Top Gear (2002–…): Season 2, Episode 6 - Mitsubishi Evo VIII vs. Subaru Impreza STI - full transcript

The driving god does a track day.

A foie gras car
with a luncheon meat badge.

And we try to set
a new land speed record.

Hello! And we start tonight
with some good news

because I've finally found
an advantage to being over 40.

Yes, hair sprouts out of your ears
and yes, hangovers last a fortnight,

but all you youngsters - the only
chance you get to drive a Subaru
Impreza and a Mitsubishi Evo VIII

is on your PlayStations.

Whereas me, with my wise shoulders
and my hairy ears,

I'm allowed by the insurance
companies to take them to the best
driving country in the world.

Scotland.



These cars were born in the rough
and tumble he-man world of rallying.

With their turbo-charged engines
and their four-wheel drive systems,

they grip and they go
and they stop so ferociously

that you're just left breathless.

In the real world
with bumps and hedges,

Iow-nosed, wide-bottomed Ferraris
and Porsches couldn't hope
to keep up with either of them.

They are astonishing.

And yet they're both relatively
inexpensive Japanese saloon cars.

They've both got four doors,
they've both got big boots,

they're both as reliable as a Swiss
bus driver's Austrian pacemaker.
What more could you possibly want?

Let's deal with the Subaru first.

The old model - the one with
the silly headlamps - was a softy.

The new one has a more attractive
face but don't be fooled.

The steering is quicker
and the suspension is tougher.



They've made it harder,

edgier,

Iess of a car,
more of a bar room brawler.

It's a different story
with the Mitsubishi Evo VIII.

The old Evo VII was like a Mafia
hit man - without the compassion.

At first glance it seems they've
made the Evo VIII more hard-core.

It's lighter and its gearbox
has six speeds rather than five.

In actual fact though,

they've made it softer and quieter.

They've even given it a fuel tank.
The old one had a zippo in the back.

You'd go four inches,
then run out of petrol.

So the Subaru's been beefed up

and the Mitsubishi's
been watered down.

It seems then that these two cars
have met in the middle.

And that means I have to go out
there into the bigness of Scotland

and find out which one's best.

Sometimes you know,
this job is very, VERY good.

Nothing prepares you for the shock

when you first take this thing
round the corner. Take a test drive.

You will not believe
how much grip there is.

You just won't.

This Subaru is a hugely
manly experience.

The noise it makes, it's got
a macho gearbox, macho steering.

It even smells of man -

the essence of burnt clutch.

Splash it on all over before
going out for a curry and a fight.

The Mitsubishi
is much more technical.

It's got an Active Centre
Differential which moves the power

to the front or the back wheels
depending on which has more grip.

I just have to tell it whether
I'm on Tarmac, gravel or snow.

Then it's got a Super Active
Yaw Control which moves
the power from side to side.

Sometimes then, in a big corner,
when you're really hammering,

this car is one-wheel drive.

So I can sum them up like this. The
Mitsubishi is like an F16 fighter -

Iight and highly manoeuvrable.

The Subaru is more like an F15.
A fighter bomber.

As far as power is concerned,
both of them get close to 150mph

and both do 0-60
in under five seconds.

You can't split them
on looks either.

Inside both have wilfully flimsy
interiors that are lifted only

by the big seats and the buttons
for spraying cold water
on the intercoolers.

On the outside the Subaru tries
to lighten up with its jewellery

but both cars really
are shamelessly aggressive.

Look at the scoop on this bonnet.

And the Evo's got so many steroids
it's growing out of its own body.

These cars should be called the
Mitsubishi Did You Spill My Pint?

and the Subaru You, Outside Now!

Trying to decide which is best
is hard.

They're both spoon-bendingly,
hallucinogenically,
law-breakingly mad and absurd.

On a wide open road like this

the nimbler Mitsubishi wins.

But when things get narrow
and bumpy, the Evo turns into a jet.

