Top Gear

Hello and welcome to Top Gear,

where tonight we are celebrating the very best of British.

It's about time. Thanks very much.

Not you, son. We're talking about British cars.

See, as you may have noticed, the world's

still a little bit shut down.

We can't get abroad for a big road trip, but that's fine because we've

got everything we need right here on our doorstep, including the cars.

Yes, if there's one thing Britain does better than anyone else

it's grand tourers. GTs - fast, comfy luxurious.

So we each decided to pick our own favourite new British GT

and take them on a little driving tour right here at home.

Who needs the south of France or the Italian Alps

when you've got beautiful,

balmy Wales?

A country that has all the ingredients

you need for a classic Grand Tour, starting with the idyllic.

Mediterranean-inspired coastal village of Portmeirion.

A sophisticated classical backdrop for the most sophisticated

and classical of GTs.

The Bentley Flying Spur

17 feet and £170,000 of quintessentially British GT car.

You see, a grand tourer needs to cover great distance at great speed

and in great comfort, and for that task there's just no better car.

This thing is supremely fast, supremely luxurious.

It's supremely Bentley.

There is simply no better way to grandly tour.

As Mr Flintoff was about to demonstrate.

I can't see a GT car. I can see a McLaren.

Andrew, you know what I'm going to say. That is the McLaren GT.

Literally, its name, I can't get any more GT than a McLaren GT.

Yeah, you can't just apply a name

to something and assume it takes that role.

If you call Paddy McGuinness a doctor of physics,

he's still a budget entertainer from Bolton, OK?

That's a sports car.

It's not very big, not very comfortable. It's comfortable.

It's the most comfortable McLaren they've ever made.

It's got a massive boot in the back.

Look at that.

What? All this. Two sets of golf clubs in there.

It's a fillet of a boot. That's massive.

Surely GT is about comfort, about distance,

time spent behind the wheel. I give you comfort.

Yes, but if I was going to go on a tour driving,

I would want to drive that car.

I'd want to sit in the back of that one. Really? That's a limo.

Here we go.

Hang on a minute.

What is it with you two not understanding basic instructions?

Gentlemen, what better way to see this beautiful part

of the world than in the ultimate grand tourer - the Aston Martin DBX?

I don't understand why you've turned up in that.

Other than the fact that you are a little bit taters and from Cheshire.

Other than that, why else?

That is spot on. He's spot on.

I'm fascinated by Aston Martin's new car,

but this is not the right vehicle for this test.

You see, it's a bit like

when you went in the shop and bought that top.

Is it a shirt? Is it a jumper?

Is it a coat? Is it a dishcloth?

We don't know. The main thing is you're enjoying it.

In the 21st century, people are grand touring in these.

They should rename this car the Aston Martin DBX GT.

And listen - that's a limo,

that's a sports car.

I reckon, Pads, you know, in the spirit of compromise,

why don't we agree that GTs can come in all shapes and sizes?

Like Top Gear presenters.

Tubby, short, tall.

See? Something for everyone.

Tubby?

Now, lads, most importantly, we've got

a chance to explore the roads of North Wales.

It's a playground for cars, it really is. Get in, let's go.

Now, the beauty of grand touring in Wales, apart from the weather,

is that once you leave your idyllic coastal village behind, the next

bit of scenery is only just around the corner.

Look at these views.

This is stunning.

When you see roads like this, why not just stay in Britain?

North Wales, I reckon, boys,

has some of the best driving roads in Europe.

They really are. For demonstrating what a road car can do,

I don't think there's a better place around than this.

Which is just as well, because the DBX can do a lot.

Aston Martin have dipped their toe in the world of SUVs

and I've got to tell you - I think they've got it absolutely spot on.

160 grand buys you a four-litre twin turbo V8 packing 542 horsepower,

which is enough to get James Bond and his kids all the way up to 181.

Aside from that, I love the inside of it. It's so comfortable.

