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

Episode 8
A group of super saloons, as featured in the episode.
Prod. code	GFGA008E
No.	8 (since 2002), 557 (since 1977)
Runtime	59:05
Viewers	3.43 million
Prev ep.	Series 1, Episode 7
Next ep.	Series 1, Episode 9
Airdate	8th December, 2002
International Airdates 22nd December, 2002 29th January, 2003 (Part 1) 5th February, 2003 (Part 2) 14th November, 2003 28th December, 2004 9th April, 2005 7th August, 2005 30th July, 2006 (BBC Prime) 28th January, 2007 12th April, 2008 25th May, 2008 25th April, 2009 24th June, 2009 Dates may not be 100% accurate.

Series 1, Episode 8 of Top Gear aired on the 8th December, 2002. It was the eighth episode of [[Top Gear (2002 TV series)/Series 1|Series 1]]; the 8th episode of Top Gear since the show's 2002 reboot and the 557th episode overall, including compilations. It was the 548th episode since Top Gear entered national broadcasting in 1978, and was the 9th programme to air in 2002 out of a total 11. Series 1, Episode 8 was originally broadcast in 576i at a 16:9 Widescreen aspect ratio on British television channel BBC Two. The episode was presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Jason Dawe, and Richard Hammond, alongside The Stig. Michael Gambon was the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car.

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 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 Series 2 of Top Gear onwards, which became its permanent name thereafter.

Synopsis

As narrated by 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 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 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 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

The BMW M5 in the studio.

Using the bodyshell and various other parts from the Audi A6 as a base, the Audi RS 6 features a twin-turbocharged 4.2 litre V8 which develops an astonishing 450 brake horsepower. Harkening back to the argument he made back in the studio, Clarkson asserts that is the same amount of power which could fit the area occupied by St. Paul's Cathedral seven times over. In addition to its power upgrade, the RS 6 looks the part with a "chicken wire" grille at the front and flared wheel arches. Though the top speed is limited to 155 MPH in order to satisfy the Gentlemen's Agreement agreed upon by each of the major German car manufacturers, Clarkson drove the car with its limiter removed around the Top Gear Test Track and was able to reach 175 MPH, wagering that given enough track, the car theoretically had sufficient power to breach the realm of 200.

Avaliable as both a saloon and an estate, the RS 6 could be had in 2002 for £58,000, which although being £5,000 more expensive than a BMW M5, Clarkson feels is worth the extra premium, as it is one of the best cars on the road today. He notes that a lot of the "rock aristocracy" drive these fast Audis, specifically naming Kenny Jones and Mitch Mitchell as owners. He takes the car into Wiltshire, where many older rock stars reside and pulls over Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, asking for directions to Steve Winwood's house. He instructs Jeremy to drive straight until he reaches Van Morrison's house, turning left at Sting's trout lake, and at the T-Junction by Peter Gabriel's residence, Clarkson would theoretically make a left. This of course is tongue-in-cheek, simply to demonstrate the amount of famous musicians who live in the area. When asked about his car collection, Mason states that he owns a few Audis and will be buying an RS 6 that coming Christmas.

Stars such as Mason choose cars like the RS 6 because not only are they well-made and powerful, but with the RS 6's 4 wheel drive "quattro" system and a firmed up suspension, are also easier to drive. With its looks, power, and drivability, the RS 6 is the total package. However, that isn't the end of the story. The car may outclass the M5 and S-Type R, but there is a rival in the form of the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG. Though Clarkson derides its looks, comparing it to a Honda, and similarly dismissing the company's customer service, he is a fan of the 5.5 litre V8 engine under the bonnet, outputting close to 500 BHP. It is the same engine as used in the SL55 AMG, the car which Clarkson owned at the time, and in that it sounded like a Tornado jet fighter, NASCAR and a peel of thunder rolled into one. Though the E55 has quietened the noise down compared to the SL, the power is still there and does so at an eye-watering 7 MPG. Despite being £3,000 more expensive, the E55 has more than the RS 6. However, Clarkson does issue the viewer with a warning; the car reminds him of the Eurofighter, which can't fly without its flight computers constantly making adjustments and feels that the car would be uncontrollable in wet weather situations without the assistance of its onboard computers, noting the constant adjustments the system has to make as he drives it.

