31x04 - Episode 4

[bunniefuu]

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, welcome to Top Gear,

where we've got a proper treat of
a show lined up for you.

Tonight, each of us gets to do

something truly extraordinary

and I'm talking
proper bucket-list stuff.

I drive the world's rarest supercar.

Chris drives an actual time machine

and Fred drives to Lincolnshire.
LAUGHTER

Living the dream.

But we kick off with a review.

Isn't that right, Christopher?

Yes.

There's a new supercar out
there from Aston Martin

and it's like no supercar
seen before,

and, rather, irritatingly,

they sent Patrick McGuinness
to drive it.

LAUGHTER

Meet Victor.

A hulking, brooding brute
of a machine...

ENGINE REVS

..that's part '80s muscle car,

part futuristic racer.

It is seriously powerful.

It's seriously rare.

It's everything you could possibly
want from a supercar.

Just look at it.

This might be the best-looking
car I've ever seen.

In fact, I think it might be
the best-looking thing

I've ever seen.

And when I said it was powerful,
I wasn't lying -

836 horsepower.

And when I said it was rare,

this is the only one
that will ever be built.

And the man who owns it has kindly
lent it to us.

OK.

I'd better be careful...

..ish.

ENGINE REVS

h*-h*-h*!

ENGINE REVS LOUDER

CAR SCREECHES

Oh, my word!

This is not right!

He's gone mad.

He's gone absolutely mad!

Upfront, the Victor's packing
a stonking great V12.

Weighing in at a massive 7.3
litres...

Four turbos for efficiency.

No hybrid for economy.

..Victor is an absolute old-school
monster.

As for how fast this monster
will run, though,

because it's a one-off,

nobody quite knows.

But what I can tell you is this.

I'll get my 60 in first gear...

..90 in second...

..120 in third...

..and I've still got three gears
to go!

Please, Louise!

So, in conclusion, nought to 60,
very, very small number,

max speed, very, very big number.

Right.

Enough of that now.

Time to give the old ticker a rest.

So, what on earth is this
Victor, then?

The wild performance is pure
21st century...

..but the way it goes about it
is savagely primitive.

Take the interior, a steering wheel
from the Millennium Falcon,

but a gear nob from an old
walnut tree.

None of it makes sense.

Until, that is, you understand
the decades of Aston history

that have been poured into it.

Think of the Victor as
Aston Martin's greatest ace.

This is the ultimate compilation,

the looks are pure old-school
muscle.

In fact, the designers took
inspiration

from this - the 1970s race car
nicknamed The Muncher.

Then we went to the 1980s
and the V8 Vantage road car.

And, looking at this, you can
already see the family resemblance.

Then, underneath, we go all
21st-century Aston

with the One-77 supercar,

same chassis, same engine,
but with extra power.

And to finish it all off,
same steering wheel and suspension

as the Vulcan racer.

Of course, to put it another way,
you might say the Victor

is just a big mashup of reheated
Aston leftovers.

But trust me.

Get properly stuck in, and you soon
find that as leftovers go,

these are very, very tasty.

Oh!

Man!

Whoa! Ha-ha-ha-ha!

Woo!

Woohoo!

Yeah!

That's what we're talking about.

Oh!

The steering, the ride,

the way it puts its power down,

this doesn't feel like a mashup.

This thing is proper!

CAR SCREECHES

Woo-hoo-hoo!

Yeah, ha-ha-ha! Hey!

That is mad!

But it isn't half as mad as
what the thing costs.

Now, let's be honest, you're not
going to be disappointed

if this thing is very expensive.

Oh, trust me, you're not
going to be disappointed.

Because the Victor costs...

..£4 million.

And who cares?
They've only made one!

All right.

If you're going to be all boring
and rational,

you could, for the price of one
Victor,

have 20 new McLarens
and go just as fast.

But forget boring and rational,

it's a supercar!

It's not supposed to make sense.

Come on!

Oh, my word!

Let's face it, these bonkers, crazy,
expensive supercars

are meant to be ridiculous.

They're meant to be daft.

I absolutely love this car!

And the Victor,

well, it's the daftest of the lot.

Do you know, I love that stuff
like this exists,

and I love that I got
the chance to drive it.

But most of all, I love
that it's still in one piece.

Victor, it's been a pleasure.

HE EXHALES

Absolute work of art.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Wow. Wow.

That, for me, is what an
Aston Martin should look like.

It's a muscle car.

It does look amazing, but even
for a one-off, four million quid -

that's bonkers, Pad.

Yeah, but the price literally
doesn't matter.

They're only making this one.

And it's already sold,
so you can't even buy it.

Just enjoy it.

I'm not comfortable saying this,

but I agree with McGuinness.
LAUGHTER

Hoo-hoo-hoo!

It may be a load of old
Aston bits underneath,

when it looks like this,

it's brilliant. Exactly.