It's beautifully made, beautifully put together.

If you're doing a Grand Tour, this is what you want to be in.

Unless, that is, you want your Grand Tour to be a bit more exciting.

My word.

This car wants to play.

It might not be the fastest McLaren,

but I can tell you it's fast enough.

It does 0 to 60 in 3.2 seconds, top speed 203 mph.

People will say, "It's too supercar."

When has that ever been a problem?

It's a McLaren.

Yes, it is,

but what it still isn't is a proper grand tourer.

Historically, for a truly grand Grand Tour, you needed 12 cylinders

and the Bentley has a W12 engine.

In fact, this thing is just an orgy of numbers.

626 horsepower, 664 foot-pounds of torque

pushing two and a half tonnes -

- two and a half tonnes! - To 207 mph.

How on earth do you get something this big

and heavy to those kinds of speeds?

And it does 0 to 60 in under four seconds. It's outrageous.

Beautiful now. This is nice.

I just can't believe that Aston Martin allowed Ford

to basically nick its grill design from the last 30 years

because now even a Fiesta looks like the front of that Aston Martin.

I don't mean to be sizeist, but do you have a booster seat in that car?

The only thing about seeing Paddy driving that car,

I actually can't see him. I can just see his hair.

You just blend in, Paddy, to that colour.

Chris, are you going to tell us where we're going?

Andrew, I've got a treat here.

I've booked us a little place by the sea.

A little place called.

Anglesey circuit.

The most picturesque racetrack in Britain,

and also one of the best to drive.

Hey, hey! Good lad, Harris.

This is a proper day out now.

You'd want to go sideways through the quick right-hander.

Big oversteer!

Wow.

I tell you what - the absurdity of engineering a car this big

to behave like this on a track is wonderfully silly.

This is so much fun!

It's unbelievable, this thing.

Here we go now. Turn her in. So nimble.

This is what a grand tourer should be able to do.

Whoa!

This is a slippy track.

There she goes. There she goes.

Ha-ha!

Before things got out of hand,

the producers decided it was time for some proper testing.

To see which of our GTs was quickest,

each of us would set the fastest time we could around the track,

and it would be a staggered start.

Lads, why are we doing a staggered start, anyhow?

I think it's to avoid a massive very expensive first-corner accident.

That's a very good point, Christopher.

OK, Paddy, in three,

two, one, go!

McGuinness looking good.

He missed his apex, but you can't have it all.

That's wet!

That's greasy.

OK, Chris, in three,

two, one, go!

Now she feels big. Now she feels big.

OK, Freddie, in three,

two, one, go!

Come on!

Twitchy.

Use all the circuit. Use all the circuit, catch McGuinness.

Come on! I'm torn here. I really want to go fast.

I want to beat Harris,

but I don't want to crash the car.

Do you know what? I'm not using this car to its full potential.

I'm going off-road.

Let's get down here.

Come on, old girl.

There's a bit of speed to be had through here if I really gun it.

No sign of McGuinness.

I've gone a bit fast on the corners, taken a couple a little bit wide.

I enjoyed that.

Come on, old girl.

And over the line.

Coming round, coming round. I've gone too fast!

Come on, hang on, hang on!

Lovely stuff!

Well done, son. In the SUV.

Thank you very much, Mr Flintoff.

I mean, I think I might be

the first person who's had the backend out in a DBX.

You know this track like the back of your hand, Chris.

You're a racing driver. How have I beat you?

Because you're in a McLaren, and I'm in a limousine.

He's not best pleased.

Let's be honest - how on earth

has he got within a second of me in that car?

It's a tonne heavier.

More's the point - how on earth Aston's SUV had got

ahead of both of us was because its driver is a cheating snake.

I tell you something, though,

you come round this one, you've got to be careful.

Ha, is that what you did, Paddy?

You've just cut out half the lap.

I was showing the car's all-round abilities.