Richard Hammond's Workshop

I think my fairy godmother just arrived

and he's called Richard...

So, why don't you have a go in this with no pressure and do some skids?

Ha ha ha!

This is what I've got to do!

This is Field Marshal Montgomery's Rolls-Royce.

Don't be nervous...

It's nearly three years

since the Smallest Cog opened its doors...

The business still owes me a fortune...

I've been hiding bank statements, I'm basically running a social club!

So, it's time for a big shake-up...

Clock in in the morning, clock onto a job.

The dawn of a new era...

But not everyone likes change...

...I am very nervous about all of it.

This isn't going to tell me what to do!

I'll tell you that for nothing.

We make history

with our most important restoration yet.

Did Montgomery or Churchill ever imagine you sitting in it?

Probably not.

...The work must be completed on time.

Oh, she's eager!

Can we race into a bright new future...

...with me at the wheel?

Oh, oh, oh!

Oh, look at that, look.

We'll get a shine out of these, I reckon.

I want to see my face in them.

Yeah, they're being idiots...

but they are taking it seriously I think

'cause this is our opportunity to look at a big job.

We've been asked by the MOD

to quote for restoration work

on Field Marshal Montgomery's Rolls-Royce.

It was the first civilian car over the beaches after D-Day.

This will be the first real test of whether we have upped our game

in terms of professionalism.

The eyes of the world will be on our work...

so we've got to be realistic in our quote.

Ah, look at this. Right! They're arriving.

You're all looking very crisp and smart.

I don't think you'll actually be inspected,

but if you are inspected everybody passes muster.

They've stopped, let's go and have a look.

Can we have that as our work truck?

No.

Hiya, Richard. Brigadier.

Good to see you again. How are you? Good to see you again. Very well.

As promised, Montgomery's Rolls-Royce.

And we've got a very capable, highly trained crew

who are gonna help you get the car off the truck.

Ah, it's actually arrived

and I'm, sort of, anticipating and dreading this moment

because this isn't just any car.

This is a 1939 Rolls-Royce Wraith and it's priceless.

This is a piece of history for this country.

And if we don't look after it, we'll be history!

Is it my turn, is it?

I'd like to stress in true military fashion,

young Isaac did not volunteer for this.

He was volunteered.

Just let it roll off, please.

Oh, god, I'm suddenly nervous.

Isaac, don't cock it up.

Oh, good lord.

Oh, my god, it is only as wide as the...

Ooh!

Look at his little face.

That is a man concentrating.

Well done. Thank goodness. That's a relief.

Well done, Isaac!

I'm gonna go and empty my trousers.

Our job now is...

we will go through that

and we will produce a proper, proper estimate.

Thank you. And you need detail, don't you?

We do.

Thank you, Richard. Nice to see you.

She's in your capable hands.

We will definitely look after her.

I think Isaac's gone for a lie down.

Jobs like that do not come along every other day.

I mean, there is only one of those cars.

We've got to provide them with a forensic line-by-line estimate of

what we would do, how we would do it,

and what it would cost...

and that is a job for our details focused consultant, Richard.

And his time with us is coming to an end soon,

so, he's gonna have to get a move on.

Are you scared?

No. OK.

Good, because everybody else is.

Well, if we produce

an accurate estimate,

which is what my forte is,

then we'll be making

an informed decision at the beginning.

I have every faith in you.

This is you doing what you do so good luck.

This is a bit of a military operation here.

This will test you. The more you look, the more you see.

The difficulty is that we've got

these repairs dotted all over the place.

And then when you join the dots, where do you stop and start here?

Where do you stop and start there?

Where do you stop and start here? Yeah.

Before you know it, they all blend into each other.

What we've got to do is work out what the total hours are

and the most efficient way of getting through that.

Yeah. Yeah.

And really we've got to put milestones in

where we think we're gonna be up to a certain point.

If you could draw a plan up... Yes.

...and then we can have a chat about it...

Yeah. ...and see what we come up with.

I would absolutely love to do this Rolls-Royce

because this is, well, it's just such an important car

and it would be the pinnacle of my career to actually do that.

I'm just a bit worried that...

it's easy to frighten people off with a massive quote.

It's the job of a lifetime and I would hate to lose it.

Some years ago

I came dashing home through the front door...

guys look what I've got... I've got this!

And they went, pfff, whatever...

and so I put them away in the loft.

You can get games replicating,

like specific racetracks and even cars...

and I can practice.

Now, practice what you might ask.

Until recently, The Smallest Cog,

we were racing a little MGB GT race car...

And then I mothballed it not long ago in a local car museum.

That was the end of that until recently.

I've decided I might kick it off again.

OK, not a panic. This goes like that.

Thing is I'm off to do my racing licence test tomorrow

at Silverstone,

which I need to pass if I'm gonna be allowed to race.

That's damn near exactly the right position

for the gear lever on an MGB GT.

So, I reckon that goes there.

That's pretty much exactly right.

Er... power.

Ah! It's alive!

When you're driving on the telly like I've done all those years...

It's all about sliding it back

and making it look good for the camera and being flashy.

Race driving is all about icy cool, calm and calculating

and icy cool, calm and calculating's far from my resting state.

I'm gonna spend some time up here...

Uh... practising.

Green light, give it all you've got.

Wait a minute, oh, this is like the real thing for me.

That's a wall!

I did that in a Jaguar once...

Steve. Richard!

How are you, mate, nice to see you.

Right, I'm in the classroom. Where do I sit? What do I do?

Do you want to take a seat? I'll take a seat, OK.

The key thing is, you've done your revision.

OK.

When we go out on track and I sit alongside you.

What we need to see

is that you're safe, you're competent.

There will come a point when I'll stop talking.

And what I need to see is that you can drive me

for two or three laps without instruction,

fully under control, at a decent pace.

We'll do the track bit first. And then you're gonna sit my exam.

Cool, I'm ready. Bring it on.

The novice driver training test

that we do and the licence that is issued,

I would say it's very similar to a pilot's licence

with the same level of gravity, really.

So, the reality is we don't give these things away.

You have to earn them.

Here's your toy for the day. This is it. 410 horses.

So, sit on board. I'm in.

Helmet on Helmet going on.

Get yourself strapped in. Right.

I haven't taken a driving test in some considerable time.

What I'm gonna have to do is not apply the usual driving

that I've done for decades.

When you have one of the world's most famous car journalists

known like, globally, for really...

I'm gonna the word 'hooning' it,

I will be looking really closely

because any of that televisual stunting stuff

is really not gonna work on the racetrack.

OK, Rich, if you want to fire her up.

Handbrake off.

You've got green at the end of the pit line.

We're good to go.

So, we've come out onto the track, we're across to the left-hand side,

looking through the corner and then rotate.

So, we've ended up on the wrong side of the road

so, I'm gonna guide you on it the next time.