And now we must move on
because Freddie Flintoff

has as an itch to scratch.

I thought that had cleared up.

I do feel the need to explain now,
Paddy,

because ever since I started
Top Gear,

there's one thing I've wanted to do.

I've wanted to learn to race
properly,

to become a qualified racing driver.

Kind of like what Chris does.

Oh, so you're saying
that I'm your idol?

I am not saying that AT ALL.

Get that straight out of your head.

What I wanted to know was,

can you turn a middle-aged
ex-cricketer with a dodgy knee

into a proper, serious racing
driver?

So I went to find out.

I've had a fascination with speed
ever since I can remember,

whether it's cars or cricket ba*ls,

I want everything to be fast.

It's dangerous.

You feel vulnerable,
you feel alive.

Rather than say, why do you want to
drive fast?

Why would anybody not want to?

To become a racing driver,

first, you need a licence,

and that means you have
to take a test.

Mine would be in just two days'
time.

So to get up to speed,

I'd be getting a crash course
in racing from the experts.

Ginetta is a British road
and race car manufacturer,

one whose
Driver Development Programme

has produced the likes of W Series
champion Jamie Chadwick

and McLaren F1 star Lando Norris.

This is a company with a serious
reputation.

One that I'd be trying my best
not to ruin

as I arrived at the Blyton Park
test track

to meet top trainer Mike Simpson.

Wow.

Hi, Mike. This is proper, isn't it?

It is, morning, Fred.

How are you doing? All right?

Welcome.

I've done a few track days
and you turn up

and there are some nice cars out,

but these are proper
racing cars.

This is what we do for a living.

We start off 14-year-old kids

actually straight from karting,
in our school in the G40.

I'm not going in that, am I?
You're not going in that.

We're going to skip a step

and go straight into
the GT4 level G55,

which is a thoroughbred race car.

Have you seen this show before,
Mike?

I have. Yeah, yeah.

Have you seen me in a car? I have.

Yeah, that's why I'm here.
Oh, good. Yeah.

I just thought we should clear
that up.

No, it was fine. I trust you.
I trust you, Fred.

It's not often I hear them
words near a car.

The G55 is designed to give
drivers like me

the first taste of a proper race
car.

Its 3.7 litre V6 produces 270
horsepower,

which doesn't sound like a lot.

But coupled to a full race-spec
gearbox

in a car that weighs just 1,100
kilos,

it gives you plenty to think about.

Oh, my word.

Go for it!

I'm looking for my racing licence.

When I started this job,
this is one thing I wanted to do.

I don't know why I didn't
expect it to be so fast.

But I've got two days before I go
for my test.

It's brilliant, but at the same
time,

I'm aware that I've put myself
under quite a bit of pressure here.

Down to third.

The other thing for me is
I want to be decent at it,

so I'm going to have a real go
at this.

Nose in.

Your line discipline is very good.

Don't be fooled, I'm not
a complete muppet.

Getting to grips with the car
on a damp and slippery track,

Mike needed to see what he was
really working with,

and that meant going solo

to lay down my first lap time.

Rome wasn't built in a day.

Preston might have been.

Three, two, one, go!

Whoa.

That was a messy start.

We're on the gas, don't chase
it now

because you've had a bad start.

Now get braking.
Get off the brakes.

I'm in... Can he hold it?

Oh, I've held it, I've held it!

I felt like I was going too fast,
but we're all right.

Yes, there we go!

We've got the nose of the car.

1:24.7.

We can work with that for sure.

Baseline established, it was time
for the real training to begin.

Second, off the brake.

Feed it in.

Go. Hard now, in a straight line.

Now we're talking.

Want to be braking about now.

Starting to come away from the
brake.

On the power.

Woohoo! Go on, then!

I did feel a bit twitchy at some
times

and I got out of it, but...
Where is he?

Not 100% sure how I got out of it.

Control the throttle.

Now.

Yes, no, brilliant!

"It's going well, isn't it?"
I go, "Cheers, mate!"

Not a clue.

Squeeze the power, start to wind
the steering off.

Go, go, go.

Off the brake, second.

Feed it in. Catch it
if you need to, catch it! Argh!

So close!

It's starting to look quite
aggressive,

where, before, you sort of had
a lift,

then braked a bit and then
braked a bit more,

where, now, you're flat out.

Bang!

And that's how a racing driver acts.

I think I need to get faster,
but in a controlled manner.

And I know I've only been doing
it for a morning,

but now I've only got
a day and a half left.

And just to add to the pressure,

the afternoon session would be
soaking.

You wouldn't be on the pitch
at Lords, would you, like this?

Oh, I'd be well gone by now.

I'm a cricketer. We don't do rain.

A little bit aggressive on
the turning,

just turned it a little sharp there.

That was a kerb, wasn't it?
Yeah, a bit of kerb.

