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The Top Gear Megathread! Mark II
- Thread starter CortexRock
- Start date
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Big-TDI-Guy
macrumors 68030
I only recently started watching Top Gear - thanks to Amazon Prime, got me hooked. Saw the US variant - and it was terrible up and down, it was... dry - it just did not peel my banana in any sort.
Then I get to hear about all the new episodes from my buddies across the pond, and wonder when I can join in on the fun.
Impatient, yes. Fanboy? Oh man I hope not. 🙁
Then I get to hear about all the new episodes from my buddies across the pond, and wonder when I can join in on the fun.
Impatient, yes. Fanboy? Oh man I hope not. 🙁
iJohnHenry
macrumors P6
Sorry, I guess I'm not clued-in on how bad being one is.
I used to watch the Brit show all the time, on PBS.
If they wrap commercials around the Brit version, it will run over 30 minutes.
If they chop it all up, it will become disjointed.
CWallace
macrumors G5
BBC America now shows the new series within weeks of it ending in the UK. The current series, which started on 3 July in the UK, will air in the US starting on 22 August.
BBC America also makes the episodes available on iTunes - in HD, no less - about 24 hours after their first airing and you can purchase a Season pass. And the episodes are uncut (in terms of content).
While the episodes do not have the same music as the UK broadcasts, this is due to the BBC having a license to play any piece of music within the UK. But they do keep what they can.
Or just buy the soundtrack to TRON: Legacy and play it in the background, since that has been the music for all the episodes so far this Series. 🙂
I just download the episodes from Usenet and am watching them an hour or 2 after they air in the UK. The ethics of that can be debated, but I'm not waiting months for an edited, non-HD version to air on BBC America.
Signal-11
macrumors 65816
An uncut episode of Top Gear UK typically runs 60-65 minutes without commercials. A full episode of Top Gear UK, padded with the typical 9 minutes of advertising per half hour would last about an hour and a half.
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iJohnHenry
macrumors P6
I'd hang on to that enthusiasm, if I were you. 😉
The guys with the deep pockets are trying to piss on your corn flakes. 😡
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...c-to-regulate-netflix-service/article1985547/
DollFaceDork
macrumors 6502
I really want to go and see top gear in the studio. Only problem is you cannot buy tickets... You have to be chosen ):
CWallace
macrumors G5
And now we got 'The Car Show' with Adam Corolla, who was previously scheduled to be on the USA Top Gear before the cast got changed.
I was reading the thread on the Autocar website and a poster called Lesia44 summed it up for me, so much so, I'm going to save myself the time and just quote them. 😉
The previous weeks episode was thoroughly enjoyable though, even if something didn't quite add up with the McLaren's time, I know the McLaren was part developed at Dunsfold but there's no way whatsoever, on any track that it's the best part of 3 seconds a lap quicker than a 458. In the hands of Plato on Fifth Gear, and at Dunsfold too, the Ferrari was a tenth quicker... I was reading a comment on the Autoblog website that suggested that the McLaren was fitted with particularly trick rubber for the Top Gear test, which perhaps explains the rather unbelievable time difference in this instance.
Lesia44 said:
The previous weeks episode was thoroughly enjoyable though, even if something didn't quite add up with the McLaren's time, I know the McLaren was part developed at Dunsfold but there's no way whatsoever, on any track that it's the best part of 3 seconds a lap quicker than a 458. In the hands of Plato on Fifth Gear, and at Dunsfold too, the Ferrari was a tenth quicker... I was reading a comment on the Autoblog website that suggested that the McLaren was fitted with particularly trick rubber for the Top Gear test, which perhaps explains the rather unbelievable time difference in this instance.
robbieduncan
Moderator emeritus
The McLaren is available with a factory option of road legal semi-slick track tyres (possibly Toyo R888 or Yokohama A048). The Ferrari is not. As such the test is somewhat valid as the manufacturers normally supply cars with non-standard options like larger wheels etc.
It is worth noting that when Evo magazine tested the two the at Bedford Autodrome the Ferrari was faster on it's standard road tyres round the track than the McLaren was on it's option track tyres although they considered this unfair so their primary time list for the McLaren is on it's standard road tyres (even slower).
Edit: Checked the track tyres: they are Pirelli Corsa
Like pretty much any performance car, I believe you can option both Corsa's and Cups on the 458 or pretty much any rubber so long as its OEM sized.
I don't read Evo magazine, but if that is in fact the case, then there's definitely something suss with the McLaren's time around the Top Gear track.
