[Closed] Top Gear '21

Absolutely cracking episode. Agree that McClaren was obscenely impressive, the tribute at the end was just marvellous.

Looking forward to next week, although it was filmed somewhere shit.

There was definitely something in my eye after the Eddie Kidd bit.

As if proof were needed, Harris’ time against Norris shows how good a driver he still is. Shame they didn’t give us the other times.

PMG leaving the handbrake on was classic – what a pillock.

Believe me, it’s dead easy if you haven’t driven a particular car before, or aren’t too familiar with it. Even now, after nearly five years of driving hundreds of different cars, many of them numerous times, I still have problems with those sodding electronic parking brakes!
The fact that my current car was chosen partly because it has an analogue dash and a proper handbrake!
Great programme, really enjoyed it, the Eddie Kidd piece was brilliant, a wonderful tribute to him. <

blockquote> As if proof were needed, Harris’ time against Norris shows how good a driver he still is. Shame they didn’t give us the other times.

Yeah, Lando’s a superb driver, he’s certainly got the skill and talent to be world champion in the not too distant future, but he seemed to find the McLaren a bit of a handful; even so, I was surprised that Harris’ time was that close. Can you imagine if Chris Evans was still doing the show, and attempted that… 🤣

Not watched TG for a long time, but thought tonight's show was fantastic. Will definitely tune in again.

Believe me, it’s dead easy if you haven’t driven a particular car before,

I imagine it’s even easier when you are looking for a cheap gag…

Very good episode that.

I imagine it’s even easier when you are looking for a cheap gag…

Well, probably a bit of that too, but most of the guys I work with hate those bloody things. My Ford, being a semi-auto, has a hill-start hold, so I don’t have to use the handbrake at traffic lights, but I just struggle with some of the others with a silly little button, which is often plonked in a daft place, like down at the bottom of the dash near the door. Also some you push, others you pull, there’s no consistency.
We’ve got a number of Alfas at work, Giulliettas and Stelvias mostly, but I’ve not had an opportunity to drive any, so I don’t know how the cockpit ergonomics are set out. When I go back to work, if I remember I’ll check a couple out, to see how they’re set out.

Superb episode, the Eddie Kidd piece was just right.

The McClaren was too much for my liking. The Aston, hmmmm, only £150k.....

Great episode. The Eddie Kidd tribute was really good and respect to Paddy for doing the bike jump.

but he seemed to find the McLaren a bit of a handful; even so, I was surprised that Harris’ time was that close.

Remember that Harris is a properly experienced sports car racer, way more experience pedalling cars like that than Norris. OTOH if you stuck them both in an F1 car over a race distance it wouldn’t be pretty

Agreed, that episode was one of the best for a long time, especially the Eddie Kidd piece, but the track cars were excellent too. Great start to the series!

Dusty in here.

The various electronic handbrake vehicles I’ve driven all have one thing in common. They’re automatic once you’ve selected a gear.

It made me laugh when lando comments he has never driven the car before as he catching the slide

The Eddie Kidd tribute... Wow! Chapeau Paddy McGuinness, staggeringly well done, he's earnt some serious petrolhead brownie points and his predictably boring clowning around can be forgiven for features like that. As someone who watched the Eddie Kidd vs Robbie Knievel battles as a kid myself, brilliant to see a real British hero being honoured so well.

That Alfa though... Dear lord that's tidy! Just wish they'd put a decent manual box in the (almost as crazy but only 1/3rd the price) Quadrifoglio for the UK rather than the 8spd ZF box only...

Outstanding - the Eddie Kidd piece was the icing on a very tasty cake. For Harris to be just a second off Norris on a +2 minute lap was the perfect demonstration as to just how good a pedaller he is.

But Eddie Kidd. He was a legend when I was into MX but not terribly interested in leather-clad goons jumping distance. I once had the chance to meet him at the VMXdN and, to my eternal shame and damnation, walked on by. Legend.

