Tonight... A dog looks over a wall...
..we drive some chairs...
..and The Stig does a skid in a supercharged Jag.
Subtitles by MemoryOnSmells http://UKsubtitles.ru.
Hello, everybody!
Thank you so much. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
Now...
Now, every year we like to take three of the latest super-expensive
supercars over to continental Europe to find out which one is best.
But these days, thanks to the financial crisis over there,
that's proving to be a bit tricky.
Here in Britain, the economy is not that great
but from what we understand, over the border in Spain,
things are absolutely dreadful.
Yes, so it really wouldn't be appropriate for us to do what
we usually do and turn up in three million-pound V12 monsters.
No, because that would just look like we were showing off. Exactly.
Yes, but because it's Spain, and therefore likely to be very sunny,
we did want to be able to take the roof off, so what
we've done is we've organised three budget convertibles for a nice drive
from here in Britain to Madrid.
I've gone for the second cheapest car in the Ferrari range,
which is not necessarily a bad thing.
It's like choosing wine in a restaurant.
As we all know, the second cheapest is always your best bet.
It's the 458 and this is the new Spider version, available
now for a very reasonable £198,000.
I've gone for the new McLaren convertible,
the 12C Spider, which amazingly is even cheaper.
This is just £195,000.
For that sort of money, I was expecting a sort of Scout hut
with windscreen wipers, but I've got sat nav,
I've got air conditioning, central locking, electric windows,
power steering, it's really not bad at all.
But when it comes to value, Iron Man had trumped both of us.
Yes, yes, hello, viewers,
and as you would expect, I have done it properly.
I've chosen the Audi R8 convertible, the V10 version,
a mere sniff as £121,000.
Although, to be honest, from where I'm sitting,
I really can't work out why it's so much cheaper than the others.
I mean, it has the biggest engine, 5.2 litre V10 from a Lamborghini...
It has four-wheel drive, it has the best standard equipment.
It is the perfect car for a cash-strapped economy.
Our first port of call, however,
didn't look very cash-strapped at all.
That's because it was Puerto Banus, still thriving because
every summer, people from Essex come here to make themselves more orange.
Their taste may be quiet and restrained but it's keeping
the local economy going and it also gave James an idea for a test.
Well, the whole point of a budget supercar is that it should be
understated, right?
So here's what we do.
You have to drive from here to the other end of the harbour,
one at a time, and the winner is the one whose car is least photographed.
James, I'm in a yellow metal flake convertible McLaren. I know.
Well, it's going to get photographed all the time. Well, you chose it!
After dusk, and with a camera fitted to record flashes,
James set off, confident his grey Audi would be like a ghost.
Hammond...
"People of Puerto Banus..."
"James May driving through your town."
"Now! Get your pictures."
Tweet sent. Yes!
Annoyingly, though, our plan didn't work very well.
See, it doesn't draw attention, the car doesn't draw attention.
No flashes whatsoever.
There you go, a successful, largely photograph-free run.
'The Ferrari attracted quite a lot more attention.'
OK, that's...
Yeah, I got hit there, that was a lucky shot.
'..even after I'd finished.'
That does not count! Can I have a picture of your car, mate?
Then Jeremy set off in his metal flake yellow McLaren.
Oh, this is astonishing.
A McLaren Formula One car would get less attention than this.
'Once I'd reached the finish line...'
No photographs! No photographs here!
'..the producers handed over the score.'
I'm really tired. Read them out.
Shall I read them out? Just read them out.
I'm just... I just want to go to bed.
OK, no need to do it in reverse order, then.
Do it in the order we went.
OK. Audi, 22.
22 people took your picture.
Is that good or bad? Ferrari...
47 people took your picture.
How many flashes?
Yes, you lost. Bloody hell. You did lose.
438!
So, as a budget supercar,
McLaren has not done well in terms of understatement, has it?
No. It's a bit conspicuous.
The next day, we left the affluent coast
and headed north into what people call the real Spain.
So, Spain, six million unemployed
and they have a smaller population than we do.
two million households have no income at all.
57% youth unemployment.
'Right now, though, James was dealing
'with rather more serious issues.'
The cabin is too blustery.
I've got both the windows up and I have the windshield thing
at the back up, but my hair still whips me in the eyeballs.
I know some of you are going, "Why don't you get your hair cut, then?"
Lots of people have lots of hair.
James has now cured the appalling buffeting in the Audi
with the simple addition of a bandanna...
..which makes him look very manly.
'We decided to stop in the next town for some coffee, and here
'we saw just how badly hit Spain has been by the financial crisis.'
These are all brand-new flats.
There's nobody here.
I mean, nobody at all.
It's got all of the infrastructure. Street lights,
pedestrian crossings, but no people at all.
Look at it.
It's a scene from a horror film.
I mean, you hear about these ghost towns
but you don't really think they exist.
'Still, on the up-side,
'the echoey empty streets did provide the perfect setting
'for a noise test.
'I parked at the far end of town
'while Jeremy fired up his decibel-o-meter.'
When I say Jeremy has a decibel-o-meter,
it's the decibel-o-meter app.
It's probably rubbish.
