Editing Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/Unabridged

{{Infobox Episode
|episode = Episode 8
|image = [[File:TG_2002_S1E8_-_Super_Saloons.jpg|300px]] A group of super saloons, as featured in the episode.
|prodcode = GFGA008E
|number = 8 (since 2002), 557 (since 1977)
|length = 59:05
|viewers = 3.43 million
|previous = [[{{BASEPAGENAME}}/Episode 7|Series 1, Episode 7]]
|next = [[{{BASEPAGENAME}}/Episode 9|Series 1, Episode 9]]
|airdate =
{{FlagUK}} 8th December, 2002
| airdates    =
{{BBCW}} 1st January, 2003<br>
{{FlagNL}} 14th November, 2003<br>
{{BBCP}} 28th December, 2004<br>
{{FlagPL}} 9th April, 2005<br>
{{FlagRU}} 7th August, 2005<br>
{{FlagBE}} 30th July, 2006 (BBC Prime)<br>
{{FlagFI}} 28th January, 2007<br>
{{FlagAU}} 12th April, 2008<br>
{{FlagKO}} 25th May, 2008<br>
{{FlagCZ}} 25th April, 2009<br>
{{FlagHU}} 24th June, 2009<br>
''Data may not be 100% accurate.''
}}

{{TG 2002 Episode|episodename=Series 1, Episode 8|airdate=8th December|year=2002|xth=eighth|series=[[Series 1]]|number=8th|number77=557th|number78=548th|prognum=9th|totprog=11|resolution=576i|aspratio=16:9 Widescreen|tvorstream=British television|channel=BBC Two}} {{TG 2002 Episode Starring|hosta=Jeremy Clarkson|hostb=Jason Dawe|hostc=Richard Hammond|stig=[[The Stig#Black Stig|The Stig]]|star=[[Michael Gambon]]|waswere=was}}.

This episode is best-known for an incident which occurred during Gambon's lap in the [[Suzuki Liana]]. Approaching the final corner, at that point named [[Top Gear Test Track#Corners#Gambon|Carpenters Corner]], Gambon understeered in the damp track conditions and bounced off the outside of the previous corner, upsetting the car's balance. In an attempt to stabilise the car, Gambon then overcorrected, clipping the inside of Carpenters and momentarily sending the Liana onto two wheels. This incident resulted in the corner being renamed in Gambon's likeness from [[{{BASEPAGENAME}}/Series 2|Series 2]] of ''Top Gear'' onwards, which became its permanent name thereafter.

==Synopsis==
{{TG Intro|narrator=Jeremy Clarkson}}
*A Knight in our Reasonably-Priced car.
*Maserati's new Coupé takes on our track.
*And lock up your door mirrors; we set out to find Britain's fastest white van driver.

Series 1, Episode 8 begins with Jeremy Clarkson apologising<ref>[https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2149878/Jeremy-Clarkson-BBC-Countryfile-facing-police-probe-disturbing-protected-barn-owls.html Daily Mail - Police probe into BBC Countryfile over claims protected barn owls were disturbed during filming at Jeremy Clarkson's Oxfordshire farm: "Ten years ago he apologised on Top Gear for ‘joking’ that he would kick one of the birds to death for fun."]</ref> for comments made during the previous episode where he alleged that he was going to kick a barn owl to death. The trio then deem their attempt to be ‘green’ a failure, and vow that this episode would be ‘scarlet’ instead. Panning to a [[BMW M5 (E39)|BMW M5]] in the studio, Clarkson then opens into a segment on super saloons, which he starts by revealing a graph comparing the amount of power 400 brake horsepower generates on a scale of double-decker buses. He implies that if condensed to a height of 6 inches, 400 BHP would cover an area the size of Belgium. It's then revealed that [[BMW]] are no longer the only manufacturer producing such a car, as the [[Jaguar S-Type#S-Type R|Jaguar S-Type R]] has come out with a 4.2 litre supercharged V8 also producing 400 BHP. However, [[Audi]] have also come out with their equivalent, and have moved the goalposts.

===Super Saloons===
{{:Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/Super Saloon Film}}

===Turning a Lada into a Lotus===
{{:Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/Lotus Lada Film}}

===The News===
{{:Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/The News (4th December, 2002)}}

===Fastest White Van Driver, Introduction===
Concluding The News, Clarkson thumbs through a massive stack of e-mail printouts, exclaiming that an overwhelmingly large amount of applicants wished to get on the show and participate in the episode's upcoming challenge, from which the production team ended up with 5 competitors after filtering out the "psychos". Clarkson then briefly interviews each van driver, asking them the van they drive and their taste in music, before deciding to root for Don, an older van driver from Kent with a penchant for Steely Dan.