Enjoyed that, but an obvious Eddie Kidd question - with all the tech available today surely he could get a voice back? Maybe he's happy with his carer speaking for him, but the thought kept popping into my head.

I'm not a big fan of Top gear but it happened to be on when I walked into the room and I kept watching. I really enjoyed it, the Eddie tribute was great.

The jump that got him... why did he do it?

Something that probably haunts him forever.

Really enjoyed last nights, it flew by, I was surprised when it ended tbh. That 765LT was almost as crazy as the price, I know it's a press car and they tick every box, but it was nearly double the already night basic price! Also, if I want to split hairs when Chris Harris reviewed it last year, he didn't like it much. I think it was probably chosen for him.

The jump that got him… why did he do it?

Something that probably haunts him forever.

I was chatting to my mate last night about it, "A jump without a landing". I got the impression he was asked/paid to go along to the event, saw it was sketchy AF, but didn't want to let anyone down, coupled with incredible courage / confidence thought he could do it somehow.

“ The jump that got him… why did he do it?

Something that probably haunts him forever.”

Nowadays you could pop on the internet and look at hundreds of pictures of most venues that people have taken. You can check Google maps or street view if near a road. You can get a site owner to send you some pictures or a video in seconds. You can do all that quickly and cheaply or free before you agree to a job. Even after that you’ll visit the venue and plan the jump location and measure up etc and if you don’t think it’s safe not many people will hold it against you.

Back then, even though it wasn’t long ago, you didn’t have that and I can imagine gentlemens agreements were something you stuck to as they were part and parcel of how you did work, and how you got more of it. I can well imagine in the “daft bike stunt” business this was very very strong and he probably felt like he had to do it to maintain his reputation. He had never been seriously injured so that would have added to the “it’ll be ok” attitude before he twisted the throttle.

Seems like it didn’t haunt him too much, I was chuffed to see he had all his pictures and memorabilia around him, and the bike that he rode when he crashed.

Fantastic bloke, loved how Paddy got him in stitches then them all in tears at the end. One of the best TG pieces in many many years.

We do need to do more tributes like this when these iconic figures are still alive, so they know how much they have influenced people.

Enjoyed that, in fairness, I enjoyed last season as well.
I wasn't sure of the Eddie Kidd bit was just a bit cringe, but I think they got away with it.

Believe me, it’s dead easy if you haven’t driven a particular car before, or aren’t too familiar with it

That's a very good point.
I have a friend who's a serial car collector and I got to have a little play in his newly acquired MP4-12C the other day - I couldn't figure out how to make it go until I noticed three little buttons with D,N and R on!!
😬

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Something that probably haunts him forever.

The fact he had the bike in question sitting there in his house, complete with dented fuel tank from his head, suggests he's come to terms with it.

I couldn’t figure out how to make it go until I noticed three little buttons with D,N and R on!!I couldn’t figure out how to make it go until I noticed three little buttons with D,N and R on!!

😂

My thinking on the handbrake, if it works the same way as my Passat, it won't release automatically if you don't have the seatbelt on. As he was wearing the harness and not the seatbelt, it might not have released when Paddy expected it. Then simply got flustered working out how it works.

I was a bit bored last night so had a bit Google, it seems this is a bit of an issue with Alfas. Who knew they’d have faults with their electrics.

Loved it. Eddie bit was great and didn't realise he still has the bike that he had the accident on. Massive respect for not just crushing it!

I never heard of Eddie but Paddy did a great job of warming us to him and making us invested. Great show at the end too. Fair play.

I've just watched the Eddie Kidd segment and I'm in ****ing bits.

I never really liked Paddy, in this or anything that he's been in but fair play, the passion and respect that he showed Eddie during that piece was outstanding. Beats anything from top gear that has gone before and I seriously doubt Flintoff or Harris could have pulled it off so fittingly.

I was in bits, the Mrs who had never heard of Eddie before then stopped what she was doing and was in bits as well.

A friend did the pyrotechnics for the stunt display- he’s said it was very emotionally charged there.

