Challenges How hard could it be? Top Gear Series 8

Top Gear: Series 8, Episode 2

  • Jeremy power tests the Chevrolet Corvette Z06.
  • Richard races a Bowler Tomcat against a Motor powered kayak in Iceland.
  • Jeremy compares the Jaguar XK, Mercedes SL 350 & BMW 650i.
  • The boys attempt to present a drive time radio show.
  • The Stig takes the now retired Suzuki Liana for a lap to give it a proper send off.
  • Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Gordon Ramsay, The Stig.

Episode Guide

Watch this episode on Amazon Instant Video

Review: Clarkson reviews the Chevrolet Corvette Z06, and finds it astonishing as a track car, comparing it to a Ferrari 575M Maranello. However he notes, among other things, that the car is too harsh for road usage, claiming he would rather have Bird Flu than drive it every day. The Stig takes it to a 1:22.4, making it somewhat slower than the more expensive Ford GT that was GM’s primary competition, but putting it in the realm of Italian and German supercars.

The News: The Ferrari 575 has been discontinued and will be replaced by the 599 GTB Fiorano. A new limo has been created from a tank. A new gadget called The Quick Start is designed to alert you to drive on the correct side of the road in France. The group figures out how the police can identify drivers under the influence of illegal drugs. They then devised a series of questions in relation to specific drugs. The Dodge Caliber is designed to look like an imposing SUV, but is the size of a Volkswagen Golf. A car thief stole a Mercedes McLaren SLR in Germany and was apprehended a mere twelve miles away.

Challenge: Hammond races a man in a canoe with an engine in Iceland. Hammond used a specially prepped offroad 4×4 called a Tomcat, with the chassis of a Range Rover and a TVR V8 engine. The canoeist wins.

Star In A Reasonably Priced Car: Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay sets a new lap record of 1.46.3.

Review: Clarkson tests the new Jaguar XK in Yorkshire. He is torn: the BMW 6-Series and Porsche 997 are quicker while an Aston Martin is better looking and more prestigious. In the end, he still prefers an Aston to an XK, but acknowledges that the Jag will be more reliable and concludes that, “It’s good enough to make you think.”

Challenge: The group tried to see how hard it would be to host a Drive Time Radio Show. Hammond drove them to the studio in a Cadillac BLS, which the other two presenters panned as a cramped rebadged Saab with a bad clock. BBC Southern Counties Radio in Brighton allowed the group to take over a 3-hour block, which went downhill fast. A recording had been done of a musical artist singing, “I’ve been driving in my car listening to Jeremy Clarkson,” which was played a few times during the Radio broadcast. Clarkson decided to use the traffic flow cameras to name and shame a number of motorists, who he considered to be causing the hold ups by their bad driving. The station received a number of complaints about the lack of actual traffic information being given out. They ended their 3-hour block by playing a 9-minute song and quickly exiting the building.

Star In A Reasonably Priced Car: The Stig faced the challenge of going around the track in the old Suzuki Liana and he managed to get the fastest time of 1:44.4, beating Ellen MacArthur (fastest celebrity) and narrowly beating Nigel Mansell (fastest Formula One driver). This was in response to a letter complaining that The (new) Stig had not been given the chance to set a time in the Liana.

This actually wasn’t the case as The Stig set two times in Season 1, albeit off camera. The first came in the debut episode during Clarkson’s interview with Harry Enfield. After showing Harry’s lap, Jeremy pointed to the board which contained two times: Clarkson’s time of 1:50 and The Stig’s time of 1:46. The second instance came in the third episode of Season 1, during Clarkson’s interview with Ross Kemp. Once again, Clarkson pointed out The Stig’s dry time of 1:46 and then revealed that after Kemp did his lap in wet conditions, they sent The Stig out to set a “wet” lap time for comparison – which he did in a time of 1:50. These times though, were set by the previous Stig who was ‘killed’ at the end of series two and replaced by the White Stig, who had not set a time in the Liana.

Some say…

“Some say he has a digital face, and that if he felt like it, he could fire Alan Sugar. All we know is he’s called the Stig.”

Stig Power Laps

Chevrolet Corvette Z06
1:22.40

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

Gordon Ramsay
1:46.30
The Stig
1:44.40

Music

Chevrolet Corvette Z06:
02:09 – 02:59 – DJ Zinc – Faster
03:00 – 04:33 – U.N.K.L.E – Safe in Mind (Instrumental)
04:46 – 05:40 – Amon Tobin – Nova
06:10 – 07:04 – Triosk – Goodnight

TomCat Challenge:
15:59 – 16:09 – Werner Tautz – Off Broadway
16:18 – 16:45 – Biosphere – Altostratus
16:46 – 17:08 – Brian Tyler, Klaus Badelt – Constantine End Titles
17:16 – 17:35 – Brian Tyler, Klaus Badelt – Absentee Landlords
17:43 – 18:01 – Biosphere – Daphnis 26
18:04 – 18:39 – Robert Rodriguez – Sin City
19:10 – 19:32 – Brian Tyler, Klaus Badelt – Destiny
19:34 – 20:40 – Brian Tyler, Klaus Badelt – Constantine End Titles
20:40 – 22:28 – Klaus Badelt – He’s a Pirate

Jaguar XK/ Mercedes SL350/ BMW 650i:
32:05 – 32:52 – Antonio Pinto – Requiem
32:53 – 33:33 – Layo & Bushwacka! – We’ve Been Here Before
33:35 – 34:23 – Ian Brown – Happy Ever After
34:24 – 35:12 – John Powell – Bim Bam Smash
35:15 – 35:56 – Ian Brown – Happy Ever After
36:18 – 36:52 – Röyksopp – Tristesse Globale
36:52 – 37:32 – Massive Attack – Live with Me
38:22 – 38:32 – Dario Marianelli – The Dominoes Fall
38:32 – 39:07 – Dario Marianelli – Knives and Bullets
39:20 – 40:00 – Dario Marianelli – Knives and Bullets
40:23 – 40:46 – Dario Marianelli – The Dominoes Fall
40:47 – 41:41 – Harry Gregson-Williams feat. Lisa Gerrard – The End

Drive-Time Radio Show:
43:14 – 44:31 – The Zutons – How Does it Feel (Instrumental)
45:06 – 45:29 – Alexandre Desplat – The Commute
45:36 – 46:40 – Mirwais – Disco Science
46:49 – 47:08 – Scissor Sisters – Tits on the Radio
48:43 – 49:32 – Faultline – Clocks
49:44 – 49:53 – Thin Lizzy – The Boys Are Back in Town
50:37 – 50:53 – McFadden & Whitehead – Ain’t No Stopping Us Now
52:00 – 52:09 – Wang Chung – Dance Hall Days
53:17 – 53:28 – James Blunt – Wisemen
55:52 – 56:20 – Richard Harris – MacArthur Park

Screenshots

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