- White Stig is introduced.
- The boys go to the Isle of Man and drive the BMW M3 CSL, M1, M3 & M5.
- Richard finds out how many caravans a Volvo 240 can jump over.
- The boys compare the Porsche Boxster, BMW Z4 & Honda S2000.
- Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Stephen Fry.
Episode Guide
Introduction: Jeremy announces the death of the Stig and reveals the new (white suited) one.
Review: Jeremy tested the BMW M3 CSL after introducing us to the heritage of the CSL moniker in the original Batmobile. As for the new car, Jeremy said it was a magnificent car, 10 – 20% better than he expected—and he expected it to be fantastic. The Stig’s time was 1:28.0 in the wet.
Main review: The team visited the Isle of Man to test old BMW sports cars, the 1970s M1, the original M3, and the second-gen M5.
Challenge: A Volvo 240 tries to jump five caravans side-by-side, yet it only manages to jump over two, crashing into the others.
Star In A Reasonably-Priced Car: Stephen Fry tells about the advantages of not being a taxi driver but driving a London Taxi. Jeremy points out that Stephen drives a Saab and so it is unlikely that any cycling lady would give him the car-hating look of death. Completed his lap in 1:54 in “mildly moist” weather.
Mail: As a follow-up to the previous show, Jeremy and Richard start the segment by discussing letters professing theories to the expanded range of a car security remotes when held up to one’s head. The next sequence of letters comes from children who are ashamed of the cars that their parents take them to school in. Richard follows this up with a letter requesting that the Stig’s name be changed as it upsets this writer’s cat (also called Stig). The final theme of this week’s mail is a showcase of inappropriately enormous exhaust pipes on various cars.
Road Tests: The team test three two seater convertibles on the Isle of Man: BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster and Honda S2000. As it is too hard to decide the best car, they decide by seeing which one was fastest around the track. The Stig drives the Honda to a lap time of 1:37.4, the BMW to 1:37.3, but at 1.37.0 the fastest car was the Boxster.
Stig Power Laps
BMW M3 CSL
1:28.00 (wet)
Porsche Boxster
1:37.00 (very wet)
BMW Z4
1:37.30 (very wet)
Honda S2000
1:37.40 (very wet)
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car
Stephen Fry
1:54.00 (mildly moist)
Music
Birth of a New Stig:
00:30 – 00:37 – Parodi/Fair – James Bond Theme
01:05 – 01:51 – Blue Oyster Cult – (Don’t Fear) the Reaper
01:53 – 02:25 – Chicago – If You Leave Me Now
02:37 – 03:04 – Richard Strauss – Also Sprach Zarathustra
BMW M3 CSL Review:
03:26 – 04:45 – Air – Radian
04:51 – 05:07 – Markus Kienzl – Top Dog (New Version)
05:10 – 05:21 – Air – Radian
05:21 – 05:53 – Air – Gordini Mix (Brakes on Mix)
06:50 – 07:23 – Aim – Guimar
07:25 – 08:25 – M83 – Unrecorded
08:26 – 08:52 – Air – Electronic Performers
08:54 – 09:34 – Air – Gordini Mix (Brakes on Mix)
09:35 – 09:55 – The Commodores – Machine Gun
09:53 – 10:07 – Aim – Vipco
10:07 – 10:22 – Appliance – Ex4
10:22 – 10:52 – Air – Gordini Mix (Brakes on Mix)
10:52 – 11:22 – Air – Electronic Performers
Original BMW M Series Cars:
16:09 – 16:32 – Colder – Crazy Love
16:43 – 17:34 – Fun Lovin’ Criminals – My Sin
18:03 – 19:32 – U.N.K.L.E – Panic Attack
19:32 – 20:14 – Jet – Get What You Need
20:20 – 20:38 – Jet – Get What You Need
20:44 – 21:06 – Billy Talent – This Is How It Goes
21:06 – 21:51 – Oasis – A Quick Peep
BMW Z4 vs. Porsche Boxster vs. Honda S2000:
39:54 – 40:11 – Faithless – Don’t Leave (Floating Remix)
40:11 – 40:55 – ? ERROR: You do not have Flash installed.
40:57 – 41:15 – Faithless – Drifting Away (Paradiso Mix)
41:16 – 41:54 – Bonobo – Flutter
41:58 – 42:20 – The Faint – Agenda Suicide
42:20 – 42:29 – Faithless – Don’t Leave (Floating Remix)
42:46 – 43:50 – Siobhan Donaghy – Twist of Fate (Instrumental)
44:18 – 44:55 – Bob Dylan – Country Pie
46:01 – 46:09 – Faithless – Drifting Away (Paradiso Mix)
46:09 – 46:37 – Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl?
47:07 – 47:13 – Bob Dylan – Country Pie