Slightly worried about this,
because he's got two more cylinders than we have. Yes.
He's got ten. So that's two more...
And one more cylinder firing per... Bank.
Yes. So that's two more...
He's got two banks of five, we've got two banks of four.
Yes, so he's got two more explosions per...
Per... Every time there's firing, there'll be one more.
Yes, but that's on each bank. Yes.
Welcome to Top Gear, the world's leading motoring show.
Here we go.
105. 105. Yes.
'Next it was the McLaren's turn.'
I'm ready. Oh, good.
Begin.
You see, start quietly.
Hold it in second so when we get near the decibel-o-meter
I'm at the top of the rev range. Here we go.
Yes! Now, that was mighty.
What's my score? 105.
What? 105 again.
What, the same as his? Yes.
That's very much the same, yes. Rubbish!
'With Jeremy still complaining, I lined up the Ferrari.'
I bet he just floors it from the start.
Yes, he has. Daft as a brush.
He's got to go as fast as possible.
Stupidest man in the world.
107. Hmm.
Hammond was, as ever, gracious in victory.
Ha-ha! Come on, it's still more,
and those last few decibels are harder to get.
It's like the last few miles an hour because of aerodynamics.
So, wait, that must mean you lose. It does. No, you got 105...
No, it's budget supercars.
Discretion. The quietist. Yeah.
Really? We've just decided.
So the rules have just changed at the exact moment at which you lost
and I won.
We never discussed rules.
'Back on the move, we headed for the Sierra Nevada mountains on what is
'not only the highest road in Europe
'but also one of the most spectacular.
'This is perfect supercar country.'
When the McLaren MP4 first came out 18 months ago, it was better than
a Ferrari 458 in every measurable way, but it lacked panache,
it lacked zing, it lacked excitement,
it felt clinical and antiseptic.
'Since then, though, they've made lots of little changes,
'so now there's more noise and even more power.'
But the big thing is - all that sky!
This is what the McLaren was always meant to be - open top.
'By taking off the roof, they've turned the McLaren from a car
'you admire into a car you want.'
Oh, you really, really want this.
There's no denying it,
the Ferrari is down on power compared to the McLaren.
Overall, it makes about 50 brake horsepower but it is lighter,
it's the lightest here.
Nevertheless, I am not complaining.
The point and squirt-ability of this thing...
OK, a bit of wrestling to get it around the corner and then...
Ya! What a soundtrack!
'Meanwhile, back in the cheap seats...'
Right, serious stuff. This Audi is, give or take a few quid,
£70,000 cheaper than the other two.
So, why?
Well, it's got a slightly lower top speed.
It's slightly slower at 60 miles an hour.
It weighs quite a bit more,
and with the best will in the world, it does have a second-hand engine.
But it does have four-wheel-drive.
'And then there's the new gearbox.'
It used to be the single clutch flappy paddle type.
It's now twin clutch, seven speed,
and it is absolutely fantastic. Listen to this.
A gear, a gear.
Seriously, it is superb.
'Intoxicated by our cut-price supercars, we climbed higher
'and higher.'
Come on, Hammond, try and live with this.
God, it announces its arrival!
And the road got better and better.
Snow!
Look at that!
This road is just staggering.
How much did it cost?
Oh.
What, that's it?
And stop. What? Hang on a second!
You know the road was really quiet? Yes.
Would you like to know why? Yes.
It doesn't go anywhere. That's the end.
I can't wait to see the road that leads to a city.
It's going to be absolutely awesome. It must be if it goes somewhere!
How much money did that cost? Yes, a lot.
Anyway, what we learned on the road to absolutely nowhere at all
is just how fast that McLaren is. Yes.
I mean, it was fast when it came out, but now...
It's astonishing and when you're in a Ferrari you do not expect to
be left behind by anything.
On the straights, it just walks away.
It was like you were in a Nissan Micra and I was in a supercar.
That's the straights, the corners were worse
because following the McLaren, you watch it go round at a speed,
and you think "I'll go around at the same speed" and you can't.
It's unbelievable.
Can I just say, the McLaren is epic, I agree with you,
but in the two tests we conducted so far, the victor is the Audi.
Yes, it tied with the McLaren for one of them.
We also did an economy run. And the Audi won that, as well. Yes, it did.
So, anyway, later on, there will be more cut-price supercar larks
from Spain. In the meantime, here is the news.
No, I've got an announcement to make first. Really?
Yes, last week, in a bid to show that Britain is not too crowded to
have fun in a nice car, I took a Ferrari to this road, and I said
that even though this was just 40 miles from London
in Hertfordshire...
..there was no traffic at all
and you could still enjoy it in the Ferrari that I was using.
Well, we have been inundated with complaints, and I do mean inundated.
There have been a lot. A lot. People were absolutely furious.
"How dare the BBC say this is Hertfordshire?! It plainly isn't."
Well, you're right, I admit it, and I apologise.
That is not Hertfordshire. It's Buckinghamshire, actually.
Nevertheless, well spotted, all of you, for seeing that.
You were on the ball, there.
Hey, now, we've got some important consumer news for everybody.
When you go to a car showroom now, the salesman will try to sell you
lots of electronic bits and bobs for your car.