At the end of the test, Clarkson stacks up the two cars against each other, which although seeming a difficult choice, he likens the Mercedes to Charlie Watts and the Audi to Keith Moon, with Clarkson always preferring The Who, therefore choosing the Audi.

Power Laps

Back in the studio, Jason questions whether or not the person Clarkson met was really the drummer for Pink Floyd, and of course it was, apparently on the way to borrow sugar from Roger Daltrey. However, one final question remains: given that the Mercedes was more powerful, which of the two super saloons is faster around the track? Jeremy believes that the E55 AMG would have easily won in dry conditions due to its higher power output and more sophisticated electronics, but the laps were done in the wet, thus evening the playing field and giving track advantage to the Audi.

Position	Car	Time	Track Conditions
1	Audi RS 6	1:33.0	Wet
2	Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG	1:35.5	Wet

The RS 6 was a full 2 and a half seconds faster than the Mercedes and was easily the more controlled of the two, with the E55 AMG powersliding and aquaplaning on the wet surface. When adjusted for optimum conditions, the RS 6 would have set a 1:29.0 lap time, putting it on par with the SL55 AMG and Honda NSX-R from two episodes prior. To conclude the segment, Clarkson returns to his graph, stating that by 2008, cars would have 100,000 BHP underneath the bonnet, or enough power to span the distance from the Earth to the Moon. The idea of putting high-displacement engines inside regular 4-door saloon cars gives fellow host Richard Hammond an idea, and leads directly into the following segment.

Turning a Lada into a Lotus

Russell Carr's design proposal.

Following the conclusion of the prior segment, Hammond hypothesizes that any saloon could be turned into a performance car given the right tuning, and who better to test this hypothesis out than Lotus? Previously known for their work on the Lotus Cortina and Lotus Carlton, which turned the likes of the Ford Cortina and Vauxhall Carlton saloons into notorious, powerful sports cars, the engineering team at Lotus are given a new challenge; a 1997 Lada Riva 1.5E owned by Paul Sherwood. Introducing himself to General Manager Chris Arnold, the pair discuss the car's history; at six years old (albeit the design itself being much older), Sherwood has owned the car for just under a year, which seemingly replaced another Lada judging from Sherwood's affectation towards them. Though not familiar with the Russian marque, Arnold takes a look at the car to see what can be done in spite of its boxy form, with the production team paying £200 for a replacement engine. The car is then taken to the company's test track and thrashed around by test driver Gavan Kershaw to assess the car's performance, the car losing one of its replacement hubcaps in the process. Russell Carr and his team then take a closer look at the Lada, with Carr immediately singling in on the tyres, wheels and ride height so that the car can handle much better.

Sat at a computer, Carr and a designer settle on painting the car black so as to obscure its brutalistic design. In Photoshop, their proposed design also includes a new set of alloy wheels, the deletion of the front bumper, removal of chrome trim, and tinting of the windscreen. After attempting to remove the bumper and grille without any tools, Carr then sits with a bunch of print-outs, including an alternate interpretation modeled after Lotus' classic Grand Prix cars, as well as a ZIL limousine and Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, with the thought to create a compromise design which combines elements from these other ideas. After showing another Photoshop render with a large silver detail plus new chrome trim as well as Russell Carr stating his intentions for the car's interior, Gavan Kershaw and the rest of the team laugh at Paul Sherwood's worries that they could "ruin" the looks of the original car.

Later on in the episode, it's revealed the team at Lotus Cars have 2 weeks to turn Paul Sherwood's Lada into a sports saloon. They replace the brake system, hand-craft a new exhaust and seats, repaint the car with Lotus black paint from the East Bilney Coachworks, and replace the knackered 35 horsepower engine with an otherwise-identical Fiat-sourced powerplant which has been modified to produce 180 horsepower, with Lotus bringing in Fiat & Lancia twin-cam expert Guy Croft. Elsewhere, the car's interior has received further upgrades in the form of a racing steering wheel, gear shifter, pedals, and instrumentation, and the exterior has been finished with BBS alloys and a silver pinstripe containing the hammer & sickle symbol of the Soviet Union. In total, it's revealed that 1000 man-hours of work was expended on the car. Hammond then brings Sherwood into the garage, the latter blindfolded before the car's new engine is revved. Sherwood is then shown his new car with the team at Lotus standing proudly alongside it, before being reacquainted with Chris Arnold, whom he personally thanks.

