Top Gear

Hello, welcome to Top Gear.

Yes, we're still out on the runway with our Covid-compliant,

socially distanced classic driving show.

I've got to tell you, there's a white Transit van at the back

there with the windows steamed up - he's started early!

But as long as he's in the same bubble, why not? Go for it.

Have a bit of fun.

Knock yourself out.

Talking of steamed up, Chris Harris, look at this,

no wonder you're excited, this is a car spotter's paradise.

This is my happy place. Look at the tackle on offer here.

XTS Convertible. Fantastic.

Look at this here

a Rosso Dino 308.

BMW Z1... Chris, Chris, we don't have time for this.

The 550's got a burgundy interior!

Quiet, because we've got a packed show, folks.

Later on we're going to be taking on a massive wall of death.

What were we even thinking?

Never mind that, cos also tonight, there's a massive crash.

The best news is - it's not me!

Get in! Get it! .

We'll move on, because we need to talk about cars that do 200mph.

Isn't that right, Christopher? That's right, Patrick.

See, it wasn't so long ago that 200mph in a road car seemed

unreachable, beyond the limits of physics.

But then 30 years ago, a bunch of supercars rocked up that

not only smashed passed 200, but looked awesome doing it.

So to celebrate the coolest supercar era of them all,

the producers told us to pick our favourite 200mph pioneer

and head to the glorious north.

If you're talking 200mph pioneers, frankly,

there's only one choice.

The original, the greatest,

I give you the Ferrari F40.

I haven't driven one of these for a while.

Introduced in 1987,

the F40 was the final car to be overseen by the big man himself

Enzo Ferrari

who was, above all else, a man of ambition.

You see, the race to 200mph for a road-legal car in the '80s

was a bit like the space race in the '60s

massive budgets, genius engineers,

all to be the first to make that claim.

And the F40 was the first road car to get there.

This is the Apollo 11 of supercars.

This is the giant leap for car-kind.

But the real genius behind the F40

is that in building his rocket ship,

Enzo kept things

beautifully simple.

Ferrari could have gone down a technology route,

but instead it just made a very light, tubular steel chassis,

added some Kevlar bodywork

and then added a huge amount of power

478hp, from a twin turbo-charged V8.

It's just a massive go-kart.

It's light, it's immediate,

there's no power assistance to anything.

The pedals take a massive push,

the steering takes a heave,

the gear shift, well, you have to nudge it from your shoulder.

It's just brutal, but sublime!

This isn't just the greatest 200mph car,

this is the greatest road car ever.

For me, there's no debate.

No debate. It's the greatest.

It's a good effort, but wrong.

If you want THE classic 200mph supercar,

everyone knows you've got to buy British,

or at least borrow British.

I give you the Jaguar XJ220.

My word!

It doesn't get much better than this.

The mightiest road-going Jag ever made

first landed as a concept in 1988.

And it was spectacular.

I remember seeing this car for the first time as a kid,

I'd have been, like, 11, 12 years of age.

It just looked like something I'd never seen before.

And now here I am driving one.

The first thing you need to know about the 220,

though, is that to a lot of people it's considered a bit of a failure.

That's because Jaguar, they promised a V12,

they promised scissor doors, they promised four-wheel drive.

But when they came to make it, they discovered that all that was,

well, a bit complicated,

and a bit expensive.

So it ended up two-wheel drive, normal doors,

and the engine from a V6 Metro.

But disappointing though that may sound,

the XJ220 still had a top speed of 217 mph.

Compared to the F40, it was in another league.

I think that is genius. I think that is the best of British ingenuity.

"We'll make do with what we've got. Stick it in there."

- It still goes 217 mph. - That is not a failure.

And besides, just have a look at it.

Just look at it!

Don't be fooled by that face, though

underneath it's a wild animal.

The strangest thing about this car is you're driving it,

and nothing's happening. Nothing.

And then all at once, the turbos kick in.

- It's like a Tarantino movie. - Everything just happens!

My word! I'm tense. I'm tense.

What is the...?

Good morning, Chris.

What are you in, Fred? XJ220?

Congratulations, that is you in car form

big, British, not as fast as claimed.

Chris, it did 217mph, this car.

You can't have a go at it.

And they called it the XJ220, and it only did 217?

They called the Ferrari the 812 Superfast,

it doesn't go 812mph.

But it's superfast.

Buongiorno!

Dearie me, Fred. Dearie me.

How's about that, boys?

Where's your sense of patriotism?

Ignore those two squares.

I like my 200mph supercars a bit more unhinged.

Man, this car!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Lamborghini Diablo.

I mean, supercars are supposed to be a little bit mad, aren't they?

They're supposed to be bonkers.

And the Diablo is definitely bonkers.

I mean, look at it, the seat belts go the wrong way,

the dash looks like it's off a lorry.

The stalks are from a Morris Marina.

It's bonkers, but what it does have is that great big, stonking, lovely.

V12 right behind you

that will get you to 70mph in first gear.

First gear.

Listen to her! .

Come on!

Work your way up the gearbox,

and the 485hp Diablo would top out at 202mph.

It scares me, this car as well. I like that.

There's no power steering, no traction control, nothing.

Nothing that's in a modern car that makes you feel comfortable.

It's just pure driving ability. I love it.

Now, we'd been told to head to a nearby airfield for the chance

to put our cars through their paces.

However, first, that did of course mean

reaching it.

Woohoo!

Ho!

Hoo-hoo!

Whoa! .

So, while McGuinness had made an unscheduled stop,

we arrived at the airfield where all we could do was wait.

Do you know, on an F40 the paint is so thin

that you can see the Kevlar weave through it? It's amazing.

Yeah? All the way through here

you can just see the weave of the Kevlar.

In fact, one of the ways to spot... APPROACHING LORRY.

My God.

Paddy...

You all right? Neck all right? Head all right?

Gutted.

Talk us through what you did. What did you hit?

It must have been a little bit of oil on the road or something...

Yeah, yeah, cos I've been driving up and down

that road all day and that oil really got me.

You hadn't been on that spot in the torrential rain, had you?

Did you hit that oil as well?

Yeah, I must admit, I just backed off a bit in that torrential rain. Yeah.

It was just on a little bit of a bend, that was it.

No more than 40.

But it really surprised me how quickly it just goes from.

"Isn't this lovely?" to...

It is amazing how quickly you can run out of talent.

Tsch.

Ambition's a great thing, Chris.

But you've got to temper it.

Anyhoo, what can you do?

I'm having a butty.

The Diablo had shown just what a handful

a 30-year-old supercar can be.

And it had paid the price doing it.

However, two of our cars still had work to do.

Because the airfield we'd come to

was Elvington.

Boasting one of the longest runways in the UK,

it was time to see what our old pioneers still had in the tank.

It was time... for a good old-fashioned drag race.

The race is as follows.

A rolling start, we want to be kind on these old driveshafts.

So 40mph through the green flags,

the moment you go through the green flag, you give it the beans

and you stop at the chequered flag.

Can you just confirm you've heard that instruction?

We've had problems here with you before.

I can't stop!

Ha-ha-ha!

I'm running out of runway!

I'm not going to lie, Chris, I'm a bit apprehensive. I'll give it a go.

I mean, you should be quicker. That is a faster car, Fred.

Hello, boys!