Here's our Top Gear top tip - don't bother with any of them
because they don't work, any of them.
Bluetooth. Bluetooth never works. It doesn't.
Hammond uses it and it's like he's sitting at the bottom of a river.
Well, to be fair, sometimes I am.
Shall I tell you the thing that doesn't work the most of all?
Voice activation. That's just a shouting match.
You're driving along, don't have to take your hands off the wheel.
You go, "Call Richard Hammond." "Collapsing suspension".
It does!
Oh, it's misunderstood me.
"Call Richard Hammond."
"Deflating tyres."
That's it!
"Reinflate tyres!"
"Calling Richard Hammond."
The problem is that, in the olden days, when it first came out,
voice activation was just for the radio or the satellite navigation.
Now it's for every single feature on the car
and in your life, and it has to understand every accent
in all of Britain.
"Och aye the noo."
"All right, pet?"
It just can't cope. So, you're driving along, you go, "Radio Two."
"Accessing bank account."
Oh, no!
"Transferring funds."
God, no, don't!
While we're having a moan, I don't like electric boot closing.
With you on that. What was the matter with slamming the boot?
So instead of doing that, it's just...
The idea is that you press the button
and the boot sets off and you can get in your car, but it's so slow!
By the time you've got in your car, your dog had seen its opportunity
and made a break for freedom, he's in the traffic.
Or worse, it detects your shopping in the boot
and it thinks, "That could be a child."
Oh, look, it's a packet of dog biscuits, it's not a baby.
"Firing airbag in three..."
Don't fire the airbag!
Too much responsibility.
Modern cars are deeply irritating because of the electronics.
Can I move it on now?
Now, last week I asked if you would send in
photographs of Jeremy on his new bicycle.
Because... Well, I didn't expect to get anything because, frankly,
I didn't believe he'd bought a bike. I have! Well... I have!
Do you know, I now believe you.
I know you have, because somebody HAS sent in a picture.
And here he is - Jeremy on his bicycle.
It's, er... It's working.
You are losing weight. You're trimming down.
That's not my bike. I haven't got stabilisers.
Otherwise, it's pretty accurate.
I've got some serious news.
A lot of cars these days have got a sport button on them, OK?
The idea is you push it and it makes everything more taut and more racy, OK?
But I've long harboured a suspicion that it doesn't actually make the car go any faster.
So last week we did a test.
They've got a new Golf GTI down here, which incidentally,
is a brilliant, brilliant car. Extremely good. It's properly good.
Anyway, we got The Stig, put him in normal mode,
sent him around the track and he did a 129.6, OK?
We then put it in sport which beefed up the suspension
and the front differential and it made the steering heavier
and it quickened the throttle, OK? In sport, 129.6.
What, exactly the same? Exactly the same.
We then put it in comfort mode, makes everything soft and gooey.
129.5. Fast!
Faster.
That is confirmation that the sport button just makes a car more uncomfortable.
Yeah, it shouldn't say "sport",
it should just say, "worse".
Now, there's a new supercar.
It is called the... Icona Vulcano. Here it is.
Jeremy, did you do that publicity photograph?
That's what I call a publicity shot.
I love that very much. Not sure about the car, though.
They say it has a V12 hybrid, but they won't tell us
where the V12's from or how the hybrid system works.
All they will say is it develops 950 horsepower
and will go 217 miles an hour.
Does it? Mmm, mmm.
The reason I brought this car up is their chief design director,
his name is Samuel Chuffart.
Give over.
It's not.
His name is not Chuffart. It's not! Chuffart. Lovely.
There's a man with fond memories of his school days!
Every register, "Oh, no, it's got to Christian, I'm next." "Chuffart".
"A-ha-ha-ha." I bet the novelty never wore off for him.
Apparently, he worked at Jaguar for a while.
I'm not sure what happened there. They probably had to let him go.
So now he's ended up in Italy, because that is an Italian firm.
They're actually making the car in China.
Can you imagine what the wiring's going to be like?
Chuffart in Italian probably means "hat penis" anyway, or something.
We actually asked our researchers to call up this company and say,
"Can you tell us more about the car?" And not one of them
could get through the beginning bit of the call without bursting...
The receptionist on the other end must be used to the phone
ringing and there's someone laughing, "Yeah, I'll put you through."
"Hello, Chuffart."
He probably just answers the phone with the words, "Yes, that is my name. Let's clear the air now."
That's how that picture came about.
Someone lit a match just after Chuff farted!
Moving on. Because this week we are testing the McLaren 12C Spider,
the Ferrari 458 Spider and the Audi R8 V10.
Let me guess, is it Spider? Do you know, it is. It is a Spider.
We have chosen budget supercars because we are in Spain,
where the economic problems are terrible.
Yeah, so far we've been to a ghost town.
It had a hospital, it had a school, had restaurants,
had thousands of houses and flats, but no people at all.
We've been on a road that went nowhere.
It was like filming in a ghost country, actually.
Anyway, we pick up the story after a night in a hotel in Granada.
We headed north the following morning,
worried that we'd hit the rush-hour traffic. However...
So there's only three cars on this motorway and we're in all of them.
Look at that. Our own personal motorway.