Makes you wonder whether this particular car was in fact fully road legal as driven, or whether this attempt was more like Jaguar disconnecting the cats, removing the limiter and taping up panel gaps when trying to translate the XJ-220 name into mph. 😉
That said, I'm not surprised it's slower if the footage of Plato driving it is anything to go buy, it looked dreadful to drive. 😱
Doesn't look particularly great either.
robbieduncan
Moderator emeritus
No idea on the Top Gear car. The times for it seem implausibly fast. The Evo tests were conducted using cars they had had for a few days and had been driving a lot so likely no secret tweeks or fettling. Both McLaren and Ferrari sent full teams of engineers to support the cars for their track times! Evo have videos of both (and the Noble M600 they tested against the them online):
Ferrari F458 (1:19.3, peak speed 120.0mph)
McLaren MP4-12C (1:20.6, peak speed 120.9mph)
Noble M600 (1:20.8, peak speed 121.8mph)
combatcolin
macrumors 68020
Indeed, so fast in fact that it wouldn't be surprising if the car was running additional boost or non-production ECU mapping. Given how McLaren have been hyping the MP4-12C, I suspect that they simply weren't prepared to risk not appearing to be the quicker of the two on the worlds most popular car show.
Some quarters of the UK motoring press appeared somewhat bemused that Ferrari took such things so seriously (and criticised them as such) for sending engineers to ensure that the very best time was achieved (in other magazine tests). It'll be interesting to see whether the same criticism is levelled at McLaren.
Brilliant links, not seen those. The 458 looks edgy but absolutely sublime on the limit, every clip I've seen of the MP4-12C, makes it look like it suffers from a case of the tank slappers. 😱
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
I liked the Jag on rails, but the train segment was a bit stupid overall. I'm a huge fan of Rowan Atkinson of course, so that was a big highlight for me. Lady Blackadder pointed out that Atkinson looked slow, but like Vettel the other week, it was because he drove so smoothly the car looked completely settled all the way around. Well done, sir. 😀
That 540hp Jaguar looked awful, the spoiler and body kit are silly. The GTR made a good lap too, I saw one the other day up here in Alaska and was admiring it.
The BBC America version is insultingly bad. I can understand UK colloquialisms, European political references and so forth....is it really that hard? I don't need anything cult or altered. The "Americanizing" of the show infuriates me, frankly. For anyone looking into the show for the first time, I recommend watching the original UK broadcast versions or nothing at all.
I think it's pretty lame that auto manufacturers find it necessary to lie about performance figures and supply specially prepped "ringer" test cars with teams of professional mechanics and computer gurus in order to put up numbers that can't be acheived in real-world driving with a production example, even on a track...Ferrari is very guilty of this but they are by no means alone. Manufacturers will go to great lengths to prevent exposing their product to an apples-to-apples comparison with a similar product another manufacturer.
McLaren switching to semi-slicks is the oldest trick in the book to improve performance numbers and it really ruins any hope of comparison. Of course, Top Gear is not remotely objective either.
The 458 looks better than the McLaren, the latter being a bit boring.
That 540hp Jaguar looked awful, the spoiler and body kit are silly. The GTR made a good lap too, I saw one the other day up here in Alaska and was admiring it.
The BBC America version is insultingly bad. I can understand UK colloquialisms, European political references and so forth....is it really that hard? I don't need anything cult or altered. The "Americanizing" of the show infuriates me, frankly. For anyone looking into the show for the first time, I recommend watching the original UK broadcast versions or nothing at all.
I think it's pretty lame that auto manufacturers find it necessary to lie about performance figures and supply specially prepped "ringer" test cars with teams of professional mechanics and computer gurus in order to put up numbers that can't be acheived in real-world driving with a production example, even on a track...Ferrari is very guilty of this but they are by no means alone. Manufacturers will go to great lengths to prevent exposing their product to an apples-to-apples comparison with a similar product another manufacturer.
McLaren switching to semi-slicks is the oldest trick in the book to improve performance numbers and it really ruins any hope of comparison. Of course, Top Gear is not remotely objective either.
The 458 looks better than the McLaren, the latter being a bit boring.
Lord Blackadder
macrumors P6
I have to put up my hand here and say that I get bored when they deviate too far from the "car show" format...Clarkson has explicitly said he wants the show to be entertaining to a 12 year-old, but I don't want Top Gear to be a general entertainment or variety show that just happens to have cars in it...but I know what I'm getting into by watching so I will say no more.
The Jensen Interceptor bit was particularly bad for me to watch because I like the Interceptor but a) consider the updated car they showcased to be a very expensive way to ruin a classic car and b) the video montage was over-long and spoiled the joke.
I do think the 'staches were funny, I'll admit that.
The Jensen Interceptor bit was particularly bad for me to watch because I like the Interceptor but a) consider the updated car they showcased to be a very expensive way to ruin a classic car and b) the video montage was over-long and spoiled the joke.
I do think the 'staches were funny, I'll admit that.
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