Top Gear/Season 1 Episode 7

Season 1 Episode 7
Season 1, Episode 7
Airdate	December 1, 2002
Written by
Directed by
← 1x06 Season 1 Episode 6	1x08 → Season 1 Episode 8
Top Gear — Season One

Episode Seven of the first season of Top Gear, and is episode seven overall.

Guest Stars: Rick Parfitt

Information

Saab 9-3

Richard Hammond reviews the Saab 9-3. It has a 2.0 L turbocharged engine that produces 175 hp, accelerating it from 0-60 in 8.5 seconds. However, Hammond is going to follow the government's guidelines on commuting in an eco-friendly manner. The government suggests an economical speed of 50 mph, so Hammond sets off at that speed and finds the 9-3 to have a firm but sporty ride. The Saab 9-3 2.0t has a 2.0 L engine with a light pressure turbo, so light that it's hardly noticeable. Hammond would much rather have a much larger turbo that would throw you into the seat. Inside the car, Hammond has counted over 98 separate controls that give you control over the air conditioning, car computer, cruise control and CD player which are all fitted as standard. The 9-3 it pretty good value at £21,500 (roughly $44,500), which is £2,000 less than the nearest Mercedes or BMW. The Saab 9-3 has a clever engine with a catalytic converter which can actual make the 9-3's exhaust a bit cleaner than the air coming in, but the car is rather bland.

Fastest Religion

Jeremy Clarkson sets out to find the fastest religion around the test track. The first contestant is a Catholic Priest who has a turbocharged SEAT León. Clarkson points out that the priest has had it chipped from 180 bhp to 206 bhp. The second contestant is a Jewish Rabbi who drives a Vauxhall Vectra. The third contestant is a Buddhist Lama who drives a Renault Scénic. The fourth contestant is an Anglican Priest who actually races cars three or four times a year as a member of Revelation Racing. The fifth contestant is another member of the Church of England, an Anglican Bishop. The last contestant is a member of the Hare Krishna.

The car they'll be driving is based on a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, but it's been heavily modified to produce over 330 bhp and can do 0-60 in 4.5 seconds. The Hare Krishna member goes first, but loses the Subaru in the second to last corner. The Rabbi goes next with the Stig as his co-driver, but he loses the car while going through the Follow-through. The Buddhist Lama goes next without any issues. The Anglican Bishop is up next and manages to get the car around the track. The Revelation Racing Anglican Priest follows the Bishop and also makes it around. The Catholic Priest finishes up, getting the car around the track.

Tallying up the results, the Hare Krishna member came in last at 1.56.0, the Jewish Rabbi came in fifth at 1.55.0, fourth place went to the Buddhist Lama at 1.45.0, the Anglican Bishop came in third place at 1.42.0, the Catholic Priest came in second at 1.40.0 and the Anglican Priest finished first.

Peugeot RC

Richard Hammond takes a look at the Peugeot RC concept car, possibly the world's first proper diesel sports car. As there is only one Peugeot RC in existence, Peugeot were wary of the Stig driving the car and instead sent Richard Burns, 2001 World Rally Champion. The RC has a carbon fiber body, mid-mounted engine and six speed sequential gearbox. It can go from 0-60 in 6 seconds, yet still do 57 mpg.

Cool Wall

Would Clarkson have a diesel sports car like the Peugeot RC? No. To explain why he shows a picture of the Volkswagen Golf. It has a gas engine with sheik European styling and thus goes into the Cool section of the Cool Wall. Then there's the Volkswagen Golf Diesel. It goes into the Uncool section as it marks you as a cheapskate.

Clarkson places the Saab 9-3 from earlier in the show in the Cool section as you can tell people you own a Saab. The audience disagrees with the placement, but Clarkson tells them the Cool Wall isn't a democracy. However, he places the Saab in the Uncool section as Saab are now doing diesel cars.

Diesel cars are uncool, but electric cars might be the next big thing. However, the Ford TH!NK is the best they could come up with. The Stig has a race in the Ford TH!NK against Jason Dawes who is on foot. The Ford TH!NK takes the lead, but using other electrical components in the car causes it to lose power and it eventually stops just short of the finish line. Clarkson wouldn't have one.

However, there might be a compromise. Hammond shows off the Toyota Prius, a hybrid car with an electric engine used as low speeds and a 1.3 L gas engine used at higher speeds. Clarkson, however, believes the Prius wouldn't even place on the Seriously Uncool section of the Cool Wall but somewhere farther down in hell.

Drivers of the Future

Jason Dawes sets out to find what cars are cool to kids today, the drivers of the future. Dawes' lineup includes a Ferrari 360, Pagani Zonda, Nissan Skyline R32 GTR and a TVR Tuscan. After showing a group of kids the four cars, Dawes brings out a Lamborghini Countach. After a vote the Nissan Skyline R32 GTR came in fifth place, the TVR Tuscan in fourth, the Ferrari 360 in third place, the Pagani Zonda in second place and the Lamborghini Countach in first place.

Lotus Elise 111S

Clarkson reviews the Lotus Elise. You can get the Elise with a 1.8 L engine you can tinker with, but Clarkson's version is the 111S with a sealed-for-life 1.8 L engine with all kinds of built-in trickery like variable valve timing. This engine produces 156 bhp that pushes the Elise from 0-60 in five seconds with a top speed 132 mph. Yet the Lotus Elise does 40 mpg. It accomplishes this feat by being incredibly light. The old Elise didn't have carpeting or electric windows due to weight, but the new Elise has all that and air conditioning, a CD player and leather. With all the additions the Elise only weighs 760 kg (about 1,675 pounds). The old Elise was very twitchy and scared some people, so the new Elise was fitted with narrower tires to reduce front-end grip but Clarkson believes it has removed the grip entirely.

However, a Principal Chassis Engineer from Lotus told Clarkson there isn't anything wrong with the car but with Clarkson's driving, offering to take Clarkson onto the test track to show him how to drive it properly. Once there, the engineer proceeds to power slide the Lotus Elise around the corners, telling Clarkson to be gentle with the car and simply apply physics. Asked why they've made the new Elise more understeery, the engineer tells Clarkson that they have to cater to a wide range of drivers. Clarkson remarks that he's quite impressed with the engineer's driving, but also quite depressed that he was unable to do the same things. The engineer tells Clarkson that Lotus can sell him optional, wider tires to help kill the understeer.

The Stig takes the Lotus Elise 111S around the test track in 1.34.9 on a very wet track.

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

This week's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Rick Parfitt, member of the English rock band Status Quo. Rick Parfitt races the Suzuki Liana around the test track in 1.52.0.

Insider Trading

Jason Dawe explains that he got an email from a dealer on a Fiat Stilo. The Stilo normally retails for £11,700 (about $24,200), but the dealer is offering it at £7,995 (about $16,500). The cheapest new car you can buy is a Ford Ka for £4,995 (about $10,300). But Dawes has an even better deal on an Isuzu Trooper. Dealer's have to sell them before the end of the year because they don't meet next year's emissions standards. If they're not registered by then, then the dealer's will have to send them back to the factory. The Trooper normally retails for £27,000 (about $55,800), but you can get one for £18,995 (about $39,300).

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