Wow just wow I remember Eddie Kidd well !! I’d forgotten just how great/big he was.

Excellent tribute

Anyone watched tonight’s episode? The EV/caravan bit was interesting.

It was a good episode tonight, the Lambo was mental and parts of the caravan thing had me in stitches, but I do wonder if they peaked too soon this series with the Eddie Kidd tribute

Yeah absolutely daft entertainment, I shudder to think what Flintoff suffering. Shame the wether wasn’t kind of them so the views weren’t great, luckily they were up the valley for a few days so it did come out in the end.

Lambo stuff was interesting, but caravans? Weak.

1st episode good, 2nd episode back to the same tired old shit. And still had to end with EVs running out. ICE cars do that too if you don't put petrol in them.
3rd episode will no doubt be them converting some old cars into something else.

i have enjoyed TG since these three were at the helm. Its an hour of entertainment that contains cars... gets my vote. And on the odd occasion they cover subjects so well (IE Eddie Kidd).

Last night had me in stitches with the chilli eating. Absolutely brilliant!

Take it at face value and it’s good.

The bit about caravans was a dog at EV’s just not being fit for purpose

That Merc is know for being unrealistic with claimed range.

Stick a tiny caravan on any EV and the range just disappears, let alone a ‘normal’ size caravan.

So for me was highlighting EV’s are not great and caravans are not eco friendly

The rendition of the Max and Paddy theme tune rather tickled me.

The caravan thing was really stupid last night. Especially the concept of racing electric cars round a short moorland grass track while eating chillis. WTF was the concept behind that?

We all knew the milk incident was coming, didnt stop it being funny when PMG spat it all over Flintoff, that and Flintoff remarking how he'd fill the portaloo in one sitting had me genuinely laughing out loud.
No the best episode ever, by no means the worst.

I'd say the EV thing pointed a very valid issue with electric vehicles and the infrastructure they need to reach conventional vehicles. Whether that's a dig or a serious issue that needs to be resolved probably depends on your view of TG.

I'd like to know what the toilet facilities were when those chillis kicked in. Presumably a nice warm hotel room nearby.

Top Gear has been doing silly stuff among the serious stuff for years. These three are actually doing it pretty well.

Any bit of wonder we have a chip shortage when wing mirrors are now 2 cameras and 2 internal screens!

This episode was okay, I quite like that little Mink camper trailer.

TG has a wide and varied target audience. This week with the chillis was to keep Beavis and Butthead happy. Last week during the Eddie Kidd piece they'd have been mostly scratching their nuts looking at the ceiling.

TG has a wide and varied target audience. This week with the chillis was to keep Beavis and Butthead happy. Last week during the Eddie Kidd piece they’d have been mostly scratching their nuts looking at the ceiling.

I managed to enjoy both. Sometimes I enjoy scratching my nuts as well though....

Sometimes I enjoy scratching my nuts as well though

Just don't do it after eating chillis.

Any bit of wonder we have a chip shortage when wing mirrors are now 2 cameras and 2 internal screens!

I'm actually surprised it's not more common on cars, there's plenty of trucks have them nowadays and it must make a measurable improvement on fuel economy/EV range.

Are we not done with raising concerns over an EV's range yet? We all know that but if you had one you would make adjustments and not just head out knowing you havent got enough range to get where you're going.

Wasn't going to be bothered with the Lambo but the engine sounds so good. In GT3 form they are immense.

Best bit was Fred having a seizure after eating that chilli. How far will he go to win? Nutter

Are we not done with raising concerns over an EV’s range yet? We all know that but if you had one you would make adjustments and not just head out knowing you havent got enough range to get where you’re going.

I didn't realise that EVs would go into limp mode at some point before hitting zero range. That's just as relevant as the range itself, if true.

I’d like to know what the toilet facilities were when those chillis kicked in. Presumably a nice warm hotel room nearby.

Pssst! They didn’t actually sleep in the caravans but don’t tell everyone it’s not real.