I've always wanted a motorway.
Since no-one was around,
we thought we would see how fast our cars would go.
We just need to find a straight bit.
Now, this is quite straight.
At 200 miles an hour, this slight corner becomes a hairpin bend.
We need arrow straight.
'When we did eventually find a long enough straight, it had goats on it.
'So we were about to give up on our top speed run, but then...'
Ooh, an airport.
Chaps, is that an airport? I just thought... Yes, aeropuerto, it is.
Well, if the runway's as busy as the roads,
we might be able to use the runway for our speed test.
God, there's some parking available!
All of it in fact.
Er... Where is everyone?
'We went inside to look for someone in charge.'
Hello?
'But the whole place was completely deserted.'
The computers are all on, look! I can make a baggage check.
I can log on! I've got one of those things that goes... I can check you in!
Ha-ha-ha-ha!
The wheel's coming off. My wheel's come off!
Hello. I'll be Lufthansa. I am sorry, the gate is closed.
Well, can you just open it? Nein.
I haven't got a passport, I've just got a selection of weapons and some concealed drugs.
Eventually, though, we found what we came for.
That is a runway over there, I believe. Yes.
'But since there was no-one around to ask for permission to use it,
'we had to improvise.'
Would it be possible for us to drive on the runway here?
Is there any flight traffic today? No, it's very quiet today.
I imagine it'll be fine.
With permission granted, we headed out to the runway.
It's all right, I've got it. I've got it. It's OK.
I can't do manual labour, you know that.
Look at that!
It's ours!
The runway was a whopping 2.5 miles long.
More than enough to max our cars.
Hammond elected to go first.
I'm always nervous when he drives in a straight line.
"Richard Hammond, can you drive in a straight line down a runway?
"Yes, what can possibly go wrong with that?"
Hit the launch control button with it, in race and manual.
Give it max revs, my right foot. ENGINE REVS
Left foot off. Right, we're away!
It does the first gear change for me, now it's up to me,
and already we're doing 85, 90...
100 miles an hour, that quickly.
Damn, this thing is fast!
Oh, look at the dust cloud.
138, 141.
I can hear the grit hitting the underside of the car. There's a lot of it.
Seventh gear has just been hit. 175 miles an hour.
Still accelerating hard.
I can see the line, 186...87, 88.
Come on, Ferrari, accelerate!
Now that is a Ferrari at full chat. 90. 91.
92.
92, 93.
193 miles an hour. Top speed achieved.
Next up, it was James,
who decided to use absolutely all of the available space.
Right, here we go. Sport, sport suspension, air con is off.
Manual one. Here we go at the max.
Right, here he comes now. Captain Slow is his name.
Or the Italians call him "Mr Slowly".
That's 80.
I know at some point in that car, when he's doing his run,
he is saying, "buffeting".
Buffeting.
He's moving along in the right direction.
It's weird to think James May in that, doing that speed.
A spaniel in control of that.
Indicated 175, 177. Come on!
That said 186.
Knowing that modern-day speedos are frighteningly accurate,
I knew what speed I had to beat - Hammond's, 193.
OK, launch control. First gear. Press launch. Launch active.
Three, two, one. Go!
Oh, wow, that's quick!
80 miles an hour already.
Here he comes. He's moving at tremendous speed.
140. I'm taking manual control now
to lock in in six.
I don't want to go into seventh
because that will slow it down.
Come on! 191, 193.
194, 195, 196, 197.
197 again.
Well, I'm through and I've indicated...198.
Victory, therefore, is mine.
'Annoyingly, though, we weren't finished,
'because James had come up with an idea.'
It's a drag race, but because of the weather,
especially what it's doing today, you have to start
with your roof down and you have to finish with your roof up.
And that's not quite as simple as it sounds. Well, no, it isn't.
Because I can operate this roof while I'm driving. So can I.
He can't. You can't. No, Ferrari, you have to... You have to stop.
Which means... Hang on! No, actually this is quite interesting.
I can do 19 miles an hour and put the roof up.
How fast can you go? 31.
You're joking? But officially, your roof, I think, goes up in 14 seconds.
Mine is about 19. This is very complicated.
So, the flag drops. Yes.
I set off, but I can only go 19 miles an hour,
while the roof is coming up. Then I can go. Yup.
You can go to 31 miles an hour... But I have to stay there for longer.
Because your roof takes longer to go up. You can't set off at all until your roof is up.
But then... Go like hell. Yeah, you launch control and go like hell. Yeah.
Having settled on a half-mile distance,
we lined up, and our Spanish starter began the countdown.
Tres, dos, uno...
We begin, we begin, we begin. I daren't put it in launch.
They're moving away, I'm not going anywhere!
Less than 19.
18 miles an hour. 19. 18.
Come on, hurry up!
Oh, I have exceeded the roof speed. Argh!
Bang!
Oh, God. Struggling for grip. Windows are going up now.
Roof latched! I am away!
I've passed James. Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Oh BLEEP!
I did that wrong.
We lined up for a second attempt.
Right, glasses on so I can read when the roof is latched.
Right, keep your finger on the button and concentrate on the speed.