On a difficult road like this
the Impreza feels more planted.

So, which would I buy?

Ooh, I can't give you an answer now.

I'm having far too much fun.

So what did you discover after
your overly long trip to Scotland?

Nothing. It's impossible to choose.
There's no tangible reason why
you'd take one car over the other.

What I will say is when we finished
filming and I drove to the hotel

I always found myself getting into
the Subaru.
I prefer the Impreza. No idea why.

It's like I prefer
dark to milk chocolate,

I prefer Bedford to Bruce Forsyth.

Right, let's see if we can find out
if there's any real difference
between them on our test track.

Please say mushi mushi to Stig-San.

So first up the Impreza STi.

This is the tweet one, remember.
And... Oh dear.

An emotional Stig this week, round
Chicago. This car does understeer
so will that slow him down?

It is looking good so far. Ooh.
He is... He IS running wide there.

Into the penultimate corner.
Come on, Stig, keep it tight.

There's loads of understeer and
he goes round the finishing line!

Now what about the Evo VIII?
In the interests of fairness

I should say this isn't the car
Jeremy drove in Scotland.
It's the 301bhp FQ version.

Very tidy round Chicago. No trace
of understeer as it smoothly
powers through that hammer head.

TYRES SCREECH
Good Lord!

Screaming at the follow-through,
a second faster than the Subaru.

Will it beat it?
Over the finish line.

I have the times here. The Impreza
did it in one minute 30.1,

which puts it there - faster
than the Aston, just behind the Z8.

And how much faster is that
than the old model?

Just under one and a half seconds.
One and a half seconds faster?

But get this, the Mitsubishi Evo
VIII, one minute, 28.9. So that's...

Can you reach? I can get that.

Quicker than a Lamborghini
Murcielago? A very fast car.

So if you want to go round a track
quickly take the Evo VIII.

Which would you choose?
Impreza. No idea why.

None of these cars on our board

find much favour among
the Guardian set, let's say.

Whenever I go to a dinner party
the person next to me always says,
"Please sit somewhere else".

Then they say, "We've got a 70mph
speed limit in this country.
Why do we have such fast cars? "

Well, the thing is you can drive
these cars quickly.

All of the country's race tracks -
Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Scotland,

all of them now run things
called track days

where you take your own car along
and drive it as fast as you want.

Bedford Autodrome -
Palmer sport day.

All over the country people are
queuing up to come to these
"run what you brung" track days.

Because the whole point
of a track day

is to leave civilised roads -
and let's be honest,
civilised road behaviour - behind.

Why do you do it? Because there
are too many speed cameras around.

And it's a way
of venting your passion

to drive fast because you can't
in this country any more,

and why the hell buy a car
that'll do 155mph and not use it?

It's easy to see why these
"run what you brung"
track days are booming.

You don't need a race licence or
join a race series. It's just you,
your car and your helmet.

A ?2,000 Honda Prelude and this guy
think's he's Jensen Button.

I have never seen such an ordinary
car take so much abuse. Thank you!

What was your mission? To have fun.
And drive the wheels off it.

That takes serious effort.
You have ruined it!

They were new! I should've got some
second-hand ones.

Running an old knacker is a good
idea because track days
aren't covered by road insurance.

If I wanted to get insurance

it'd be around ?120 for the day.

So I go out without it. If you broke
it though, stick it in a ditch

and go, "Look! What happened? "
I've heard that happens. Yes...

I've seen cars pushed onto the road.

This is the Palmer Jaguar.
A track day thunderbolt.

And a more fitting remedy for a man
who had once proclaimed...

I am a driving god!

Oh my goodness!

This is a properly great car.

It uses the three-litre V6
out of Jaguar's X-Type.

It has 300bhp and it weighs 600
kilos. That is very, very light.

And it means it's very, very fast.

It really can travel
at some incredible speeds.

Straight up to...120,

130. Absolutely awesome power
in this thing.

Turn it in far here. Use that
torque. The lowdown power. Come on!

