Top Gear/Season 10 Episode 3

Season 10 Episode 3
Season 10, Episode 3
Airdate	October 28, 2007
Written by
Directed by	Brian Klein
← 10x02 Season 10 Episode 2	10x04 → Season 10 Episode 4
Top Gear — Season Ten

Episode Three of the tenth season of Top Gear, and is episode eighty-four overall.

Guest Stars: Ron Wood

Information

Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé

James May reviews the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, the convertible version of the Rolls-Royce Phantom. The car will set you back about £307,000 (roughly $630,000), which is £50,000 (roughly $102,000) more than the original Phantom. It has the same 6.75 L engine as the original Phantom, the same top speed and the same 0-60 time. The mechanicals may be the same, but May believes the image is very different. With the convertible you're sitting up front for all the world to see in a car that is less than discrete. You can get optional teak decking on the back and a brushed stainless steel hood. The soft top is even lined with cashmere wool. Even with all that, May believes the Phantom Drophead doesn't come off as brash. He thinks it could be the coolest car in the world.

Lamborghini Reventón

Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond take a look at the Lamborghini Reventón inside the studio. It has a 6.5 L V12 engine propelling it to 212 mph. Clarkson points out how it was styled to look like an F-22 Raptor and believes this car is what Lamborghini should be doing. The instrument panel consists of LCDs which can be switched into an "aircraft mode" and the wheels have carbon fiber fins that suck in cold air to cool the brakes. However, Clarkson points out that Lamborghini are only making 20 and they each cost £800,000 (roughly $1,600,000).

Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano

Jeremy Clarkson reviews the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. It has a modified 6 L V12 engine from the Ferrari Enzo, semi-active magneto rheological dampers, a steering wheel with lights on it that tell you when to shift and a transmission that can shift in just 100 ms. Clarkson is able to launch the nearly 2-ton 599 from 0-60 in just 3.5 seconds. A selector switch on the steering wheel allows you to put to the car into various modes such as Sport or Race, or turn the entire traction control system off if you're feeling particularly brave. One might think this is a car you could use every day as it even has a sizable trunk thanks to the engine being in the front, but there are a few problems. Clarkson likens the headlights to candles in a jar, the automatic windshield wipers turned on once it stopped raining, the air conditioning system had a mind of its own and the ambient lighting system lit the inside up like a battlefield. He wouldn't buy the car at all. If it's only a car you can use on special occasions, you'd want it to feel special and the 599 doesn't. It's technically brilliant, but he doesn't love it. If he were to spend £185,000 (roughly $380,000) on a Ferrari, Clarkson would walk past the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and buy a Ferrari 275 GTS roadster. Clarkson admits that, even by the standards of 1964, the 275 was rubbish. But the 275 makes you feel special.

The Stig takes the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano around the test track in 1.21.22, faster than a Ford GT.

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

This week's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Ron Wood, an English rock guitarist and bassist and member of The Rolling Stones. Ron Wood races the Chevrolet Lacetti around the test track in 1.49.6.

Lexus LS600h

The boys show off the Lexus LS600h, a car that can park itself due to sensors embedded in the bumper and a camera mounted above the license plate. Hammond attempts to use the Advanced Parking Guidance System, but Clarkson pulls out a fairly thick user manual for that system alone and wonders if Hammond can figure out the system without reading the manual. Hammond initiates the system, but backs into the Cool Wall. After a few attempts and a quick consultation of the user manual, Hammond manages to set the system and the Lexus (nearly manages to) parallel park itself.

Peel P50

In an age of cars that claim to be small, Clarkson reviews the 45-year-old Peel P50 microcar. It is 54 inches long and 41 inches wide, and listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the smallest production car ever. Clarkson attempts to put his 6'5" body inside the P50 and drive it to work. The car was built on the Isle of Man in the early 60s and cost £198 (roughly $400), about £3,000 (roughly $6,150) when accounting for inflation, and does 100 miles to the gallon. The 49cc engine from a moped propels the P50 to 35 mph, at the very best.

Because the Peel P50 is so small, Clarkson is able to get out at BBC's headquarters, pick up the back end of the P50 and carry it inside. The Top Gear staff take a good look at the car inside their offices, but John Humphrys, a presenter on BBC Radio 4, steals the car and drives around the offices. Clarkson is able to retrieve the car and drives it inside an elevator to get to a meeting. Although the car doesn't have a reverse gear, Clarkson believes it's the ultimate in personal mobility.

Bugatti Veyron vs. Eurofighter Typhoon

Hammond, in a Bugatti Veyron, is pitted against the Eurofighter Typhoon in a 1-mile drag race. While Hammond must drive the Veyron down a 1-mile stretch of RAF runway and back again, the Typhoon must take off, fly 1-mile straight up and then return to earth and cross the finish line. Hammond gives it his best, but the Typhoon beats him.

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