Here we go. Keep it below 19 miles an hour, Jeremy. 18, 19.
I wait until the roof is up and just before the back hatch goes down,
I'm going to hit the launch control button. There.
Oh, come on!
This feels astonishingly slow.
19, oh, 20. Roof operation in progress.
That's down. I can go now.
Roof closed!
I'm changing gear with my left hand. How multi-tasking was that?
I am passing James May. They're getting closer to the line.
I think Jeremy is going to cross now.
But I'm getting closer to the Audi by the second. Hammond's coming!
I'm going to get him, I'm going to get him!
Second. Oh-ho-ho!
Victory has been mine.
Weirdly, though, James had a different view.
The Audi's basically won all of that.
I'm sorry James, I think you'll find the McLaren got there miles before you.
Highest top speed, McLaren. So the McLaren has won both things.
However, could I draw your attention to a few things?
A completely ruined back wheel, same on the other side.
I don't need to remind you of that.
Up here we find a very badly chipped windscreen. Hammond did that.
It doesn't matter who did it, it's very badly chipped.
YOU also have a very badly chipped windscreen. Where is it? Over there.
You have ruined wheels.
If you look down here, our cameraman wants to come and see this.
This bit of the bodywork has actually been eaten away.
'And that wasn't the only problem caused by the dust
'and grit on the unused runway.'
Oh, look underneath!
Oh, God!
The Audi, meanwhile, was totally unmarked.
Why do the Germans put paint on in such a way that it doesn't
then come off?
Because they are Germans and it is impossible to paint a car badly.
Conceding James' point, we got back on the road
and with evening approaching, it was time to look for somewhere to stay.
Chaps? Yes. I've had yet another brilliant idea. Have you? What?
Well, instead of looking for a hotel,
why don't we just go into the next town and help ourselves to a house?
OK.
It's not a bad idea.
In the next town, we started househunting,
and frankly we were spoilt for choice. I would quite like a view.
Well, that one's garden's all overgrown. I don't fancy that.
I don't want one with a dog.
How about 53? Do you like 53? Or 55?
As a number, I prefer 55.
'With that settled, we moved in.' Oh, it's nice!
Oh, no. Junk mail.
Is this a bedroom? I'm going to have this.
Hasn't actually got a bed in it, but that'll be all right.
Wow, look at this! I've got a bath, bidet, bog. Hammond?
Yes? We've found your room. Let me guess, is it small? It's low.
It's not. Oh, it's an en suite. Look at that!
I'm happy with that.
'Having brightened the place up with some decorations,
'Jeremy cooked us a paella while we discussed our cars.'
If we have to identify the best budget supercar, it's the Audi,
there's no question about it.
If you have to identify the best car, it's the Ferrari. No, no, no.
It isn't. Yes, it is. Well, it isn't. The McLaren is a better car.
It's not a better supercar. You didn't say supercar. You said car.
OK, best supercar.
Well, now you see that the best supercar is the Ferrari.
The best car is the McLaren. Yeah, but if I'm buying a supercar, I'm buying...
..and the winner of this test, so far... is the Audi.
..is the Audi.
I'd go with that entirely. Yes. Not very useful for the viewers.
'With dinner served, we carried on trying to reach a verdict.
'But it was hopeless.'
Yes, it is, but the Ferrari, they've injected some magic into...
With the roof off, it is properly good. No way!
£70,000 will buy a cook.
Would it interfere with this debate if I was suddenly and violently sick?
He's waiting for a photo to download on his computer.
He's sitting there going, "Buffering. Buffering."
Now, look, we want to make it absolutely clear, that airport is not a film set.
It opened five years ago, then it went bust,
then it closed down last year. Yeah.
It's amazing, though, if you think about it.
We all have unused things lying around - I've got a bread maker and a wok -
I haven't got an international airport. No.
About that, did you see what that runway did to my Ferrari?
Mmm, and you should see what happens to it later on.
Shouldn't we, Richard Hammond?
I don't think you really want to hang on and watch that.
Maybe turn over to Countryfile, now.
James... James, would you stay with Top Gear, or switch over to see Adam's farm. Let me have a think.
Yes, I'd stay with Top Gear. I'd stay with Top Gear.
Anyway, that's then, this is now,
and we must put a star in our Reasonably Priced Car.
Now, my guest, my guest tonight is best known for dying
and then coming back to life. But it is not the baby Jesus. LAUGHTER
It is the man who played Sherlock Holmes on the television.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Benedict Cumberbatch.
Have a seat. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
Wow. Thank you very much.
Now, that was a welcome.
That was a welcome from a lot of people who want to know
how you're not dead?
Well, when I jump off, there's a helicopter with Mycroft
in it dressed as a woman and an inflatable skirt.
And then he takes a pill, which basically means that the helicopter...
I'm not going to tell anyone. I can't.
Oh, no, I was really enjoying that!
Cos it was obviously one of the most written-about
and talked-about events in modern television history.
I wasn't here.
I sort of missed it.
The furore at home, anyway. I was abroad.
I heard that it went on for weeks.
It did, you actually fell off a building and then you're not dead.
Yeah.
Then we saw you dead, but anyway... Yeah.
When do you find out how that had been achieved?
