - You what?
0:45:51 > 0:45:55- I did better than Bob Geldof. - Oh yes, you beat Gob Beldof. - I'm happy.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58- And Al Murray.- So there we are. - There we are.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01The audience loves you, the Stig loves you, we all love you.
0:46:01 > 0:46:05- Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Walsh! - APPLAUSE
0:46:05 > 0:46:07Louis Walsh!
0:46:15 > 0:46:21Now, we recently received an invitation to a motorsport event.
0:46:21 > 0:46:25And as it involved mud and 4x4s and it was in Wales,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28who better to attend, we thought,
0:46:28 > 0:46:32than Top Gear's own Minister for Rural Affairs, Richard Hammond?
0:46:36 > 0:46:39'This is cross-country racing.'
0:46:39 > 0:46:42'It takes place at various locations across Britain
0:46:42 > 0:46:44'and for the teams taking part,
0:46:44 > 0:46:47'it's one of the toughest amateur motor sports around.'
0:46:52 > 0:46:57We're here to follow one of those teams as they take part in their very first event.
0:46:57 > 0:47:01But here's the thing, there's something about these guys
0:47:01 > 0:47:04that takes that challenge to a whole new level.
0:47:08 > 0:47:14'This team is made up of soldiers who've all suffered massive injuries whilst fighting in Afghanistan.'
0:47:14 > 0:47:17'Soldiers like Tom, the co-driver.'
0:47:18 > 0:47:20I was a sniper out there.
0:47:20 > 0:47:24I shifted a sandbag and detonated a booby-trap IED.
0:47:24 > 0:47:27I just lost my feet to begin with and through infection,
0:47:27 > 0:47:31and other various things, I kept having to have aggressive surgery
0:47:31 > 0:47:36and ended up basically losing my left arm and having my legs amputated.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39'Then there's Gav, the team's mechanic.'
0:47:39 > 0:47:42I was unlucky enough to strike an IED,
0:47:42 > 0:47:47obviously maiming me, leaving me a bilateral amputee.
0:47:47 > 0:47:50I lost both my femoral arteries.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53I've got no idea how I survived that, to be fair.
0:47:55 > 0:48:00'Compared to those two, Tony the driver actually feels quite lucky.'
0:48:01 > 0:48:04- I'm a below-knee scratch. - Is that what you call it!?
0:48:04 > 0:48:08Having been mercilessly ripped by Tom and others for being,
0:48:08 > 0:48:12well, it's just a flesh wound, really - to quote Monty Python.
0:48:12 > 0:48:16'These soldiers are using motor sport as a way of helping them
0:48:16 > 0:48:18'come to terms with their injuries.'
0:48:18 > 0:48:22'They've set themselves an incredible challenge, because in just 18 months,
0:48:22 > 0:48:27'they aim to compete in the world's most gruelling race...'
0:48:28 > 0:48:32'The fearsome Dakar rally.'
0:48:36 > 0:48:38I know there's amputees all round the world
0:48:38 > 0:48:41but for us, it's like pushing it as far as we can.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45If you can crack on in a Dakar rally when you're doing 18-hour days
0:48:45 > 0:48:48for two weeks solid, you can pretty much achieve anything.
0:48:50 > 0:48:53Your career's going one direction and all of a sudden it grinds to a halt
0:48:53 > 0:48:58and you have to think about a totally different way of living your life.
0:48:58 > 0:49:02It's important to challenge yourself, to keep on challenging yourself.
0:49:03 > 0:49:07'Out on the eight-mile course, most of the other competitors
0:49:07 > 0:49:10'are running in powerful, bespoke 4x4s.'
0:49:12 > 0:49:15'But the soldiers must begin their long climb to the Dakar
0:49:15 > 0:49:18'in a humble Land Rover Freelander.'
0:49:18 > 0:49:21First disabled team to do this, mate.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25Amber. 3, 2, 1, go.
0:49:28 > 0:49:30Straight down here, mate.
0:49:32 > 0:49:35Brake, brake, brake, brake.
0:49:35 > 0:49:36Good, good.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40What would you like to see come out of this weekend?
0:49:40 > 0:49:44I'd like to see it function, for a start.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47To find out where our weaknesses are and work on them,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49just keep focusing on our weaknesses.
0:49:50 > 0:49:56- That's it. - 'Tony and Tom complete their first run in 12 minutes 14,
0:49:56 > 0:49:59'some four minutes shy of the big boys.'
0:50:00 > 0:50:04'Already, they've discovered a problem that is unique to them.'
