Top Gear Series 2

Top Gear: Series 2, Episode 6

  • Jeremy road tests the Subaru Impreza WRX STI & Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII.
  • Richard compares a group of “Track Day” cars.
  • James organises an attempt to beat the Land Speed record for caravan towing.
  • Jeremy power tests the Vauxhall VX220 Turbo.
  • Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Richard Whiteley.

Episode Guide

Jeremy starts the episode by looking at the latest Subaru Impreza & Mitsubishi Evo 8 – cars which only older people can afford to own and insure. To compare them, Jeremy takes them to the “Best driving country in the World” – Scotland. Both cars were born from the world of Rallying and in the real world with bumps and hedges, they’re often faster than Porsche’s and Ferrari’s. Subaru have improved the styling from the old bug-eyed model, quickened up the steering and fitted tougher suspension. Jeremy continues “They’ve made it harder, edgier. Less of a car, more of a bar room brawler.” The Evo 8 on the other hand, has been toned down a bit compared to the old “Mafia Hitman” Evo 7. It seems then that both cars have met in the middle.Jeremy looks at the Subaru in more detail. Jeremy is impressed by the sheer level of grip the Impreza has and describes the car as a “hugely manly experience”. “The noise it makes.. it’s got a macho gearbox, it’s got macho steering. It even smells of man.. the essence of.. burnt clutch. Splash it on all over before going out at night for a curry, and a fight.” Jeremy looks at the Evo next. He describes it as being more of a technical car, with an active centre differential which shuffles the power from front to back depending on how much grip is available. It also has ‘Super active yaw control’, which can also move power from side to side – when you combine the two technologies, it is possible for the Evo 8 to become one wheel drive when pushing the car hard through a corner – as the car shifts the power to the weighted outside rear wheel.

Both cars have similar power and performance – 150 mph top speeds and 0-60 mph times of under 5 seconds. They can’t be split on looks either, both are shamelessly aggressive. Jeremy points out the Impreza’s massive bonnet scoop and the Evo’s “bursting out of the bodywork” looks, and decides to rename them – “You know what these cars should be called, the “Mitsubishi Did you spill my pint” and the “Subaru You, Outside, Now.” Jeremy can’t decide which one is best, and therefore leaves it up to the Stig. The Evo 8 ends up being over a second quicker around the track, but despite this, Jeremy and Richard both agree that they would buy the Subaru – for reasons they can’t work out.

Next up, Richard goes to a track day at Bedford Autodrome to try out the new Peugeot 206 GTI. All over the country, people are queuing up to come to these ‘run what you’ve brung’ track days. Richard takes to the track in the 206 GTI – and finds it to be well balanced and with plenty of grip on offer. The 206 can manage 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds and wind itself up to a top speed of 142 mph. The 206 however is a civilised roadcar and Richard quickly finds out that he is being beaten by pretty much every other car on the track. Richard therefore steps into a Palmer Jaguar JP1 – a car designed for track work, and hits the track again. The JP1 uses a 3.0 V6 out of the Jaguar X-Type and produces 300bhp – a lot for a car which only weighs 600kg. Richard hits 130 mph down the straight and begins to push it harder through the corners – eventually getting a bit overconfident and spinning out.

Back in the studio, Jeremy reveals that the Palmer Jaguar JP1 costs £47,000 – which is a lot.Richard introduces us to some cheaper alternatives – the Caterham R400, Ariel Atom 2, Radical SR3, Westfield XTR2 and Lotus Elise Sport 190. The Stig takes each for a lap of the track to compare them. The Radical SR3 ends up being the fastest (full times listed below).

In the news, Jeremy talks about poor advertising slogans and shows us an ad he saw for the new Lexus RX300 – with a slogan of “It changes everything.” Richard announces that Jaguar has decided to start putting Diesel engines into their cars. Jeremy talks about road pricing, James mentions two British boffins who have been designing an electric car.

James then moves on to the problem of Caravaners clogging up our roads. James decides to speed one up a bit, by trying to beat the speed record for towing a caravan – which currently stands at 128.86 mph. Bentwaters airforce base is the location for the attempt – by towing a caravan behind a 771 bhp Mitsubishi Evo 7 down the 1.7 mile runway. In the first run, the Evo 7 hits 124.9 mph and it results in a blow out of one of the caravan’s windows. Later in the show, the second attempt is shown – the Evo reaches 125.2 mph before it starts belching oil and smoke. At the end of the show, the caravan is later dropped from a crane in order to get the level of speed they were after.

Back in the studio, Jeremy introduces Richard Whiteley as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. Richard laps an incredibly slow 2:06 on a dry track.

The Cool Wall is featured, with Richard putting the Mercedes SL55 AMG in ‘Uncool’, Jeremy then puts Richard’s Porsche 911 in ‘Uncool’. The Mitsubishi Evo 8 and Subaru Impreza are both put on the border between ‘Cool & ‘Uncool’. The Peugeot 206 GTI gets put in ‘Cool’ by Richard, before he and Jeremy get into a fight.

James presents Insider Dealing with some great deals on some good used cars from this time period.

In the final segment, Jeremy power tests the new Vauxhall VX220 Turbo. The VX220 is based on the Lotus Elise, but Vauxhall have done there best to make it better – by giving it a leather interior and extra sound proofing to make it more refined. Just like the Elise, Jeremy struggles to get into it – a job made easier by removing the roof first. The VX220 turbo produces 200 bhp – but Jeremy describes it as being “hugely fast” thanks to it’s light kerb weight. The 0-60 mph time is just 4 seconds and it keeps on pushing all the way up to 150 mph. Jeremy also thinks the VX220 handles better than the Elise – being a bit more oversteery rather than understeery. He goes on to say “There’s only one thing that’s going to get me off this racetrack today, and that’s when it runs out of fuel – and that’s the first time I’ve ever thought that, while behind the wheel of a Vauxhall.” Jeremy calls it the “Sportscar of the moment” before the Stig takes it for a lap – returning a time of 1:31.30.

Stig Power Laps

Subaru Impreza WRX STI
1:30.10
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII
1:28.90
Vauxhall VX220 Turbo
1:31.30
Lotus Elise Sport 190
1:29.20
Caterham R400
1:25.00
Ariel Atom 2
1:24.00
Westfield XTR2
1:23.20
Radical SR3
1:19.80

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

Richard Whiteley
2:06.00

Music

01:03 – 01:46 – Underworld – Dinosaur Adventure 3D (Radio Edit)
08:38 – 08:44 – Patsy Cline – Crazy
16:27 – 17:53 – New Order – Crystal
24:47 – 25:19 – Klint – Diamond
25:25 – 25:49 – Klint – Diamond
45:54 – 46:51 – INXS – Suicide Blond

Screenshots

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