The finished car.

On the whole, Sherwood is overjoyed with his renovated Lada, as is Arnold, who was initially unsure if anything could be done with the car after its alternator failed and wheel trims fell off but as the project developed, saw more and more potential. Hammond shows Sherwood his new engine, explaining to him that Croft is the foremost expert on the Fiat twin-cam and literally "wrote the book" on the subject, before turning to Rob, a Lotus engineer, and commending him for his hard work. Gavan Kershaw is more than willing to throw the tuned Lada around their test track with Sherwood as passenger. The resultant Lotus Lada easily powerslides around the course and is clearly proof that any car can be made sporty with the right amount of work.

Back at the studio, Jeremy Clarkson reveals that the cost of parts and labour totaled £100,000 had Paul Sherwood gone to Lotus himself and requested the upgrades made to his car. Clarkson asks Sherwood to "look" grateful, before making him get on his hands and knees and grovel in front of the team who were present at the studio, much to the audience's merriment and applause.

The News

Series 1, Episode 8 featured the show's 8th installment of The News.

Article 1: Rio Ferdinand's Parking Woes

Jeremy Clarkson begins by talking about a parking ticket which football star Rio Ferdinand had recently received, wherein his Aston Martin Vanquish did not fit the designated lines in which one could park their car. Clarkson criticises how Ferdinand's car was parked "badly" as though it were a competition being judged, and Hammond proposes that there should be incentivisation for good parking, such as a rosette on the windscreen, to which Dawe also suggests free pub tokens.

Article 2: Clarkson's Parking Anecdotes

Whilst on the subject of parking, Jeremy Clarkson follows up the initial story by mentioning that near the Wood Lane studios in London is a multi-storey parking garage that Clarkson uses, which charges it patrons at a rate of £9 per 2 hours, and if an unfortunate customer happens to be just 5 minutes too late, they are charged an additional £9 for their overstay. The week prior, instead of using this garage, Clarkson decided to park in Oxford on double-yellow lines outside where he wanted to be, took his children out for the day, saw Die Another Day in the cinemas, and came back 5 hours later to only pay a £20 fine. Dawe recalls that Clarkson had previously invented what is colloquially known as the "valet park" when the latter used to live in Fulham near a car impound lot. Clarkson would go to town at night, get himself intoxicated before walking home, and wake up the next day to find his car towed back "home" at said nearby lot.

Article 3: Car News

After this, the trio briefly discuss the facelifted Citroën Berlingo Multispace, which Clarkson had previously reviewed in the first episode. The company has just announced a facelift, and although not pretty (with Clarkson comparing the vehicle's styling to Ann Widdecombe being hit in the head with a hammer), is still the same value for money as the old model, as Citroën have decided to continue honouring their "VAT back" deal which means the car can be had for around £8,000 all in. Jason then tries to portray the Vauxhall Astra Turbo in a positive light, much to Clarkson's chagrin. Though cheaper and almost the same power as the Ford Focus RS at £16,000, Clarkson points out that the badge is highly undesirable, with even Dawe about to lament that the 0 - 60 time was lacklustre compared to the Focus RS' predecessor, the Ford Escort Cosworth.

Article 4: Audi TT Gearbox

The final article concerns the Audi TT, which Clarkson had deemed "Uncool" on the show's Cool Wall. Audi have announced a 3.2 litre V6 model will soon be available in showrooms, boasting 240 brake horsepower over the previous model's 225. The car is set to launch with a new transmission type called DSG, which basically entails two separate computer-controlled gearboxes acting as one. Hammond is unsure what this means, so he ordered some press materials from Audi to be sent over, and attempts to explain this before Clarkson takes umbrage with Hammond's presentation style. Attempting to inject "a bit of thesp", Clarkson then has a go at reading aloud the contents of the press release himself before giving up due to struggling to comprehend how this transmission is supposed to function. Looking for an "engineer" in the audience, Clarkson hands the press release to a blue-shirted male member of the audience and asking him to figure out how it works, Clarkson otherwise stating that the car's gearbox does not work due to it being "witchcraft".