0:50:04 > 0:50:06The problem we've got is obviously
0:50:06 > 0:50:11because Tony's missing his left leg, he can't feel the palm of his foot
0:50:11 > 0:50:14on the clutch and that's going to give slip and you'll lose power.
0:50:14 > 0:50:17I think what we're going to do is devise a light that comes on
0:50:17 > 0:50:22- and warns him he's riding the clutch, so he can pull his leg off. - Neat idea.
0:50:22 > 0:50:26'The clutch fix isn't one that can be done on site.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29'So, for now, the team must crack on regardless.'
0:50:32 > 0:50:35'And crack on, they do.'
0:50:35 > 0:50:37You did 10.54 on that last one.
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Hairpin. First gear, mate.
0:50:42 > 0:50:4310.41 on that one.
0:50:46 > 0:50:49Go through, go through, go through.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52'Spending a day with them,
0:50:52 > 0:50:56'it becomes obvious their injuries are more than just physical.'
0:50:56 > 0:50:59The bloke alongside you, killed?
0:50:59 > 0:51:01Yes, Anthony Lombardi.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04He was also a mechanic. Young lad, 21 year old.
0:51:04 > 0:51:07He was a really good bloke, yes...
0:51:07 > 0:51:09It just, I think,
0:51:09 > 0:51:12it's difficult because... Um...
0:51:15 > 0:51:18- Can you just give us a minute? - Please. As long as you want, mate.
0:51:23 > 0:51:24Oh, mate...
0:51:24 > 0:51:26HE CRIES
0:51:27 > 0:51:33'It's then that you start to realise the value of a project like this.'
0:51:33 > 0:51:35These guys are soldiers, they're men of action.
0:51:35 > 0:51:38They're used to having challenges, problems,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41obstacles to overcome by working together as a team.
0:51:41 > 0:51:47This isn't a treat. This is therapy, it's something they need to do
0:51:47 > 0:51:50if they're going to recover as well as they possibly can.
0:51:53 > 0:51:58'By the end of the first day, the amputee team are running second in the Freelander class.'
0:51:59 > 0:52:03- Hey, mate! - 'But there's little time for celebration...
0:52:06 > 0:52:11'because they must very quickly get to grips with the car they'll be driving in the Dakar,
0:52:12 > 0:52:17'a four-litre, V8 engine Wildcat.'
0:52:21 > 0:52:23To make the move to this,
0:52:23 > 0:52:27the guys are going to need some training from an expert driver.
0:52:27 > 0:52:29And we've got one.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35'Yes, it's ex-Stig, special forces driving instructor
0:52:35 > 0:52:38'and romantic novelist, Ben Collins.'
0:52:39 > 0:52:44- All right? Are we ready?- Yes, very good, looking forward to it. - Good, good.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48When you're going round, don't tell him anything, he'll put it in a book. Make sure of that.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51- HIGH PITCHED: All right, men? - All right?- Aye!
0:52:51 > 0:52:55If you see Ryan, stop talking. Leave it at that, all right?
0:52:55 > 0:52:57- Have fun. - Happy days. OK, let's crank it.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05Do you know, to be honest, I am quite glad to see the old splitter back.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09And I do know how much giving these guys a hand means to him.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13So, this is all right.
0:53:17 > 0:53:21'Clearly, Jilly Cooper had lost none of his teaching skills.'
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Pop it back into second. You don't want to use the brakes, just pop in the gas.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32- Go.- 'Which meant on their first solo outing, Tony and Tom didn't disappoint.'
0:53:33 > 0:53:37Just remember this bit here, Tone. Nice.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40- That's a nine minute 51 guys. - We'll do it faster next time. - Yes.
0:53:40 > 0:53:43'But mastering the Wildcat is just the beginning,
0:53:43 > 0:53:48'because these guys face problems that their rivals won't encounter.'
0:53:48 > 0:53:52- There you go, mate. - 'Gavin, for example, has had to devise a unique system
0:53:52 > 0:53:55'for doing repairs in the middle of nowhere.'
0:53:57 > 0:54:01'Tiredness is an issue too. As a triple amputee,
0:54:01 > 0:54:06'Tom uses 300% more energy than an able-bodied person, just to move around.'
0:54:08 > 0:54:10'And then, there's their prosthetics.
0:54:10 > 0:54:13If I show you the back of mine,
0:54:13 > 0:54:15it makes more sense. See the back of here?
0:54:15 > 0:54:19That is quite unnerving when you do that. You just wanted to do that.
