13 October 2009 - 11:00
Silver streak
Two old men go for a drive in a Mini. Not the usual subject matter for Top Gear, but then these aren't just any old men. They're Paddy Hopkirk and Rauno Aaltonen - both former winners of the Monte Carlo rally and both veteran Mini drivers.
And they've been out for a blast in a JCW Cabrio to see if they can remember their way down the Col de Turini - the lethal serpentine rally stage in the Alps north of Monaco that both men mastered back in the 60s.
It's the Mini's 50th birthday this year and also the 45th anniversary of Hopkirk's win on the Monte, which he conquered in an old-school Cooper. And as he whoops and giggles while Aaltonen handbrakes around various hairpins, it would seem he's still got some of the old sparkle.
Let's hope their Werther's Originals stayed firmly wedged in the door pockets. There's nothing worse than a sticky toffee throttle...
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