===Superminis===
{{:Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/Supermini Film}}

===Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car===
This week's guest is not just a star, he's also a Knight of the British Empire; [[Michael Gambon]]. After briefly talking about his Ferrari (a [[Ferrari 348|348]], much to Clarkson's displeasure), Clarkson compliments Gambon for his work in the 2000 TV miniseries ''Longitude''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0192263/ IMDb - Longitude (2000).]</ref>, which chronicled the life of clockmaker John Harrison. Much like Harrison, Gambon tinkers with clockwork<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/feb/29/theatre The Guardian - Behind the scenes: "I belong to quite a lot of learned societies. We collect firearms and discuss them at dinners and clubs and things - old clocks, and watches."]</ref> but also flies his own aircraft, where he regales the audience with a humourous tale where he faked a heart attack<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/apr/23/guesteditors2 The Guardian - The trickster.]</ref> in order to frighten another actor who was afraid of flying. He follows this up with another anecdote of a trick Hollywood actor [[Christian Slater]] does on the Pacific Coast Highway in order to steer his [[Volkswagen Beetle]]; by sitting in the middle of the car and shifting his body weight around, he is able to steer the car as though he were a set of aircraft rudders. Unfortunately, during his [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}/Series 5/Episode 5#Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car|later appearance]] on the show, Slater was unable<ref>[https://www.carthrottle.com/post/wqg8b8d/ Carthrottle: My Beetle and Stig in the old Top Gear studio.]</ref> to corroborate Gambon's story.

Behind the wheel of the Liana, Gambon is clearly in unfamiliar territory, glancing at the gear shift and driving with an expression of gritted teeth. He comes close to clipping the tyre wall at the [[Top Gear Test Track#Corners#Follow-through|Follow-through]], much to Clarkson's delight, but on the whole drives a conservative lap around the circuit until the final two corners. He runs wide at [[Top Gear Test Track#Corners#Bacharach Bend|Bacharach Bend]], forcing him onto the grass, before overzealously counter-steering and clipping the apex at Carpenters Corner, lifting the car onto two wheels. He crosses the line without further incident and sets a 1:55 in the wet:

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 675px;"
! style="width: 75px"|Position
! style="width: 320px"|Star
! style="width: 115px"|Time
! style="width: 165px"|Track Conditions
|- align="center"
|6
|[[Tara Palmer-Tomkinson]]
|1:54
|Dry
|- align="center"
|7
|[[Ross Kemp]]
|1:54
|Wet
|- align="center"
|8
|'''Michael Gambon'''
|1:55
|Wet
|- align="center"
|9
|[[Jonathan Ross]]
|1:57
|"Dry" (Wet)
|- align="center"
|10
|[[Harry Enfield]]
|2:01
|Dry
|}
He places 8th overall, which although slow, isn't too bad given the weather conditions. During his off-track escapade, Gambon would clip a braking distance marker with the right side of the Liana, destroying a wing mirror. Prior to filming his lap, he also comically asked Clarkson if it were possible to flip it, without knowing that he would come close to doing so during the lap. Clarkson then informs Gambon that [[Perry McCarthy|The Stig]] thought that out of all the guests who had driven up to this point, Gambon had the best appreciation of racing lines. He was also driven around the track by him in the RS 6.

===Insider Dealing===
Two and a half million cars were sold<ref>[https://archive.md/Ap8AB (Archive link) Automotive News - UK car sales rev up to record in 2002.]</ref> in the UK in 2002, a new record up by 80,000 in contrast to the year prior, with [[Ford]] in first place<ref>[https://bestsellingcarsblog.com/2004/01/uk-2002-2003-ford-focus-at-its-highest-vauxhall-corsa-2/ Best Selling Cars Blog - UK 2002-2003: Ford Focus at its highest, Vauxhall Corsa #2.]</ref> and GM/[[Vauxhall]] second overall, [[Peugeot]] third and a catfight developing for fourth between [[Volkswagen]] and [[Renault]]. Desperate to claim fourth place, Volkswagen are now selling some of their stock at 30% off regular retail price to try and shift some extra units. For instance, a Passat 2.0 S, which was normally £14,600, could instead be had for £11,900. Meanwhile, a northern Suzuki dealership has rung ''Top Gear'' and informed them that they are selling a fully-loaded Techno Blue Liana for £7,495, a further reduction from the last time the car was featured on ''Insider Dealing''. Jason then goes on to talk about pre-registered cars, noting that Renault are selling pre-registered examples of their Scénic for £9,000, £3,500 below its normal price, and Ford are likewise selling pre-registered Focuses typically priced at £10,500 for just £7,995. Finally, the cheapest pre-registered car on the market 
as of December 2002 is the [[Fiat Punto|Fiat Punto Mia]], available from just £4,995.