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

Back in the 1980s, Hammond states, the most fun a driver could have was in a supermini, with the added benefit of the cars' low speeds preventing the driver from getting in trouble with the law. Since then, superminis have got larger, better equipped and faster, which begs the question as to whether or not a simple, fun-to-drive supermini still exists in 2002. A year earlier, a third of all new cars sold in Great Britain were superminis, and Richard Hammond has decided to see if there is any to fun to be had with the current crop of these cars. To avoid misrepresenting the chosen models, Hammond has gone for the mid-range 1.4 litre petrol options of each respective car. The first car Hammond reviews is the Ford Fiesta. Hammond remarks that because it's a Ford, it has all the interior kit a prospective owner would want, but he lambasts the design of the interior, which he feels is one of the ugliest ever made. The driving feel of the car is also good, and the rear seat space is an improvement over the car's predecessor. At a price of £10,995, the car does come with air conditioning as standard, but fails to innovate both inside and outside. The Citroën C3 is next, and Hammond is more forgiving with this car, praising its funky looks, durability and comfortable ride, as well as its "personality". He suspects that although the interior quality is not up to the standard of the C3's rivals, the rest of the car will be markedly more robust and last in the long run. Conversely, Hammond feels that certain interior aspects were over-engineered for their roles, such as the air vent covers and door handles, and that like the Fiesta, stays too rooted in tradition to move superminis forward.

The superminis in the studio.

After the Citroën comes the Honda Jazz, which Hammond opines has done exceedingly well with its interior space management, feeling more like a mini MPV than a supermini despite an outward appearance of the latter. However, in doing so, the Jazz is not as well-insulated as some of its rivals are, with outside noise being more apparent. To drive, the Jazz also feels top-heavy, and Hammond believes this is a necessary downside a customer must accept if they want space in a supermini. What Hammond considers to be the Honda's biggest downfall is its price, with a mid-range model costing £10,300, for which a CD player and alloy wheels do not come standard. The opposite is true for the Jazz's immediate Japanese rival, the Nissan Micra, which is loaded with standard-fitted gadgets. These include a "Happy Birthday" greeting beamed through the car's in-car-entertainment system, which Hammond feels is rather 'sad'. The Micra is built in Sunderland, the most quality control-obsessed car factory in Europe, and can be had with a CD player, alloys, and keyless ignition for less than the price of an sparsely-equipped Jazz. The car also has automatic windscreen wipers, reverse parking sensors and radio controls on the steering wheel, in addition to climate control. However, for all its positives, the car lacks the raw, gutteral feel of a 1980s supermini. For that, you'd want the MG ZR, which despite its low power output, comes standard with spoilers, spotlights and garish paint colours. Despite its basic 1.4 litre engine, the car provides 105 BHP to its rear wheels for just £10,000, which is far more than any of its rivals. It may be a Rover 200 underneath, which makes itself apparent through its outdated interior, but Hammond feels as though the car has earned its MG badge.

The ZR justifies these credentials by setting a very competitive lap time of 1:34 on a dry test track, 2 seconds faster than its closest rivals, although it is not specified which cars it beat. Once in the studio, it transpires that a Top Gear producer has purchased a Honda Jazz in the same colour as the one Hammond drove; Iris Red (though the colour itself is a metallic shade of bright pink). Hammond and Clarkson come to the conclusion that if one wants the most practical supermini for £10,000 to buy the Jazz in spite of its optional equipment and all the other shortfalls Hammond discussed, and if one wants a fun, cheap hot hatch oriented around performance, to seek out the MG ZR in spite of it being a spruced-up Rover 200.

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 348, much to Clarkson's displeasure), Clarkson compliments Gambon for his work in the 2000 TV miniseries Longitude, which chronicled the life of clockmaker John Harrison. Much like Harrison, Gambon tinkers with clockwork but also flies his own aircraft, where he regales the audience with a humourous tale where he faked a heart attack 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 later appearance on the show, Slater was unable 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 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 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:

Position	Star	Time	Track Conditions
6	Tara Palmer-Tomkinson	1:54	Dry
7	Ross Kemp	1:54	Wet
8	Michael Gambon	1:55	Wet
9	Jonathan Ross	1:57	"Dry" (Wet)
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 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 in the UK in 2002, a new record up by 80,000 in contrast to the year prior, with Ford in first place 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 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 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 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 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 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, 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 "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:

Position	Car	Time	Track Conditions
7	Lotus Elise 111S	1:35	Wet
8	Ferrari 575M Maranello	1:35	Very Wet
9	Aston Martin V12 Vanquish	1:36	Very Wet
10	Maserati Coupé	1:38	Very Wet
11	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 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 Chicago and causing the tyres to emit smoke.