HE LAUGHS MANICALLY
Yeeeeeees!

Yes! Ha ha!

Ooh! I might have overcooked that.

Ha! This is amazing!

Once more!

I am a driving god!
It is a car fit for one, at least.

TYRES SCREECH

So the driving god
sped off there at 5mph.

Track days are such big business
that there are lots of companies

making cars designed
for the purpose -

racers with indicators
so they can go on roads.

This Palmer Jag is one of them.

It costs ?47,000, and that's a lot.

Don't worry - there are lots
of others, which are cheaper.

# Hey, ooh-wooh

# Wooh-why

# Hey he-ey... #

That's the stats. Now, let's see
which is fastest on the track.

# I don't know what to say,
you don't care

# Anyway

# I'm a man in a rage

# With a girl I betrayed

# Here comes love,
tastes like honey

# You can't buy it
with money

# You're not alone any more

# You shook me to the core

# You shook me to the core... #

Here are the cars in reverse order.
In 5th place, the Lotus Elise
at 1.28.02.

4th: the Caterham at 1.25 flat.

3rd: the Atom at 1.24.
2nd: the Westfield at 1.23.02.

And first - the amazing Radical
at 1.19.08.

Right, diesel engines. Three makers
didn't do diesel engines.

Honda - they've done it.
Saab - they did it.
Now, the last one has now gone.

Jaguar. No! It's terrible.

JEREMY MIMICS A JAGUAR ENGINE

Are you OK? That's nasty.

It's horrific news.

They're doing a V6 in the S-type,
and a four cylinder in the X-type.
Which has nothing to do with Ford.

It won't be a Ford engine,
it's a Jaguar engine in every way!

Yep. But if you pick at "Jaguar",
it might say ".. ord" underneath.

I have worries about this.
Jaguar is stealthy, sleek...

Is it going to work?
Have a look - we have one here.
We'll see if it works.

Stig. Yeah.
ENGINE RATTLES

Oh dear.
LAUGHTER

That simply won't work.

It loses something, doesn't it?

Ah, beautiful, hearing it purr.

That is not going to work.

The worst thing is,

Jaguar were working on an F-type,

and they cancelled that as they'd
spent their money on the diesel.

This is a heartwarming tale
of British boffins.

Mark and Colin have been in their
sheds smoking pipes, making tea.

They've looked at the electric car.

They have a prototype, the eMotion.

They say, "We aim to lead the way
with a variety of innovations -

"many could find a market
in the mass production

"of commercially viable
electric cars. "

Let's see.

What a rubbish thing!
It's got a fridge freezer!

"You've forgotten the windscreen.
Lend us your crash helmet. "

They obviously made it blunt
at one end, then pointy
"cos it's aerodynamic"!

Look! There's a way to go before
it becomes a viable family car.

Why not invent another Concorde?

You know that Subaru and Mitsubishi
film we showed earlier?

You're probably thinking,
"That scenery, the cars - perfect. "

But it wasn't. I'll show you
an outtake which will explain why.

Caravans.

Get out of the way!

Pull over once in a while!
Once every 300 miles!

Pull over!
Ple-ease get out of the way!

Please stay in a hotel next time!

Ple-ease!

Caravans are the bane of our lives.

We decided to set the new boy,
James, a task.

Incredibly, the world speed record
for caravans

stands at a frankly astonishing
128. 86mph.

But they thought I could beat that.

Bentwaters.

1.7 miles of prime Suffolk runway.

If there's anywhere to beat
the world speed record for towing
a caravan, it's here.

We're using this Mitsubishi Evo VII.

Not something normally featured
in the Caravan Club magazine.

It will do 130 on its own, no sweat.

What will it be like towing
a mobile home? It won't be a holiday!

This is our caravan. It may not be
aerodynamically modified in any way.

Not so the car, which has power
bursting out of its every orifice.

Its turbo charged engine
develops 771bhp.