===Maserati Coupé===
At one point in time, Jeremy notes, a [[Maserati]] was as desirable and unattainable as nylon or a banana. However, as the years have gone by, the Maserati name has gradually lost its prestige. Under the ownership of [[Ferrari]], Maserati have slowly been gaining back their lost reputation, and Clarkson has decided to test drive their newest [[Maserati Coupé|Coupé]] to see if it's as good as the cars from Clarkson's youth.

Admittedly, the car is not new; much of the body styling is derived from the earlier [[Maserati 3200 GT|3200 GT]] except with a tail light design that was less polarising than its predecessor. Under the bonnet, however, is a 4.2 litre V8 developing close to 400 BHP. Inside, the car is a proper 4-seater and is called the ''Cambiocorsa'' due to its paddle-shifter<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080320025425/http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?print_page=y&section_id=6&article_id=37&page_number=2 (Archive link) Road & Track - Maserati Spyder Cambiocorsa.]</ref> gearbox, which Clarkson holds in high disregard as he struggles to get the car going. However, the car does have a regular manual transmission option. Once on the track, Clarkson enables Sport mode, which softens the suspension up, and then turns off the traction control, which renders the car uncontrollable and very tail-happy. He states that the Coupé is the first car he has been unable to get around [[Top Gear Test Track#Corners#Hammerhead|Hammerhead]], and because of its poor handling, cannot consider it a driver's car. He postulates that it's instead supposed to be an Italian alternative to the [[Jaguar XK (first generation)|Jaguar XK]], except that the interior is lacking a certain "opulence" that the Jaguar possesses.

The Stig then takes the Coupé round for a lap in very cold, wet, and foggy conditions. Listening to "[[Sounds of The Stig|Copacabana]]" by Barry Manilow, The Stig has little difficulty in getting the car around the track in spite of the conditions, but the resultant lap is very slow:
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 675px;"
! style="width: 75px"|Position
! style="width: 320px"|Car
! style="width: 115px"|Time
! style="width: 165px"|Track Conditions
|- align="center"
|7
|[[Lotus Elise#111S|Lotus Elise 111S]]
|1:35
|Wet
|- align="center"
|8
|[[Ferrari 575M Maranello]]
|1:35
|Very Wet
|- align="center"
|9
|[[Aston Martin V12 Vanquish]]
|1:36
|Very Wet
|- align="center"
|10
|'''Maserati Coupé'''
|1:38
|Very Wet
|- align="center"
|11
|[[Bentley Arnage#Arnage T|Bentley Arnage T]]
|1:40
|Wet
|}
Setting just a 1:38, the car is barely quicker in the wet than the much heavier Bentley Arnage, meaning it isn't a very good car on the whole.

===Fastest White Van Driver===
The episode's final segment picks up from earlier on, with the van drivers now at the Top Gear Test Track. Though they've brought their own vans to the airfield, they won't be needed as they will all be doing their laps in the [[Ford World Rally Transit]], a promotional vehicle extensively modified by Ford to produce 200 brake horsepower and allegedly reach a top speed of 130<ref>[https://www.fastcar.co.uk/fast-car-news/world-rally-transit/ Fast Car News - World Rally Transit.]</ref> miles per hour, putting the van on par with the company's Mondeo ST200. Along with a stiffened suspension, stripped racing interior with instrumentation from the Focus World Rally Car and bespoke wheels custom-made by OZ, the WRT is no ordinary Transit.