I didn’t realise that EVs would go into limp mode at some point before hitting zero range. That’s just as relevant as the range itself, if true.

Yup some reduce the power being produced, acceleration speed and other things.

Are we not done with raising concerns over an EV’s range yet? We all know that but if you had one you would make adjustments and not just head out knowing you havent got enough range to get where you’re going.

Yes and no.

So far, by and large, EV converts have had the easiest lifestyle conversions. That range issue is going to become thornier as we get closer to 2030. Those without off street parking, those without deeper pockets to afford the higher range EV but currently live a life that 'necessitates' longer range driving. But it's not a bad idea to highlight that those that tow caravans, boats, trailers etc for leisure or work are going to have a tougher times finding EV love.

What struck me more than the dismal range and practicality of these cars was the question: if you do run out of juice, what do you do?

You can’t get a taxi to the local gas station to buy a Jerry can of electricity can you?

Praying some sensible successor to ICE is in the offing…..🙏🏼🙏🏼

Maybe there's a business in a portable battery on wheels to recover flat EV's? Or just plan ahead because if you run out it'll get really costly quickly.

Just tow a trailer behind your EV loaded with batteries, job jobbed!

There’s an EV thread that will answer these questions.

Just tow a trailer behind your EV loaded with batteries, job jobbed!

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Maybe there’s a business in a portable battery on wheels to recover flat EV’s? Or just plan ahead because if you run out it’ll get really costly quickly.

Whoa there , its almost like you know something 😉

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/electric/zipcharge-go-new-portable-charger-your-ev

The problem with top gear raising "valid" quesions about EVs is that they are, er, not very valid:

1) Caravan sites, where you legally can er, caravan, have electrical hook ups. Those nice high current sockets are perfect for, er, charging EV's. Have a go at driving to the top of a random hill and parking your caravan, you'll get arrested/shoot/dissed on social media (delete as appropriate) before you've even got your jockey wheel down.

2) In reality you'd plan your trip around available chargers, not just set off randomly and hope

2) Probably best not to spend your holiday racing around hill tops ripping up the grass. Not good for the environment and not good for your battery / state of charge

3) They mentioned that going up the big hill was bad for the range of an EV, but conviently forgot to mention that unlike an ICE, you get most of the PE back when you go down the otherside, ie your range goes back up again. Without gears, practically zero parasitics and of course truely bi-directional powertrains, EVs really don't mind hills as such. if the road load goes up by "X" percent going up the hill, then go down it at the same average speed as you went up it, and the road load goes down my "X" percent.

And of course, literally no one who can afford a £65k to £100k EV is going to hook a tiny caravan to the back of it at any point...........

maxtorque
Full Member

The problem with top gear raising “valid” quesions about EVs is that they are, er, not very valid:

1) Caravan sites, where you legally can er, caravan, have electrical hook ups. Those nice high current sockets are perfect for, er, charging EV’s.

Totally agree with your other points but on this point: not always (e.g. my favourite campsite which is why caravans often have leisure batteries) also the electrical hookup where present is often limited to e.g. 5 or 10 amps.

1) Caravan sites, where you legally can er, caravan, have electrical hook ups. Those nice high current sockets are perfect for, er, charging EV’s.

Sadly a bit of ignorance fail there. As said, most have a capacity significantly lower than a single electrical socket in your home. If you are going to use it for, "er", domestic stuff; there's not much left for charging an EV. No doubt sites will by necessity be digging up there supply cables to may ev charging possible but it's not going to happen tomorrow. A site with a hundred EVs all charging simultaneously is going to need more than a tweak of its connection to the grid too.

Also

Plenty of small sites don't have electric hook up.

And try finding an ev for much less than £60k that can actually tow a caravan at all.

Anyway, another fun episode - I particularly enjoyed PMcG being run over by the zorb.

The only thing that EV segment showed, was that JUST LIKE ICE vehicles, if you don’t fill them up, you run out.