The biggest challenge for Fred
is going to be

to understand how much
he can ask of the car.

He'll need to go through a little
bit of pain out there

and make some mistakes for him to
feel it

and figure out where he needs to be.

Nearly the barrier.

Ah!

He will be a racing driver
at the end of this.

Day two of training,

and with just 24 hours to go
until the licence test,

Harris wanted to check in
on my progress.

I was so pleased when I saw
the sun this morning

when I opened my curtains. Yeah.
I don't want more rain.

Here he is.

Look at it, boy racer.
Popping and banging.

Hi. How are you? Good. How are you?
Really good, actually.

Really good. Enjoyed it?

I enjoyed it more than I thought
I was going to.

I thought I'd like it,
but I've really liked it.

OK, weather today's balmy,
yesterday?

Oh, it was dreadful.
Just dreadful.

Excuse, you work on the excuse.
I like it, Mike.

I'm just giving you the facts,
giving you the facts.

He did a great job.

We put him through his paces.
It was a test of my skills.

Did you find yourself having to take
it quite seriously,

or more seriously than you expected?
I was really focused.

There's no messing about, really.

What I didn't do, I didn't just go
gung-h* at the start.

I started... Normally, what you do
is you go 110%

and then ramp it back.

Back, yeah. I went the other way
this time.

OK, well, I'm loving this.
Well, Fred, at the end of this,

and I can't believe I'm saying it...
Say it.

You're going to be a racing driver.

Well, you know, cricketer,
boxer... Yeah.

..musical theatre, actor... Yeah.

..philanthropist.
What's that...?

What's that word for...?

Philanthropist. That's the one,
charity. Yeah.

What's the one...? What's the...?

What's the word where he does
businesses?

Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur.
Yeah.

Right. I'm going to leave you to it.
No, no, no, no, no. No, you're not.

Why? You're going to put a lap down
so I've got something to aim at.

OK, so what lap time did you manage
yesterday in the wet?

He did a 1:24.7.

Go and get ready.

I was going to have a cup of coffee,
but now I'm... OK.

Want me to warm the car up for you,
Chris? Yes, please, Fred.

That's what us racing drivers do,
isn't it?

Come on, Fred.

Three, two, one, go!

CAR SCREECHES

Oh, he's having a right go at
it, look at him!

This is fast, isn't it?

Second gear at the chicane,
so he got a good exit.

This is the technical little
bit. Got to get an apex.

Sacrifice a bit in the middle.

Then go wide open...

I'm standing back.

I don't want to be anywhere near
this.

Oh.

I've always had a respect
for Chris Harris, of course I have.

Probably even more so now.

I've been doing a bit of this.

He bangs on about it, doesn't he?

Me and Paddy just humour him.

Well, now, I'm starting to think,
"Fair play, Chris.

"You're actually really good
at this, aren't you?"

Hazard a guess?

13, 14. Somewhere there.

No, you're quicker than that.

What? 1:11.78.

I think we've given you something
to aim for.

If I get anywhere near that,
I'll be over the moon. I know.

That's a serious challenge, is that.
He's saying it's quick.

No. No, you'll get in there.
Well, we've got some work to do.

Harris had just gone round 13
seconds faster

than anything I've managed so far.

But now, with a dry track to play
with,

it was time to see how close Mike
could get me

to that 1:11 benchmark.

So hell of a lot for grip.

Power, power.

The hardest bit is I've got to put
it all together in one lap

and then do it again and again
and again.

That was a 15:0.

A little quick.
Catch it, catch it, catch it.

CAR SCREECHES

Racing requires consistency.

And with training time almost up,

the only way to get that would be to
head out on my own and focus.

Three, two, one, go!

A little bit of a touch on the
brake. Bring it round.

One of the things I've found
is if I talk through it...

Mind that kerb, it's a big one!

..almost commentate to me own
driving, it helps me concentrate.

Into fifth. Now on the brake.

I'm thinking about what gear I'm in,

my speed going into corners, my
lines - if I talk through it,

I'm almost planning it.

Don't go chasing Harris -
just drive.

This is a very different
Andrew Flintoff.

It's measured and controlled.

Now out.

Go, go, go!

What did he get? 1:13.08.

That's not bad. It's not bad at all.

Go!

Better start.

I've got to correct...
Keep concentrating.

This looks nice! This is quick.
Go on, Freddie!

13.09.

Go!

I think that was really good.
Yeah.

Not too shabby.

Nice. I think there was less messing
about there. Yeah.

Don't back off.

I think that was a better lap.

13.07. So that's where he's at.

Yeah. That's where he's at, 13.07.

Three laps within a tenth and a
half. That's impressive, actually.

So, that's it, training's over.
Top job, as far as I'm concerned.

The fact that you were consistent is
everything. That's right, that's

what a racing driver's job is -
consistency is how you win a race.