I think it'll be some time near the end of this year,
or at the beginning of next. That's what we're aiming for.
Obviously, more recently, we've seen you in the new Star Trek movie. Yeah.
Anyone seen that?
Yes! Absolutely.
And you are a damn good baddie, if I may be so bold. Thank you very much.
It does beg the question, why are the Americans incapable of casting
an American as the baddie in any film? I don't know.
I had a sort of pet theory that they do vowels, which are sort of warm
and loving and feeling, and we do consonants,
which are sharp and intelligent and thinking.
That's as hippy, mad, leftfield as I can get with it.
We sound more intelligent?
Sort of, and maybe that's scary for them, I don't know!
End of my US career!
Yes, I was going to say!
One of the things I must ask is, now that you've appeared in Star Trek,
do you find yourself being approached
by those of a Trekkie disposition?
The ones I have met are remarkably normal.
It is a bit like, "I-I'm quite a Trekkie fan, actually." You are?
No, that was me pretending to be one.
Oh, OK! You're such a good actor, I thought actually you were one!
Fooled you there, Jeremy! Fooled you there!
I wasn't, actually, I wasn't a Trekkie.
I watched the first film, I was very into that, and then I obviously did
a little bit of research as far as what I was about to do in the canon,
and I really got into it. It was great to be a part of it.
You do worry about saying that you like Star Trek,
but I've always liked it, ever since it was Kirk and Spock,
right the way through, Jean-Luc Picard.
Yeah, it's a great relationship. A great relationship. Yeah... No?
I don't see that - what relationship?
Between Kirk, Spock and Bones. I think those three...
This is it, if I talk about a relationship between two men
in a drama, they're immediately at it.
The worldwide inter-lie will just go, splat,
there's a load of fan fiction which has me and John Watson
floating in space in a bed, handcuffed to one another.
Not just with handcuffs either!
I could write that tonight, it would be fun!
You're from an acting family. I am, my mum and dad are both actors.
Mum... Both, actually... My car history sort of begins with them.
I sort of was introduced to cars by them...
It's interesting, we've got a photograph of your mum here, look. Yep.
Now, my mum didn't have a car like that.
That's quite cool. It's very cool.
Is that from a Gerry Anderson? It is, it's from UFO.
Yeah. No, she was in UFO?
She was in UFO. So that obviously wasn't her car, that is a...?
No, but she did drive it, and it was driveable. She had an MGT...
An MGB, I should say, a hatchback.
Not a hatchback, sorry - a soft top. Yeah.
But all cars before I was born...
When I was born, it all got a bit sensible.
She had a Mini, which was great.
Cos that was my first car. Was it? Yeah.
Your first car was actually a proper Mini, then?
A little Mini. Crash it?
No, but I did reverse after a night out
over a very large rock on a driveway
and the gearstick just went, "Thunk," right through the chassis of the car.
So, next car was a...?
A Golf Mitsubishi Colt from 1982, hatchback. A Golf?
Yeah. No, not a Golf, sorry. Mitsubishi Colt.
So, your MGT and a Golf Mitsubishi! Yeah!
I'm getting my... I'm cross-splicing in some future world of cars!
There's a lot of car jumbling going on!
It's a good job I don't do your job - I'd be rubbish at it.
It's a good job I don't do yours -
I've no idea how to fly a spaceship or punch anyone.
Or act. That can be taught. I got taught that. What, how to punch?
Yeah. Hollywood fu, it was great fun.
Do you punch like... Do you punch with that side of your hand?
What are you doing? When you punch.
You look like you're trying to wipe a windscreen or something.
No, when you punch somebody, cos I've often... You sometimes...
Normally, you're quite tight and it's all from the waist,
but you have to sell it a bit more for the camera, so you arc it round a bit.
You could try it. Shall we try it now? Shall we try a fake punch?
Yeah!
What if it turns into a real one?
I'll give and you receive.
I like being the dominant one.
So, there's the camera. That one?
Facing me. You're actually directing now! Yeah! Facing you...
Am I ready for this punch? Yeah.
When I get to about there, you can move your head. But what if I don't?
I'm not going to do that.
Is anybody... Your dry-cleaning bills when my nose...!
All right. Are you ready? Yes.
OK, and...
Did that look all right? He knows, they know.
We've had many actors on the show over the years, sitting there,
but we've never had one who's been carjacked before.
Oh, really? That's good.
It is, but you were genuinely carjacked.
I was genuinely carjacked. Yeah.
Scary? How did it happen?
It was very scary.
I have to emphasise, not just because I love South Africa
and South Africans,
but it was a small event in a very big country, and we were very lucky.
We were on a bumpy dirt track and had gone onto the N2,
the major trunk road down the east coast,
and the front right tyre blew and these guys surrounded us,
stuff went on with belongings and we were pushed about a bit.
I was put in the boot of the car, though, at one point,
and that was interesting.
I thought, "Maybe I could diffuse the brake lights,
"then the police..."
No, no policeman in South Africa is going to pull over a car
full of men at midnight to question a broken taillight.
But it was very scary.
When they got you out again, did they not put a duvet over your head?
At one point, stuff was being thrown out the car.