That's not the figure we're
interested in. It's torque we want.

This car has massive pulling power -
648 pound feet. That will move
the mountain closer to Mohammed.

Our driver is Lee, a stuntman.
During the run, his hand
will be close to this.

One yank, and it's goodbye, caravan.

At over 100mph, crosswinds could
flip the caravan, taking the car.

The windows could buckle under
pressure, turning the caravan into
a parachute and flipping the car.

Our first run, to test things out.

The caravan is over the speed limit.

The Evo VII is pulling hard.

124. 9mph. That is fantastic.

Then, disaster. It's a high speed
blow-out from the kitchenette window.

Hee hee!

You've bust it.

How fast were you going?
In the car, it was 124. 9.

More, and the other side will go.

No. Ready? That's it.

'Didn't quite manage it that time. '

I'm not quitting. I'll have
another go. You better succeed.

One of the strangest things
about being over 40

is that you start to want
contestants on game shows to win.

You also start to like game show
hosts, even dressed as deck chairs.

Richard Whiteley!

APPLAUSE

Wow.

How are you?

Have a seat.

I've got to be careful with this.
It's back to Bridlington tomorrow.

How much do you get
for renting that out?

Mind you, I'm not one to talk.
Let's be honest - really.

Let's do your career history.

Born up north. Yorkshire.
Which is fine.

Educated at Cambridge. Wooh!

Someone has to be. You were
the first person on Channel Four.

Got eaten by a ferret. That's it.
What about your car history?

My first was a Ford Anglia,
now immortalised by Harry Potter.

Sloping back window. Two-tone grey.
It was my mother's.

When I got my first job,
I bought it from her. I was 21, 22.

Your notes say you had
a Lancia Fulvia.

Yeah. A fantastic car!
It WAS fantastic.

Fulvias are a pretty car.
What was it like?

Red and chrome. Yeah? Coupe,
two seater, black leather seats.

Quite a difficult gear shift,
actually. It took a bit of driving.

Wooden steering wheel. 1973.
Beautiful things.

And now?

I've got a Jaguar, actually!

A new one?

I got it three weeks ago.

One of the new ones with a... Yes.

Has it got that grille? It has.

You're right, I saw your piece.

It's fabulous, but what a pity
about the radiator.

Have you stuck with Jags? This is
my fifth Jag, my fourth X Jag.

You know, I'm 59 now. I deserve it,
don't I?
I've had a Jag for years.

I'm embarrassed. I always wanted one.

The first I got five years ago,
I was so proud.

One day, as a trustee
of the Royal Armouries,

a priceless collection
of arms and armour...

In Leeds.
?45m building, the most secure one
in Leeds.

I had to get a parking pass
from reception, so I roared up,

outside the big glass doors
of the armouries, nobody around,

opened the door, engine running,
and rushed in to get my pass.

I parked at the front
as I'm a trustee -

who's going to tell me off?

I pushed this door round,
and saw someone getting in to my car.

I thought, "They're terrific,
the armouries. They're valet parking
it for me. "

"Fantastic. "

And then it roared off. A Jaguar
does do 0-60 in five seconds!

Whoosh, it was gone. It was nicked?
It was nicked.

Did you ever get it back? I got
it back about ten days later.

It was OK. They'd used
the ashtrays... Oh, no.

And they'd retuned the radio from
Radio 4, so I was a bit annoyed.

Anyway, I did get it back and
it was OK. But a year later,

I went on a charity visit
to Armley Jail in Leeds,

we were being shown round

and they echo, these prisons,
have you been in one? Yeah.

This is... But we won't go there!

We were looking round -
the great and the good of Leeds -

and from the galleries high up,
someone yelled down - can I do this?

they said, "Northern Whiteley,
you fat BLEEP! "

"Where's Carol? " One of
the prisoners accompanying us said,

"That's Jed up there
what cried down at you.