The next stage now is to get
the licence.

You've got to be official.
Exam time.

I'm going to swot up tonight, Chris.

My test would take place the next
afternoon at Donington Park.

The exam itself is split into two
parts -

practical and, first up, theory.

Hello. Hello.

My name is Stuart Jones,
I'm your examining instructor today.

OK, Stuart, I'm Fred.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't
a little bit nervous.

I've learnt all the flags. I hope.

First section, second
section, third section,

you have to get 100%. Yeah.

Fourth section, you've got to get

five out of the eight questions
right, OK?

I've been looking to find out
what else I can revise

for the other questions.

And it seems you can't.

It's the first time I've been
in a forum, trying to find out

but, no, they just say it's common
sense and things you should know.

The things that I SHOULD know...

..aren't quite right sometimes!

HE READS QUIETLY

Are you confident?

Relatively.

All right, well, we'll put that in
for marking now, and then we'll go

get suited up,
and we'll go do our practical.

OK. Thank you.

I was banking on that being the
easy bit.

This is the hard bit now,
on the track.

And look at the weather -
the clouds are coming in.

We don't need none of that. It looks
like the end of the world

down there. We need to get out.

Um, yeah, this is the bit
I'm more nervous about.

The practical test plays out
over three laps.

Stuart will be assessing every
aspect of my driving,

looking to make sure I had the
control not to pose a risk to myself

or other racers.

Things that will fail you
instantly is

if I have to take control
of the car,

if you run off the circuit,

if you miss a flag or a light

and I have to tell you about it,

or if you k*ll me.

FREDDIE CHUCKLES
OK?

That's an instant failure,

and I will haunt you afterwards.

OK. Green light tells us
that the track is live.

OK, make sure you check
for other people on the circuit.

We're all good.

Stuart would give me a couple
of laps to get to know the track.

And then...

..we begin!

Right, you're on, go, go, go, go!

Three good laps, Fred.

Coming in... I've got this one,
coming round.

A little bit... And break...
Drop gear.

Onto the brake, drop down,

look for the apex, seen it,
going in.

Onto the accelerator.

Braking, looking out there,

I'm going to clip this kerb.

Bit of a lift...

Coming out, coming out, feeding it.
One more lap, Fred.

Onto the brake.

Now I'm turning in. Down into third,

coming round, coming round.

Now I'm out of it.
Get on, get on, get on!

I can see the apex, I'm coming in.

Middle of the track.

I'm on it.

Get in the pit lane this time, pit
lane this time.

Nice and easy into pit lane.

OK, so from a practical
point of view, um,

you were definitely consistent.

I was watching you,

your head's moving all the time,
which is superb.

You're looking through the corner,
you're looking at your mirrors,

you're very aware
of what's going on.

You ticked all the boxes for you to
pass your practical test. Amazing.

We just need to see whether we've
got you through your theory now.

OK.

Right. All right.

So, section one.

Yeah.

Uh, there was... You got 15 right.

Yes.
And you needed to get 15 right.

So that was a pass.

Section two, you got three right,
and you needed to get

three right. Oh, thank God for that.

I didn't sound many, three, did it?!

Section three, again, you got
all the questions right on that.

On your last one, which was sort of
your general knowledge....

..I'm pleased to say you passed.

Oh, get in! High five it,
high five it, Stu!

Get in! I can race!

Come on! I didn't pass me driving
test till t'third time.

Oh, he tells me that now! Brew time.

Oh, of course, I'll make them.

Did anybody ask for a racing driver?

I don't know. I don't know.
I don't know. Well done!

APPLAUSE
Thank you. Thank you.
I'm so relieved.

Yeah, I actually drove all right
there as well.

But to get a racing licence is one
thing.

To call yourself a racing driver
is a whole new game.

INDISTINCT COMMENTARY

This is the GT Cup Championship -
a Pro-Am series that sees grids

of over 30 cars racing side-by-side.

For my first ever race,

I'd be sharing a track with Lambos,
Porsches, McLarens and Astons.

And raising the stakes even higher,

the car I'D be driving had gone up
a level too.

It's called the GT4.

It looks a lot like the old GTA,

but this one has
100 more horsepower,

bigger brakes, more aero
and slick tyres.

What all that meant was

free practice was an eye-opener.

Cars everywhere!

come on, off you go.

Oh, you BLEEP!

He was giving me nothing, that lad!

I was battling it. I really was -
myself, the car,

everything that's going on.

I see YOU!

BLEEP!

Come on, Fred, you're better
than this.

I expected it to be hard.

Not this hard.

Jesus!

Feeling way out of my depth,

and about as far from competitive
as I'd been since we started,

Mike was doing his best to find
some good in my performance.

So you did a 14:05. It's good.
Good progress.

You started on a 23,
so good progress.