We were underneath this underpass
and these juggernauts were just charging over
and the sound cover would be perfect for a quiet pop.
Then this duvet got thrown out, just went over our head, and I thought,
"Again, it's the pillow thing,
"it's going to be a muffler for a gunshot."
So I kind of came to terms with mortality
and dying on my own about four times in the space of half an hour.
The whole thing went on for about two hours.
We mustn't put people off southern Africa. No, we mustn't.
It's a big, beautiful place. It is.
So we could just ignore all that, it doesn't really happen! Cut that!
Anyway, so, you came down here to do your lap. Oh, BLEEP!
And how was it out there? It was really good fun.
The first couple of laps, I couldn't see the wood for the trees,
but as it went on, I think I got...
I bettered my times later on,
so I was obviously learning something. How do you know?
People would go, "Mmm."
Oh, just from people's "Mmm"?
I'm told you did more laps than any guest we've had.
Oh, that's so shaming!
Who'd like to see the fastest lap?
Yeah!
Let's have a look.
OK.
Oh, yes.
We are away.
Yippee ki-yay, mother-BLEEP!
A fan of The Hangover is here!
Look at it grip, with a lifetime warranty.
That's not bad. Is that all right? Yeah.
It is hot in here.
That's no excuse, come on.
Did you have the air conditioning off or on? Off. Good man.
A bit wide through there, maybe costing you half a second.
Gear change, gear change, gear change, gear change. So... boom.
Yeah, like the Sundance Kid there, very quick mover! Oh, God!
Bit slow, but at least you're not skidding about.
You haven't really used all the track - or, indeed, any of it. Anyway...
Use the track, Benedict.
Ladies and gentlemen, Alec Guinness in the Reasonably Priced Car!
Moved those, that was well done.
And now here it is, second-to-last corner.
Holy crap, this is scary.
No, that is pretty much perfect. Is it?
That really is perfect, Gambon.
Ooh, fast. Ooh, fast, but not Jimmy Carr. Across the line!
Ah, not bad! That is all right. That is all right.
These are the times we have so far in our Reasonably Priced Car.
Ooh, crikey.
Where do we think?
I don't know, I don't know.
Maybe faster than Warwick, I'd be happy with that.
Faster than Warwick, at 1:46.8.
That's where you're aiming. That's very high, isn't it?
Benedict Cumberbatch, you... are leaning forwards.
It won't make my time faster, will it?!
I haven't got much space left on here!
Then shorten the time!
You did it in one...
..40...
..7.8.
Oh! So you're not faster.
I can live with that. It's in the middle.
What I've got here is a list of all the other people who've
appeared on Star Trek.
If it makes you feel any better,
Jean-Luc Picard, 1:50 dead. Oh, dear.
So you're faster than he was.
But the previous baddie in the last film, Eric Bana, 1:47.5,
and that was in the wet.
Phwoar. So Eric Bana is faster.
I can't really find any comfort at all for you.
I've just got to come back, you've got to invite me back.
I basically brought you down here and ruined your day.
Yeah, yeah! I do apologise for that,
because it has been an enormous pleasure. Likewise, thank you.
Best of luck with the new Sherlock, absolute joy.
Ladies and gentlemen, Benedict Cumberbatch.
Now, tonight, we are heading for Madrid
in three convertible supercars.
So far, we've found Spain to be full of brand-new things that
nobody seems to be using.
Absolutely. We spent the night in an unwanted house,
where Jeremy had cooked us dinner.
Anyway, we rejoin the action the following morning.
'After a hectic night on the lavatory, we headed off.
'But after just 100 yards...'
Oh, I've ruined my Ferrari.
'..I hit a bollard.
'Luckily, though, my colleagues didn't make a big deal of it.'
Hammond, look out for that signpost dead ahead of you. Hammond, careful.
Block of flats on the right.
Please kill me.
Breaking a Ferrari is an especially bad thing.
It's like kicking a rabbit.
Hammond, when we get on the motorway,
you'll be driving quite fast,
it might be 70 miles an hour, you'll really need to concentrate there.
Hammond, move right, mind the Armco.
They're never going to give up.
'Sure enough, the abuse kept on coming.'
Two big metal pillars, Hammond. Don't... Do you see them? Mind that!
That way! You're all right.
'Happily, after several uneventful miles on yet another empty motorway,
'we were finally approaching Madrid.'
I know capital cities often escape the worst of austerity times
like these, so hopefully that'll still be a busy old place.
'However...'
Holy God.
Look at it.
There are thousands of them.
This crash was clearly bigger than ever I realised.
Still, look on the upside - there's no-one for Hammond to run over.
'And that thought gave me yet another brilliant idea.'
Nobody is driving on that road.
So what are you suggesting? Or that road.
What I'm saying is, we turn this town into a street circuit.
Ship The Stig out, he sets a time in a car of some sort
and we try and match it.
It's an ambitious plan.
How hard can it be?
A few tyres, bits of barrier. That's an excellent grandstand.
All the residents - if there were any - could sit on those balconies and watch.
Bernie Ecclestone will now be leaning forward in his chair and going,
"Good idea."
This is the Madrid Grand Prix, coming up.
