Features
The new series of Top Gear is on Sundays at 8pm from November 13
The new series of Top Gear is on Sundays at 8pm from November 13
November 7, 2005

Features


Return of the Sunday drivers


Gran Turismo NSX vs real Honda NSX
Sometime over the summer Jeremy became hooked on that acne-wracked teenager's favourite Gran Turismo 4, and that gave us an idea.

He was banging on about how sweetly his virtual Honda NSX handles and how excellent he is at flicking it around the digital version of the snaky Laguna Seca track in northern California.

So, we got an actual NSX and flew actual Jeremy on an actual plane to actual America to see if he could beat his computer-game lap time in real life. And that's no easy task because Laguna Seca is one of the world's most challenging tracks.

When you crash in the game, you make yourself a cup of tea and start again. If you crash at the real track, you will be drinking your tea through a straw. So, the perfect challenge for a middle-aged man with a dicky back, then.


'Over the summer Jeremy became hooked on that acne-wracked teenager's favourite Gran Turismo 4'

Bugatti Veyron vs plane
We love a good pan-European car versus public transport challenge on Top Gear. So far we've pitted an Aston DB9 against the fast train to Monte Carlo (victory: Clarkson, Team Car).

We've run a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti against a jet aircraft to Verbier (victory: Clarkson, Team Car). And we put a Mercedes SLR McLaren against a boat to Oslo (victory: Clarks... etc, etc).

Now comes our greatest race ever. The route is from the northern Italian town of Alba to the southern British town of London.

Jeremy takes the incredible (and incredibly delayed) 987bhp Bugatti Veyron, while Richard and James are once again going by air. But this time there's a twist, because your pilot for this TG Airlines flight is Captain May of the King's Own Still Having Flying Lessons Corps.

Clarkson will be punched straight through Europe by the mighty fist of the world's most powerful car. The other two will be taking a not quite as-the-crow-flies route because James can't fly over the Alps. Apparently he hasn't done that bit of the course yet.

Nonetheless, Clarkson could be in trouble this time, unless, of course, James flies as slowly as he drives.


CLICK TO ENLARGE

Advertiser links

Archived Content

You've found a page archived from the old TopGear.com website. As you probably noticed, TopGear.com had a major revamp in October 2008 but we left these pages up in case you missed them. Check out the new site links at the top or go straight to the homepage.

Advertisement