The first of the van drivers to have a go in the Transit is John Wattrip, from the Royal Mail. He completes a rather uneventful lap whilst Hammond shares some banter with the rest of the drivers. Steve Hogan from Iceland is next, and his lap is more chaotic, shifting into the wrong gear and going off-road near the end of the lap, bending the front bumper bracket. Hammond notes that the day before the challenge was filmed, Hogan reversed his van into a police car, writing it off. Don's next, and he immediately stalls the van off the line before the driving the rest of the lap at a leisurely pace. Dale Millar is the penultimate driver to take the Transit round for a lap, and he drives very aggressively, puncturing the front right tyre on the outer embankment surrounding the start/finish line. With the van repaired, Roger the plumber is last out and like Dale, he drives very aggressively, cutting the corner at [[Top Gear Test Track#Corners#Chicago|Chicago]] and causing the tyres to emit smoke.

<big>'''Fastest White Van Driver Results'''</big>
{| class="wikitable" style="width: 600px;"
! style="width: 75px"|Position
! style="width: 160px"|Driver
! style="width: 115px"|Time
! style="width: 250px"|Notes
|- align="center"
|1
|'''Dale'''
|2:02
|Awarded 1st place trophy by Dawe
|- align="center"
|2
|Steve
|2:03
|
|- align="center"
|3
|Roger
|2:05
|"Heating Engineer"
|- align="center"
|4
|John
|2:09
|
|- align="center"
|5
|Don
|4:55
|Got lost
|}
Despite rooting for Don, he proved to be the slowest driver due to getting lost on the track. As a consolation prize, he was awarded pieces of Michael Gambon's smashed door mirror from the Suzuki Liana.

After that, Clarkson concludes the episode. He states that an episode will not air the following week due to the final of the 2002 UK Snooker Championship<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/snooker/uk_championship_2002/default.stm BBC Sport: UK Championship 2002.]</ref>, but will return the week after.

==Reception==
Contemporary reception to the episode was generally positive on [[PistonHeads]]<ref>[https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=226&t=23728 PistonHeads - Top Gear.]</ref>, with 8 positive reviews against 3 negative, averaging out at a score of 72.3%. This places the episode as the third highest-rated of the series of the 6 episodes that were reviewed by 10 or more users. On the whole, Series 1, Episode 8 was key in cementing ''Top Gear''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s future, as the Lada segment no doubt helped to inspire [[Cheap Car Challenge|Cheap Car Challenges]] from [[{{ROOTPAGENAME}}/Series 4|Series 4]] onwards. Furthermore, Gambon's mishap in the Liana became an integral part of ''Top Gear'' lore, with the corner being renamed in his honour.
{{FinalGear Poll|episodename=Series 1, Episode 8|criticalreception=received in a lukewarm manner, likely due to episodes which aired later|pollposition=placing joint-fortieth in|votes=just 1}}

===Reviews===
Speaking in August 2010, Estonian critic Kadri Umbleja remarked<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20140408023219/http://www.tv.com/shows/top-gear/series-1-episode-8-407246/reviews/ (Archive link) TV.com - Top Gear: Series 1 Episode 8 Fan Reviews & Ratings.]</ref> that she felt the episode was good, but not up to the calibre that she was expecting. Umbleja held particular regard for the Fastest White Van Man challenge, in addition to Michael Gambon's lap, but was not as impressed by the car review segments. One moment Umbleja enjoyed in particular was Clarkson's car park woes he told during The News.

===Retrospective Reception===
From a retrospective point of view, this episode is perhaps the only episode from Series 1, barring the [[{{BASEPAGENAME}}/Episode 1|pilot]], which is significantly remembered in any capacity. On IMDb, the episode currently holds<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0729666/ratings?ref_=tt_ql_sm IMDb - Britain's Fastest White-Van Driver.]</ref> a weighted average score of 7.3/10 from 223 votes, a score it maintains even when outliers are removed to account for rating bombs and the score subsequently adjusted to reflect this. In addition, the score balances out to a 6.8 arithmetic mean, with a 7/10 median score. {{TG 2002 Ratingraph|pos=176th}}
{{Topgearbox Poll|episodename=Series 1, Episode 8|rank=85th}}

==Airing history==
{{TG 2002 Pulled|pullstatement=As ''Top Gear'' was not yet as successful as it would eventually become, broadcasts of this episode were very limited, especially in its original 59 minute form. In addition, after the later success of host [[James May]], episodes from Series 1 would become undesirable and as a result, would be pulled from the BBC World Sales Catalogue after 2009. This was likely due to the fact there were now more than 100 other episodes available for syndication.}}

{{:Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1/Episode 8/Airing history}}

==References==
<references/>

==Navigation==
{{TG 2002 S1}}