Looking at Zap-Map, there’s loads of chargers in the area they stayed. Any normal person would have stuck the car on one before parking up for the night. Just like any normal person would have filled up with petrol before undertaking a journey where there isn’t any fuel.

Having ridden a motorcycle with a 100 mile tank range all over this country and Europe, I’ve zero patience for the range argument against EVs. If you know your vehicle isn’t going to make it to your destination in one hit, you fill up, and figure out where you’re going to next get fuel. You can’t always rely on dead dinosaur stations to be open, have fuel as we’ve seen recently, or even exist.

So as part of personal cars becoming greener we may lose a few caravans or savvy caravan sites will be investing in chargers. In the big scheme of things I don't care which one happens but top gear were still trotting out the EV cliches and ignorance.

I never watch Top Gear, especially the new one but watched the Eddie Kidd feature after reading what folks said above.

I remember all that happening at the time. The Bulldog Bash is(was) only down the road from me and I went to it years back.

I just can't believe that he would ever agree to even consider doing a jump to an up-slope like you had on that drag strip.

Terrible tragedy but really heart warming to see his smile.

Looking at Zap-Map, there’s loads of chargers in the area they stayed.

There’s one just along the road, they were there for 3 days filming that segment so had a big generator unit. The generator was also for the production team in the bottom of the valley where the farms have no mains electricity.

Some people are taking this EV thing way too seriously.

Top Gear is car based entertainment. It's not a documentary.

And yes, most people would have charged up before going into the wild. Most people top up with petrol before going into the wild. But a large number don't, and run out, and get stuck, and block roads and need recovering. Idiots will be idiots in an EV or a conventional vehicle.

Well said ^

I’m sure JC and Co. Did a couple of segments of how much fuel you had left to finish the challenge on ICE cars too, but they get conveniently forgotten about.

Especially the concept of racing electric cars round a short moorland grass track while eating chillis. WTF was the concept behind that?

The concept was entertainment. Lots of us found it entertaining.

^ just to add to that. It was three men cocking about in cars (like old top gear). The fact they were electric cars was irrelevant. Thats a good thing and counters the range anxiety feature. Just treating them as ordinary cars.

3) They mentioned that going up the big hill was bad for the range of an EV, but conviently forgot to mention that unlike an ICE, you get most of the PE back when you go down the otherside, ie your range goes back up again. Without gears, practically zero parasitics and of course truely bi-directional powertrains, EVs really don’t mind hills as such.

No, they didn’t. Several times Freddy mentioned the regeneration going down hill, but it can’t generate enough to fully top up a battery, unless it’s a downhill that goes on for miles. Chris seemed to be having trouble getting any regeneration, and he was quite vocal about.
Did you go and make a cuppa and miss that bit!

TBF, cocking about racing on the top of a hill eating chilis was:

A: Childishly amusing - Fred

2: drained some juice from the batteries on all the cars, adding jeopardy to the following days journey.

Didn't one of them say that they charged fully before going up the hill? Not much entertainment on them just driving to Barnards Castle with 3/4 of a 'tank' of electricity...

Chris seemed to be having trouble getting any regeneration, and he was quite vocal about.

He only had to click the left hand paddle twice for max regen, he’d got a lot more range but of course for TV he didn’t.

I didn’t realise that EVs would go into limp mode at some point before hitting zero range. That’s just as relevant as the range itself, if true.

It’ll be engineered in. And will be for two purposes - one to hep extend the last few miles it mainly to give a hard warning to the driver so that they don’t just stop somewhere dangerous e.g. in the fast lane of the motorway or on a corner of a narrow dangerous country road etc.

Modern fossil fue cars do something similar - as you get very low on fueL the very commonly introduce a misfire as a warning to the driver- entirely manufactured.

Well, I thought tonight's (episode 4) was terrific.

Bonkers Aston Martin.

Excellent piece on Freddie getting his racing license.

Good, nostalgic, informative piece on the De Lorean.

Really good episode I thought.

Yeah another cracking episode.