A 2 minute 14 second
lap time was all well and good,

but it didn't take a genius
to work out

that to even get up to the back
of the pack,

I'd need to find nearly ten seconds.

I'm in the deep end, aren't I?
I need to start swimming.

At the minute,
I'm treading water, I think.

But, with qualifying up next,
which would decide where in the pack

I'd be startin the race,

in all honesty, I was just fighting
to keep my head ABOVE water.

Too much speed.

Calm yourself down.

You're driving like a road car,
you don't like that.

Think like a driver.

You're no longer a cricketer,
that ship has sailed, son.

One's off. He's got his bonnet open
as well.

Oh, you absolute BLEEP!

Making it through
just about unscathed...

BLEEP!

I had qualified two places
off the back of the grid.

For the race itself, me and Harris
would be driving as a team,

each getting a 25-minute stint
at the wheel.

As I would be heading out first,
while the pit crews were

hard at work, prepping the cars for
the main event,

I went to compare notes
with my team-mate.

It's just a bit of a sensory
overload.

You know, you've got all
these people, all these cars,

all these noises. I don't know if
embarrassed is the right word,

but you've got all these people here
for you.

And then you're thinking,
"Am I doing all right here?"

Let's face it, normally
in your other life,

you just rock up, smash it,

it's easy cos you can just deploy

ball skills, coordination,

bit of confidence. This is a
bit more involved,

there's a lot more going on.

You can't just... It's inconceivable

that you just rock up and smash
this.

If your noggin isn't quite engaged
and you're a reasonable driver,

that can be the difference between
ten positions on a race day.

What's your trademark?
Follow the person that's fast.

Yeah? Is that it? Yeah!

You're like the lad who copied
homework, aren't you?!

Oh, absolutely.

What I REALLY wanted was to see
how close I could get

to a competitive time.

One minute, boys, till we can
start queuing up.

Ready?

Yeah. All good.

Maybe if I could somehow stay
in touch, I might even give Harris

the chance to fight for places.

But that was just the wish list.

The only REAL question was, would
all the training and the testing

and the practice count for anything
when it mattered?

You can see just how warm it is
here at Snetterton, as the cars

are heading out onto the grid.

Lot of cars for little Snetterton.
Lots of very, very, very fast cars!

Here they come, the big boys
are coming through.

WHISTLE BLOWS

This is bonkers.

How do I get myself into these
situations?

I need a wee.

OK, Fred, all looking good?

Yeah, all good, thanks, mate.

Stay out of trouble on that first
lap. Let them all go off around you.

Just stay out of trouble
on that first lap. Will do, boss.

Come on, Freddie, lad,
time to shine.

See what you've got.

So off they head on their final
formation lap, let's guide you

through the grid and the starting
drivers.

Don't stall it, don't stall it.
He's rolling,

he's rolling, he's rolling.

He's away!

Go on, Frederick!
Number three, Charlotte Gilbert

starts alongside car number 19,

which is James Hilary. The 17th row

of the grid is number six,
Alex Stevenson,

alongside car number ten,

it's a new entry for
the team HARD Ginetta,

in the hands of Freddie Flintoff.

Oh, there's a bit of traffic out on
this course, look at all the cars!

Ooh, nerves! I'd love if there was a
heart rate monitor on,

this is a man who famously
is ice cool,

but I suspect he's up in the 150s
now! Oh, dripping with sweat.

When we come round these corners

for the next time,
we're going to be off.

They start to get themselves into
neat two by two order.

Red, red, red, red,
red, red, red, red.

Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

Round eight of the 2021 GT Cup
Championship gets under way.

There's two come in besides.

Contact, and that's John Seale,

who's gone into the back
of John Dillon.

They're all at it, these lads!

Braking, braking! Let's stay
in that pack, Freddie boy!

Come on, Fred!

I'd survived the first lap,
but with that 2:14 practice run

still ringing in my ears,
it was time to get my head down

and use the rest of my stint
to see how much faster I could go.

Get in your rhythm.

Hanging on there, Jeez!

That is the fastest I've taken that.

Whoa! Come on!

40.6, first sector.
That's his quickest first sector.

You have the weekend already. Yeah.

That's as quick as some
of these up here, look. Yeah.

You little get!

Oh, another one.
Stay there, you, stay there.

Come on!

2:08.5. Wow!

Oh, well done, lads.

Power, come on.

He's just been overtaken by a couple
of cars,

but, crucially for Fred,
he can see what's ahead of him.

He starts to follow stuff,

and when he's got something
to follow, he goes quicker.

If we could just have a car in front
of us

with an Australian batsman
on the back of it...

He'd have that record, wouldn't he?

..he'd be at it like a rat.
He would.

RADIO: OK, Fred, there's about
15 minutes remaining.

Thanks, mate.

The clock was ticking
down to my handover to Harris,

and I was starting to find
my stride.

Wow. Mega.