'Having sorted out a course,
'James and I set about making it into an actual track.'
I can't do them regular if you're going that fast!
It's uphill. Yeah. Keep going! Yeah, yeah.
This is Ferrari rosso.
So when you crash into it,
this will effectively repair the damage you've done to your car.
'Because of my problem with manual labour,
'I went off to collect The Stig.'
So, this is the start, yeah?
Careful. So this one goes...
James, just do them when I'm...
..getting the...
No! That's... What the bloody hell?
Oops.
Ah, he's here.
The Stig's here.
Is he all right?
'With the circuit complete and christened, we unwrapped The Stig
'so he could set a benchmark time in a supercharged Jaguar convertible.'
Right, are you ready with the stopwatch, James May? Yes, I am.
Bradley Cooper will start it.
Three, two, one!
That's a dirty, dirty sound.
Oh, look at that! He's got his tail out,
going round the Rockery of Gibraltar.
'Because this was a street circuit,
'it was lined with wheel-killing kerbs.
'And there was even a speed hump.
'But these things were of no moment to The Stig.'
Whoa! 57 and a half seconds.
Right!
'We then set off on a sighting lap,
'knowing that if we wanted to beat The Stig,
'we'd have to average at least 60 miles an hour.'
That is alarming there.
'Even though our cars were faster than the Jag,
'it looked like a tall order.'
OK, here we go, this is it, you and me, little Ferrari.
Now's our chance, give it everything you've got.
Three, two, one!
Really fast start.
On the limiter, round the Rockery of Gibraltar.
Turn it. This thing will grip, Richard.
Left that late. Back on the power as soon as you can.
That was quick.
Now, the chicane. This is monstrous.
Then, thread it through. That is tight.
And now the final straight, up towards the finish line.
This is all I've got, everything I can.
Little Fezza, I really hope I've made up for crashing you this morning.
'With my work done, it was Mr Slowly's turn.'
Three, two, one!
Ooh, it sounds second!
Third!
James May, ladies and gentlemen, hit third!
There's a left-hander somewhere. There it is. Throw him in.
Lord Howard of Effingham.
Oh, tricky gear change with the gear... Oh, BLEEP!
No-one expects the Spanish speed hump.
Nice and straight.
Nearly bloody killed me.
'Finally, it was the turn of the McLaren.'
Active, aero, sport.
Well, this is it.
Three, two, one!
Whoa, that was launch control!
Concentrate, Jeremy, concentrate.
Oh, no!
Massive tail slide there!
And on to the Golden Hind straight.
91 miles an hour there. Down to second.
Come on, power!
Oooh!
I have to say, our street circuit was a million times better
than Spain's other one in Valencia. It's one of the most boring street circuits in the world. Yeah.
The only problem I had was, you know the Lord Howard of Effingham chicane? Yes.
You really wanted first,
but I couldn't ever get it in the McLaren. Trying to jam it down.
The problem I had is when you get to the "no-one expects the Spanish speed hump". Yeah.
You had to go wide and try to hit it reasonably square, cos if you got it at an angle,
you'd be banged into the kerb. And then, you'd smash your wheel off! Yeah, absolutely. Yes, yes!
Anyway, I have the results here.
And the... well, there's no other way to put this...
..the fastest car around our magnificent track was...
the Ferrari! Yeah, it was! It wasn't.
No, it was, cos if you look, there's the numbers
next to the names, the one next to mine is the smallest, that means...
No, no, Hammond. The Ferrari was the fastest in the first lap.
Well, it was a one-lap event. It wasn't a one-lap event!
No, cos then, we parcel the cameras away, OK,
and then we kept going, as you remember, and by the end,
the McLaren was not just faster than the Ferrari,
but faster than The Stig.
But that wasn't the end, because then The Stig went out again in the Jag
and was faster than the McLaren. Yes. Hang on, that wasn't the end either, because, if you remember,
it then started raining and in the rain, the Audi was the fastest
because of its four-wheel drive. So...
This isn't very good, is it?
Well, it's not very clear.
No, what we're saying is, at various different points,
all of them were the fastest. Yeah.
Anyway, I've got the results of everything over here,
all the categories.
And speed, yes, we decided that was a dead heat for all three.
Well, no, I mean, on the night, it was the Ferrari. It wasn't the Ferrari...
It was a one-lap event... It was the McLa... Would you two shut up?
Quietness, that was also a dead heat between the Audi and the McLaren.
Discretion, the Audi.
Economy, that was the Audi.
Value was the Audi, but...
finally, equipment...
that was the Audi.
A bit clearer, isn't it?
Fairly comprehensive win there for the Audi. Uh-huh.
So, James May, of the three cars, knowing what we know now,
which would you choose to buy?
The Ferrari.
Yeah, it's the Ferrari. And you?
Uh... McLaren. Interesting. Really?
No, I'd have the Ferrari. Good.
I mean, the McLaren is absolutely brilliant,
but the Ferrari is just a little bit more special.
So what we're finally saying is we'd all three have a car
that dissolves if you drive it too quickly.
Yes, yes.
But on that bombshell, we can end.
Thank you very much for watching.
See you all again next week. Take care, good night!
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