Top gear drives the Smart ED, isn't terribly impressed
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, SMART, UK
[Source: Top Gear]
Posts with tag top-gear
[Source: Top Gear]
Top Gear presenter, Richard Hammond plugs the Th!nk City
Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Th!nk (Think)
Many of you know Richard Hammond from the very popular and amusing show about all things automotive from Britain called Top Gear. Did you know that he is also a columnist for the UK tabloid The Mirror? Neither did I, but apparently that is indeed the case and has been since 2004. On Fridays he "gives his expert insight into the world of motoring, while on Saturday he gives his own irreverent take on the week's news," according to the Mirror's website. The reason I bring this up is because he did a piece the other day on the electric Th!nk city car which is coming to England. In the past, Top Gear has not been especially kind to other electric vehicles they've featured, so I was surprised that he seems to be quite upbeat about the Th!nk. Of course, he hasn't driven it yet but says, "I'll no doubt give the THINK a go..." Hopefully if he does, he'll refrain from blowing it up.
[Source: The Mirror]
Top Gear pits the BMW 535d against the 545i
Prior to 2005, Top Gear blowhard Jeremy Clarkson was not a fan of diesel-powered cars. In fact, until July 2005 no diesel had ever turned a lap on the Top Gear test track. But then Jeremy met the BMW 535d. Although the 535d is a bit heavier than the gas version, Jezza found that it still comported itself remarkably well even on a wet track. The 535d didn't get quite as good mileage being thrashed on the track as it did in the ABG garage but that's to be expected. After Clarkson was done playing by himself, he took on the mighty Stig in a gas V8-powered 545i, and although the V8 beat the six-cylinder diesel, the 535d did remarkably well. Clarkson came away with a newfound respect for modern diesels. Check out the video after the jump.
[Source: eGMCarTech]
VIDEO: G-Wiz takes on an even smaller electric car!
Filed under: Etc., EV/Plug-in
If you've been paying any attention at all, you'll be aware that we hold the G-Wiz electric quadricycle in the same sort of "high" regard that Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson does. What more can be said about a "car" that implodes in a standard crash test and goes from naught to 40mph in "quite a while"? Apparently, the Top Gear crew felt that in spite of it's "sparkling" performance racing against a table (although it did come out much worse than the table in the crash test) there was still room for improvement. They added some extra batteries, and a radio control setup and ran it against a Mustang Shelby GT on the drag-strip where it performed admirably for once. To evaluate the handling of the upgraded G-Wiz, they handed the controller to The Stig for a competition against Richard Hammond and a more conventional radio controlled truck. Check out the results after the jump.
[Source: Top Gear, YouTube]
VIDEO: Jeremy Clarkson goes from London to Edinburgh and back on one tank of diesel in an Audi A8
Filed under: Diesel, MPG, Audi
Our favorite British automotive blow-hard, one Jeremy Clarkson, is usually out to prove just how fast cars can go. During one episode of Top Gear he changed direction to see just how economically he could make the round trip from London to Edinburgh in an Audi A8 TDI. The A8 is equipped with a 4.2L twin turbo diesel V-8 that puts out 326hp and pushes the big A8 to 60 mph in 6 seconds. Under normal conditions, Audi says, the A8 will get about 17.5 mpg (U.S.). In order to make the trip on a single tank Clarkson would have to average about 33.6 mpg for the 800 mile journey. He filled the tank in London with 23.8 US gallons of diesel and set off to try some hypermiling. If you enjoy seeing Jeremy Clarkson in discomfort as he tries to avoid unnecessary stops that would add to fuel consumption check out the video after the jump.
[Source: GermanCarBlog, thanks to Christian for the tip]
Funniest Top Gear video EVER! (Jeremy Clarkson in the Peel P50)
Filed under: Etc.
In what is easily the funniest car review Top Gear has ever done, the above video shows Jeremy Clarkson trying out the Peel P50, the smallest production car in the world. I don't want to give away too much but when I saw someone else in the elevator, I could not stop laughing. Below the fold is a video with a better look at the Peel sports car.
[Source: YouTube]
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