39.4... Look up here!
..in the first sector.

39's up here, look.

This is a mega lap, this.

Come on...

He's hanging on here, isn't he?

2:05! That's amazing.
That's perfect.

That's his best lap by two seconds.
Two seconds, yeah.

Come on, Fred, 2:05.7. So, fastest
lap - well, your fastest lap ever.

Freddie Flintoff has done
a fantastic job

over the course of this weekend,

and picked up
more and more and more pace.

But this is racing, and I was about
to be reminded

that your luck can change
in an instant.

ENGINE SPLUTTERS

Car's playing up.

RADIO: OK, mate. We've got about
six turns until your stop.

Just hold out till then.

Just getting into it.

Agh!

And into the pit lane
they start to pour.

Well, he's just done a 2:08,

but the car went past didn't
sound so good.

Box this lap, Fred, box this lap.
Box, box, box.

Into the pit lane comes
Freddie Flintoff.

How bad's the engine, Fred?

Is it dead?
As soon as you get in fifth

and you get your foot to the floor
when it gets to the top end,

it just starts misfiring.

Just see how you think, Chris.

Agh!

Chris Harris at the wheel
of the GTA Ginetta

can make his way into the race.

ENGINE RATTLES
Oh, I've got a big old misfire.

This is going to be a fairly torrid
few laps, I think.

Yeah, this is not drivable now.

So sorry, but that is not drivable.

Just two laps into Harris's stint...

ENGINE WHINES

Got nothing.

It's just died.

..our race was over.

Here he is, he's gone!

Oh, what a disappointment!

Sorry, Fred.

Retirement for the number 10
Ginetta.

a sorry end to the weekend

for Freddie Flintoff
and Chris Harris.

So, that is the other side
of racing for Andrew Flintoff.

Sometimes it happens like that -

but Fred did so well,

actually, it is what it is,
isn't it?

And I'm really pleased for him.
I don't feel that sad at all.

Strange feeling.

Normally I'd be throwing
my helmet around, but I'm not.

So, that was disappointing,
but, selfishly...

..I'm actually quite pleased.

All my career, I've struggled
with debuts.

I've never thought I've done
myself justice

when I've done something
for the first time.

I reckon this is my best debut
I've ever had -

and we didn't finish.

Whether that's a reflection of how
bad the other ones are

or how this one went, I don't care.

From where I was, so nervous,
not wanting to put my foot down

and worrying about
the limits of the car,

I was hoping that summat
would happen at some point

where it'd all be put together,

and it seemed to.

I can race! Come on!

You know, I'm still not
the fastest -

I'm probably still one of
the slowest -

but from where I started,
for me, that was an achievement,

and, for a moment, probably two
or three laps out there,

I did feel like a driver.

I'm not going to spray
any champagne,

but what a weekend.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Gutted. Me too. Gutted.

So much fun.

So much fun. That is racing.

Gutted.

I'm gutted for you.
Look, you didn't finish the race,

but look how happy you both are -

Fred, how did it feel
to be a racing driver?

I tell you what, Pad, I loved it.

I didn't think it'd be that hard,

I've got a new-found respect
for racing drivers... Yeah.

..and although this lad's
not me idle,

I've got more of a respect
for what this lad does.

He can drive.
Oh, he can do a little bit.

Now, listen, is there any chance
you two will ever finish a race?

We had it in Baja,
we had it in this one.

You've got to be able
to finish a race.

Oh, you had to! You've got to be
able to do it.

I hate to say it, I'm behind the
wheel when it breaks, always.

Yeah, there you go. Do you want
to do the next one with me, Pad?

Yes! Yes!

Unbelievable.

You just said you break the cars!
Flipping turncoat, you are.

Chris, what do you make
of Fred's performance?

He did a great job -
but most of all,

we finally saw
the professional sportsman.

The eyes changed. Yeah.
They changed.

Dangerous, he was.

And now we must move on, because
this year marks the 40th anniversary

of one of the most famous
and strangest cars ever made.

The superstar celebrating
the big four-oh...

..is the unmistakable,
the timeless,

DMC DeLorean.

Yes, it was four decades ago,
back in 1981,

that this stainless steel wedge
arrived back from the future.

It would, of course, become
the greatest movie car of all time -

but not even Hollywood could
have dreamed up the story

of its creation, a story
of supermodels and drug deals,

the story of a man who would
stop at nothing

to change the course of history.

That man was John Zachary DeLorean.

A genius engineer
born and raised in Detroit,

working at General Motors
in the 1950s,

he would go on to develop
Pontiac's legendary GTO.

This was the man that arguably
invented the muscle car...

..and in a world of grey suits,

DeLorean was a sharp dressing,
swaggering playboy.

He hung out with the stars.

He married models.

He even treated himself
to a brand-new chin.

Probably, to be successful
as an executive,

you have to have a certain
amount of ego.