0:54:19 > 0:54:23Sand's getting into the piston there,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26getting water into the electronics, it's all electronic
0:54:26 > 0:54:29but if the legs play up and that, I can just...
0:54:29 > 0:54:32pop them in the back and just crack on.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34THEY LAUGH
0:54:34 > 0:54:37'One thing that won't let them down is their camaraderie,
0:54:37 > 0:54:42'which shows up best when they talk about the kind of tricks they'd play on each other in hospital.'
0:54:42 > 0:54:46One of the big ones was swapping their wheelchair by the bedside while they slept,
0:54:46 > 0:54:48with maybe an office chair with castor wheels,
0:54:48 > 0:54:52and then pushing them around and that for the rest of the day.
0:54:52 > 0:54:56- Or padlocking them to their beds. - So they set off and...?!
0:54:56 > 0:55:00I got injured about a week after a guy, a ranger, Andy Allen.
0:55:00 > 0:55:03Basically he lost his eyesight and both his legs as well.
0:55:03 > 0:55:06He was a big Manchester United fan, huge.
0:55:06 > 0:55:08The guy obviously had Manchester United shirts
0:55:08 > 0:55:11and we swapped them all for Liverpool shirts
0:55:11 > 0:55:16- and the guy would be cutting round in Liverpool shirts.- That is a properly devious idea!
0:55:16 > 0:55:19But when he started to get his eyesight back a little bit,
0:55:19 > 0:55:22he basically just let loose on us then.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26It feeds the sense of humour that you're used to and takes it a step further.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29It also makes you come to terms with what's happened to you.
0:55:29 > 0:55:33You don't have to stop being you just because of what's happened.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35You don't have to... People shouldn't pity you.
0:55:39 > 0:55:40Come on.
0:55:40 > 0:55:45'Throughout the day, the lads have been getting faster and faster.'
0:55:46 > 0:55:51You've just done two runs. That was a 9.17 and a 9.08.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55Break that barrier! Eight second.
0:55:56 > 0:56:00'And as they lined up for the last run of the weekend,
0:56:00 > 0:56:03'everybody - us, the organisers, the other competitors,
0:56:03 > 0:56:06'wanted to see them break the nine-minute barrier.'
0:56:10 > 0:56:13Mate, if we don't do it less than nine minutes...
0:56:13 > 0:56:15Right, amber.
0:56:15 > 0:56:183, 2, 1, go.
0:56:21 > 0:56:24Keep accelerating this bit, mate. Keep going, keep going.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33- Second, yes? - Second gear's good.
0:56:34 > 0:56:35Boot it, boot it, boot it.
0:56:40 > 0:56:41Nice!
0:56:42 > 0:56:43This is awesome!
0:56:50 > 0:56:51BLEEP
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Keep going, keep going.
0:56:55 > 0:56:59- Here he is, here he is! - Oh my God.
0:56:59 > 0:57:00That's it!
0:57:01 > 0:57:04'Sadly, they hadn't broken that nine-minute barrier,
0:57:04 > 0:57:08'probably because they HAD broken something else.'
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Oh, yes!
0:57:10 > 0:57:12Most of that will polish out.
0:57:12 > 0:57:14Largely, yes, largely.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17- That's a below centre point scratch. - LAUGHTER
0:57:19 > 0:57:22'I really hope that these guys do make it to the Dakar,
0:57:22 > 0:57:25'because on spirit alone, they deserve to be there.'
0:57:28 > 0:57:32On that day I got blown up, I never thought I'd make this stage where I'm at now.
0:57:32 > 0:57:36We said this in the car before, who'd ever have thought
0:57:36 > 0:57:38we'd be sat in a Wildcat on a Sunday morning, rallying around?
0:57:38 > 0:57:41What an experience.
0:57:44 > 0:57:45STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
0:57:47 > 0:57:52- JEREMY:- You DO deserve to be in the Wildcat on a Sunday morning.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57RICHARD HAMMOND: And they are here with us tonight!
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Now, can I just say, really,
0:58:03 > 0:58:08I think everybody here will join us in wishing you all the very best.
0:58:08 > 0:58:12We really do hope you make it to the start and the finish of the Dakar.
0:58:12 > 0:58:16You really do deserve it, guys. You do deserve it.
0:58:20 > 0:58:22That's it!
0:58:22 > 0:58:25Not only for this programme, but for this series.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28We'll be back whenever the X Factor's finished.
0:58:28 > 0:58:29See you then, good night.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:49 > 0:58:51E-mail subtitiling@bbe.co.uk