"He's a real hero in this prison. "

I said, "Why, what's he done?
How many people has he killed? "

He said, "He were the lad
what nicked your car two years ago!"

LAUGHTER

I want to play a game with you.

This Countdown thing. This
rearranging letters. Yes.

What do you reckon?

Any ideas on that one?
I'm short-sighted, thank goodness!

Tell you what, we've got some here.

What do you think that might be?

Mini, Mini. Mini?
You're absolutely right.

It's mini.

What about sexul?

Sexul? Gary Lineker's got one.
Nothing sexy about him or it.

Got to be a Lexus.
He's right. That's two.

They're getting harder now.
What do we think that one is?

Anyone got any ideas?
AUDIENCE: Land Rover.

That's two words!
Nevor Lard is two words! Come on!

Play the game.
We ARE playing the game!

OK, then. Imushibits. Who works
out these for you? I did it.

Mitsubushi. He's right, Mitsubishi.
Oh, Mitsubishi.

You're good! These are getting
longer and longer.

We can play the music
while you work this out.

COUNTDOWN MUSIC BEGINS
Is that one word or two?

One word or two? Two words.

You blew it. Has anyone guessed?
MAN: Hispano Suiza!

Hispano Suiza, says the man over
there. He should be on your show.

Is that not the most annoying music?
It is THE most annoying music
in the world. Absolutely.

Do you have it on your mobile phone?
AUDIENCE LAUGHS

Do you have it on your mobile phone?
Do you... Yes!

When you ring your mobile...
Yes, yes, I do!

What I'm interested in is how you
got on in our reasonably-priced car.

Oh. This is very embarrassing.
Shall we find out?

Richard's lap.

TYRES SCREECH

Here we go...

You're putting a lot of effort
into this. Knackered.

This is where he said don't brake.
I've got to.

Quite smooth... quite fast.

Ish. And into the last corner...
That's a nice line. Well.

We have the time. And I'm afraid
it's a sad day in Top Gear history.

And a sad day for Harry Enfield.
AUDIENCE: No!

Richard Whiteley is the slowest man
ever with a time of two minutes

six seconds!

Enfield is going to be
absolutely apoplectic.

His proudest boast to date was he
was so slow and you've beaten him!
By miles!

Frankly, your life is now ruined.
I know. But thank you.

It's a joy to have you.
Richard Whiteley!

You've ruined my life!
Thanks very much.

Earlier on I was told to go and break
the world caravan speed record,

which stands at 128mph. And I failed.
So I had another go.

With the window repaired
to Aerospace standards,

caravan glory is within Lee's grasp.

This time the cross winds have built
up. The caravan starts to fishtail.

Lee keeps his nerve
and keeps his foot to the floor.

He hits 125.2mph. That looks
great for a new record.

Just 5mph more.
There's plenty of runway left.

But then, oil and smoke everywhere.

This doesn't look good.

I'm not an engineer,
but I'd say it was mullered.

I think the piston's gone,
or low on fuel,

I'm not sure. We can't have another
go then? Not with this car.

There you go. BBC Top Gear, the
world's anti-caravan organisation

defeated by a 20-year-old
Abbey GT214.

It's pathetic.

I wonder if James May realises. We
don't tolerate failure on Top Gear.

It's not an option. Maybe he doesn't
know about the tank of piranhas.

He'll be in it if he doesn't get
it right. Right. Get rid of that.

Got some housekeeping to do
on the cool wall.

Anne Robinson said it's silly
the TT is this far down,

because it's a cool car,
it needs moving up. There.

You're doing that
cos she's not here. Exactly!

I have one - there's an omission
off the cool wall. And it's this.

Which is the Mercedes SL55 AMG.
Mmm. What a car.

Jeremy's car! What a car!

There is an issue with this.

It's just been bought by somebody
quite famous. Do you want to guess?

Brad Pitt. Cameron Diaz.
way. Let me help you, Jeremy.
It's Dale Winton.

Dale Winton's a nice chap. No,
he's orange. It's uncool. Sorry.