That ego, though, didn't sit well

with the buttoned up world
of boardroom bureaucracy.

DeLorean wanted more.

So, in the '70s, he stomped
off to form his own car company -

one with a grand vision

to create an affordable, exciting
and ethical sports car,

one that he said would live forever.

Not lacking confidence, our John.

He wanted a car that was striking.

I remember him saying to me
very early on in the programme

that there were three things
that were absolutely sacrosanct.

One was the stainless steel body,

the other was the rear engine

and the third
were the gull-wing doors.

To sort the styling, in 1975,

DeLorean turned to the legendary
designer

behind some of the most beautiful
Ferraris and Maseratis ever made -

Giorgetto Giugiaro.

DeLorean wanted his car to look
like nothing that had gone before.

Suffice to say, Giugiaro obliged,

and all DeLorean needed now
was somewhere to build it.

Scouring the globe
for juicy tax breaks,

he almost did a deal in Puerto Rico,

but he ended up on the other side
of the Atlantic, here...

..in Belfast.

In the late '70s, Belfast was in the
grip of sectarian violence.

The Labour government of the day

reckoned that creating jobs
was key to peace.

So, DeLorean was welcomed
with open arms.

You know, there's complete
euphoria about this factory.

In nearly every household

there's an application form.

Ever the optimist,
DeLorean told them

he'd build a factory from scratch

in a muddy bog
on the outskirts of the city,

and that he'd deliver the car
to market in just two years.

It was an insane timeframe -

getting a car from concept
to the road

normally takes about five years,

and that's assuming you've got
a functioning factory

and a trained workforce.

DeLorean had neither.

What's more, that muddy bog

that the factory was to be built on
was in Dunmurry,

a site sandwiched between Protestant
and Republican neighbourhoods.

We adopted a positive
discrimination policy

to make sure that we've got
a 50/50 workforce,

and we had a workforce that worked
together alongside each other.

There was not one iota of problem
inside the plant.

So, improbably, the factory,
which is still here,

came together with barely a hitch.

The problem was, the car was nowhere
near ready to be built -

but DeLorean
had a solution for that too,

and it took him to the very other
side of the UK

to Norfolk, the home of Lotus.

Wanting his car to be as sharp
to drive as it was to look at,

DeLorean turned to the best
in the business.

Lotus boss, seven-time Formula 1
Constructors' Champion

Colin Chapman.

Colin Chapman had built up Lotus.

it was selling cars
in every country in the world.

There were high performance
sports cars

which were acclaimed worldwide,

and Colin had achieved everything
that John DeLorean wanted to be.

So, he knew that if Colin Chapman
took on the job

and said that he could do it,
he would do it.

Chapman was soon to learn, though,

that while DeLorean had been busy

selling his cutting edge
sports car dream,

the actual prototype
was woefully underdeveloped.

It turned out

it had no space
for a fuel tank,

it had no space for a spare wheel.

There were a number
of different things

the basic packaging had to address.

As luck would have it, though,

Chapman already had a car
to base the DeLorean on.

His world-class Lotus Esprit...

..and using its chassis and a
modified fibreglass body,

the new car began to take shape...

..but in order to achieve
that all-essential

car of the future look,

DeLorean wanted that body clad
in stainless steel.

In essence, it was building the same
type of car

that we were used to at Lotus,

but you had to finish up
with a set of panels

that were all beautifully matched.

That presented a huge problem
in itself.

But, against all the odds, John
DeLorean and his team delivered -

in January, 1981, 40 years ago,
the DeLorean landed.

Sleek and sharp edged

and clothed in that beautiful,
bare stainless steel,

the DeLorean looked truly space age.

It was an extraordinary
achievement.

To this day, no car has ever reached
production faster.

John DeLorean had realised
his sports car dream...

..but there was just one problem.

It was terrible.

So bad that sitting here right now,
I don't quite know where to begin -

but let's begin with the engine.

DeLorean was going to use the rotary
engine from the Mazda RX-7.

Cost an expediency meant he didn't.

Bad decision.

What he ended up with was a V6

that had been jointly developed
by Renault, Peugeot and Volvo,

producing a not very exotic
130 horsepower.

The thing weighed quite a lot

because of the
stainless steel panels,

so performance was terrible.

With this manual gearbox,

it would do 0-60
in nine and a half seconds,

but it was slower with the
three-speed automatic

than most Americans wanted.

So, it wasn't a performance
car at all.

GRINDING

Good Lord.

It wasn't a very refined car,
either.

In throwing it together so fast,

the engineers had had to build
the DeLorean

with whatever they could
lay their hands on.

The brakes come from a Ford Cortina,

the glove box from a Volkswagen.

The door locks, Austin Allegro.

Gear knob, Renault Fuego.

You're not really robbing
from royalty, are you?

And then there's the handling.

Oh, my God.