Fastest White Van Driver Results

Position	Driver	Time	Notes
1	Dale	2:02	Awarded 1st place trophy by Dawe
2	Steve	2:03
3	Roger	2:05	"Heating Engineer"
4	John	2:09
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, but will return the week after.

Reception

Contemporary reception to the episode was generally positive on PistonHeads, 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's future, as the Lada segment no doubt helped to inspire Cheap Car Challenges from 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

On FinalGear, Series 1, Episode 8 was received in a lukewarm manner, likely due to episodes which aired later, placing joint-fortieth in the FinalGear Best Episode Poll held from 2004 - 2006 to determine the best episodes of Top Gear at the time. The episode received just 1 of the 231 votes cast.

Reviews

Speaking in August 2010, Estonian critic Kadri Umbleja remarked 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 pilot, which is significantly remembered in any capacity. On IMDb, the episode currently holds 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. On Ratingraph, the episode is ranked 176th out of the 226 episodes listed as of November 2021.

Topgearbox Poll

In September 2015, Series 1, Episode 8 would be voted as the 85th greatest Top Gear episode of all time.

Airing history

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.

United Kingdom

Here is a list of all the times Series 1, Episode 8 aired officially on a BBC-owned television station in the United Kingdom.

Channel	Date	Time	Cut	Definition	Type
	8th December, 2002	20:00	Original	Standard	Premiere

Falkland Islands

In the Falkland Islands, where the channel has always been available for civilian access, Series 1, Episode 8 aired on BFBS 1 in an unmodified format two weeks after it originally aired on BBC Two.

Channel	Date	Time	Cut	Definition	Type
	22nd December, 2002	12:00	Original	Standard	Premiere

Worldwide

Internationally, the episode would first premiere on BBC World on the 29th January 2003, 7 weeks after its UK release. Based on surviving video footage, it appears this episode removed the van power lap challenge and Gambon's lap in the Liana, bridging straight from the super saloon test to Richard Hammond's supermini test. The Lada build challenge is also known to have aired on BBC World. It would then be shown in the Netherlands on Veronica from the 14th of November, 2003, 11 months later, before appearing on BBC Prime at the end of December 2004, and then the likes of TVN Turbo in Poland and NTV in Russia during 2005, the latter in a similarly cut-down form to how the episode was shown on BBC World. The episode would be reshown in a handful of countries thereafter, but would not premiere in many Baltic and Balkan nations such as the Czech Republic, Hungary and Estonia until as late as mid-2009, a full six and a half years after the episode was first shown in the United Kingdom.

Here is a list of all the times Series 1, Episode 8 aired officially on a BBC-owned television station on a worldwide basis, namely BBC World and BBC Prime.

Channel	Date	Time	Cut	Definition	Type
	29th January, 2003	20:30	World Cut	Standard	Premiere
	30th January, 2003	13:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat
	31st January, 2003	17:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat
	1st February, 2003	10:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat
	2nd February, 2003	05:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat
	2nd February, 2003	17:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat
	3rd February, 2003	00:30	World Cut	Standard	Repeat

Trivia

• This episode marked the first time Jeremy Clarkson would acknowledge a schedule disruption, particularly those caused by Snooker events.
• This episode marked the second appearance of Lotus test driver Gavan Kershaw, who had appeared the previous week in order to show Clarkson how to drive the Lotus Elise 111S.
• Following on from the Budget Bond Car in episode 5, this episode contained the series' second Build Challenge.
• Other than Jeremy Clarkson's brief off-road exclusion in the pilot episode, this marked the first time the Suzuki Liana had been significantly damaged by a guest star.
• During Sir Michael Gambon's interview, the sound of GSM interference can briefly be heard, presumably caused by an audience or crew member's mobile phone.