I'm glad you brought my car up. I've
got one I'd like to share with you.

The least cool car I've seen in
a while - 1982 Porsche 911 SC.

Particularly if someone has
written on the back and fitted
a turbo body kit.

That's my car!
That really is your car!

And it's hideous,
so it's going here.

And it's left-hand drive, so
you're a cheapskate. It's true!

It's never overtaken anyone.
That's what passengers are for.
His dog ate it. She did.

A couple more I have to stick up -

Mitsubishi Evo VIII, we looked at.

Where's it go?

AUDIENCE: Sub-cool? Wrong!
Why is it sub-cool?

It's a proper car. It's fast
and it handles well.
That's nothing to do with coolness.

It's like having ginger hair.

Anyone else got any thoughts on it?

MAN: Uncool. Uncool.

He says it's uncool,
he's kind of right.

The thing is,
it's very gender-specific.

If you're a man, it's really uncool.
If you're a woman, it's fantastic.

We wanna meet you.
So it kind of goes there,

as does...the same story with
the Subaru. Yeah. Put that there.

Right in the middle with the F60.

It's funny,
it's the way of the cool wall.

I've got one last one here,
the Peugeot 206 GTI 180bhp.

What do we think? Uncool!
It's not uncool!

Who said uncool? Me!
Why is it uncool? It's a Peugeot!

What's that got to do with it?
It's ugly!

That's nothing to do with coolness!
Anyone think it is cool?

Right, I do. I'm gonna explain why.

It's a hot hatchback -
hot hatchbacks are cool.

They're small, they're easy to run.
I had one the other week,

came down here, drove it in second
gear all the way, made me feel 18!

All of which is good,
and they're good cars. I just...

Everybody else thinks it's uncool,
you think it's cool.

Casting vote here.
I reckon, apply your own test.

The Kristen Scott Thomas test.
Picture her outside her apartment
in that. She'll get in. No.

She'll get in the diesel one of the
bloke behind. I think it's uncool.

Oh, my God!

What's up with you? Chinese burn.

Why don't you give him a dead leg?

I will. I'll butt him,
but I won't reach.

I was talking to an independent
local dealer the other week
about waiting lists,

three-year-old Toyota Rav 4s.
How does that work?

Whenever you went to your local
dealer and had a good stock
of three-year-old cars,

he would've bought those from company
fleets that sold them at auction.

All of a sudden,
they've changed tactics.

They're holding onto cars so they
can save money on buying cars.

They're not selling cars off -
they might keep them for five years.

Usual supply of three-year-old
mainstream cars has dried up.

Top Gear top tip - don't buy
something like that now.

If anyone's got a three-year-old
Toyota Rav 4 they want rid of,

I know a bloke who'll have your arm
off. Time to sell it is now. OK.

Cars are facelifted
throughout their lives,

and when that happens
the old version costs less.

It's often not very different.
It's tweaks. Tweaks and things.

The VW Passat. Earlier this year,
this car was facelifted.

The little rubber strips
on the bumper were replaced with
little chrome strips.

As a result, cars with
the rubber strips on the bumper

are worth a bit less.
It's ridiculous.

How much?

VW Passat 1. 8T, metallic paint,

Iist price ?18,200.

With rubber bits on the bumper,

a bit over ?15,500.

Hey?! Yeah. You save how much?
I want to ask you this.

Tell me honestly, what do you want?

Shiny bumpers, ?2,500 to spend
on beer and a holiday? I'll take
the money! That's insane!

That's pretty much the only visual
difference. The rubber-bumpered car
is still a 2003 car and is new.

That's it from Insider Dealing.

In the last two years, Lotus
have sold 5,000 of these Elises.

Vauxhaull have sold 1,000
of these VX220s.

You might think that's odd
because if you peel away the bodies
they're basically the same car.

They're made in the same factory.

I can explain what's going on.

I've got two Armani jackets.