It's terrible!

Halfway through the corner!

If you just back off,
it wants to oversteer immediately.

Wow.

I mean, it's relatively
controllable,

but on the public road, good God,
it's an accident waiting to happen.

And it would be an expensive
accident, at that.

In 1981, when this was launched
in the US,

it was the same price
as a Porsche 911!

DeLorean's dream of this affordable
sports car,

it was over before
it had even begun.

It was too expensive.

But instead of stopping to work
on the car's flaws,

in a move designed to show the world
that all was well,

DeLorean ramped up production.

This was to prove a poor decision.

It was a bad time
to be launching a new car.

World markets, they'd gone
to hell in a handbasket in '81.

There was a massive oil crisis.

There were people knifing each other
in the gas queues in Los Angeles.

ARCHIVE: DeLorean sales
are falling faster than most

in a thoroughly depressed
US car market.

It meant, of course, that we needed
financial help again.

But the political landscape
in the UK had changed.

The DeLorean backing Labour
government was out,

and the Conservatives were in -

led by Margaret Thatcher.

To say that she was unenthusiastic

about putting more money in
would be an understatement.

There was no way that any more money
was coming from government,

so it was really down to John,
in the main,

to find ways to raise investment.

And things were about to get worse.

In a last ditch attempt to keep
the business afloat,

DeLorean started to do deals
with people

you really don't want
to do deals with.

In October, 1982,

in a Los Angeles hotel room,

John DeLorean was arrested
in an FBI drug sting...

..apparently doing a deal to shift
25 kilos of cocaine.

In the factory, there was a mix
of disillusionment

that he could possibly have done
such a thing,

but there was also this
secondary element

of many of them considering John
to be the equivalent of Robin Hood,

the saviour who was prepared to do
anything to salvage their job.

ARCHIVE: ..the American
John DeLorean.

In court this morning,
John DeLorean...

At his trial two years later,

DeLorean pleaded that he was
a victim of FBI entrapment.

He was found not guilty.

Carmaker John DeLorean has been
cleared of all charges against him

at the end of his drug trafficking
trial in Los Angeles.

But the damage had been done.

Having built just 9,000 cars,

the DeLorean Motor Company was dead.

John DeLorean's dream...

..was over.

And that might have been that
for the DeLorean story,

the car and its creator destined to
fade into obscurity -

and then, a year after
DeLorean's trial...

..this happened.

Watch this, watch this!

Back To The Future
was a global blockbuster.

The time travelling DeLorean's flux
capacitor and flaming tyre trails

made it an instant
Hollywood superstar.

Ah! 88 miles per hour!

I'm a Back To The Future obsessive.

I must watch them every other
week with one of my kids.

This is, for me,
the ultimate film star car.

88 miles an hour was the number

that just lodged
in all of our heads -

and there's that famous speedometer.

And, of course, it only goes to 85.

I've never understood
why they did that.

So, why choose the DeLorean?

Well, to use the immortal
words of Dr Emmett Brown,

if you're going to make a time
machine out of a car,

why not do it with some style?

What a line.

Ironically, had Back To The Future
arrived a bit sooner

in the space time continuum,

it might actually have saved
the DeLorean.

As it was, this most famous of cars
will go down in history

as a victim of bad luck,
bad timing and a bad boy boss.

But you know what?
When you're driving this car,

none of it really matters,

because it's instantly recognisable.

Even 40 years after it was launched,

people know exactly what it is -

and 40 years from now, they'll still
know exactly what it is,

because it's the time machine.

In fact, perhaps John DeLorean
did build a car

that would live forever -

just not quite the way he imagined.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The most recognisable
film car of all.

Amazing story.

Amazing eyebrows. Oh, yeah.

And what a chin!

I can't believe how futuristic
it looks, even now. Yeah.

I don't know they did it!

I reckon they shaved a bit
round here and then reshaped it.

It's the car, not the chin.

Oh! Sorry, sorry.

All right, then, I suppose if you
want attention outside Harrods,

forget your Bugattis
and your Paganis -

get yourself a failure from Belfast
made out of old Lotus bits.

And no question, the second
greatest movie car of all time.

Oh, don't even go there!

It's the greatest. Excuse me. Yeah?

James Bond, DB5.

Oh, relax, lads, relax.

What about Herbie?

Ooh, Herbie! Show a bit of love
for the Bug! Herbie!

Does the DB5 have a flux capacitor?

Does Herbie have a flux capacitor?

No. Game over.

Listen, you go back in time
every time you open your wardrobe

to the '70s, by the looks of things!

You should go back in time
and visit your hair.

It comes back!

No need for that.

We must leave it there,
because we're out of time.

Next week, it's all about the youth

as we try to find the best first
cars for brand-new drivers.

We're going to need
a TikTok account.

Thanks so much for watching.
Goodnight.

How dare you?