Open it up,

you see? Says Armani in there.

Now in this one, I've changed
the label so it says Millets.

Which one are you gonna buy? Hm?

Exactly. Armani.

Vauxhall have realised
it's no good making their car
the same as the Lotus.

It has to be much, much better.

This, then, is the new VX.

You'll note the new spoiler on
the back and its smart new wheels.

Inside, you'll take in
the leather seats

and if you snout around, you'll
clock the extra soundproofing

to make it even more refined. You'll
notice these things and think, "That
is a really, really pretty car. "

Well done, Vauxhall.
I'll have the Lotus.

I mean, it's not like the Vauxhall
is any easier to get into.

If you're taller than six inches
or have any extraneous body parts,

realistically, you need
to take the roof off
before you can get behind the wheel.

No problems there.

It has the same simple roof
as the Elise, same basic chassis

and with a price of ?25,000
it costs about the same, too.

It has the same handmade feel, too.

There are squeaks and rattles.

But there is one big difference.

The normal Vauxhall VX, the 220,
has a 2.2 litre engine

which is fine in a ham sandwichy way
but in this, they've added pickle.

The engine is smaller,
just two litres,

but it has a turbo charger.

That means 200bhp.

So, this may be a bit heavier
than an Elise, thanks to its airbag
and its anti-lock brakes

and its soundproofing and turbo.

But it is hugely fast!

I like the feel of acceleration.

There's a cosiness as your
internal organs are marshalled by
the G-forces into a little puddle

in your spine, but in this,
it's like you're being electrocuted.

0-60 takes four seconds.

It keeps on kicking you in the back
of the head with its million-volt
shoes all the way to 150. Wicked!

It's so quick that
on the press launch in Spain

four of them were crashed
by journalists.

There was a rustle in the hedgerow.

Remember when Marks and Spencer's
launched that range of underwear
that was seethrough and boudoirish?

This car is as big a departure
for Vauxhall as those knickers
were for M&S.

Really.

And you know what? We haven't
even got to the best bit yet -

its handling!

I drove an Elise round this track
in the last series,

and I know I've got fingers
of butter and fists of ham,
but it really was understeery

and this just isn't.

Miles of oversteer,
you can get it up to the limit

and just hold it there.

Love it! Brilliant.

One thing'll get me off this
racetrack - if it runs out of fuel.

That's the first time
I've thought that

while behind the wheel
of a Vauxhall.

Lotus has responded to this car
with a 190 Elise that we saw
earlier in the programme,

but that cost ?33,000 -
?8,000 more than this.

This has an airbag
and is more comfortable.

I do believe this is the sports car
of the moment.

I'll give anyone a fiver if
they can find the word "Vauxhall"
written anywhere on it.

One more test. The Stig.

So, off the line. 200bhp and a
feather-light body on a dry track.
This should be fast!

MUSIC: "Son Of A Preacher Man"
by Dusty Springfield

It's Dusty Stig-field!
This car was designed by Lotus.

So was our track, so it should be
brilliant here, as he goes
through Chicago... Very tidy!

Now, coming up to Hammer Head,

this can catch out mid-engine cars
but the VX has no problem at all!

In the first sector this car was
level-pegging with the BMW.

Can it beat the BM? Come on, Stig!

He's crossed the line!

That is... Quicker than an M3!

That is an amazingly good car.

Now, we've got one minute left
and James has to use that time

to get that caravan
past the speed record.

I've been looking at
the Guinness Book Of Records.

It doesn't say that I have to use
a car to tow the caravan,

so I've decided to rely on the most
powerful engine in the universe -
gravity.

LAUGHTER

APPLAUSE AND LAUGHTER

Do you know something -
who'd like to see that again?

Yes! Yeah.

Oh! Ooh.

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!

Look at that!

I'm not sure that was faster
than 125mph, but I don't care!

Absolutely don't care,

and on that flimsy, fibreglass bomb
it's time to end the show. Bye!