Clarkson-Hot Metal

BBC

Roadshow Entertainment.

R4 DVD

Jeremy Clarkson, co-host of top TV show Top Gear, has a theory. He thinks the world is slowing down. Not the planet as such but the modes of transport we use to travel it. He provides convincing evidence – the world’s fastest aeroplane, the American Blackbird spy plane, dates back to the 70s and 80s. The fastest passenger plane, the Concorde, is similarly dated and has now been withdrawn from service. Does this apply to cars as well?

He thinks it does. In a series of tests he lines up the cream of today’s fast cars against their twenty year old ancestors and puts them to the test. In spite of the weight reduction brought about by the use of carbon fibre or aluminium, the results are surprising – in most cases the old cars ARE faster. The tests include the Pagani Zonda taking on the older Jaguar XJ220, and a whole set of the Datsun / Nissan Z series. A MacLaren Mercedes SLR is pitted against a Porsche Carrera.

The trend of the old being faster than the new continues, so Jeremy looks at what improvements have been made in the ensuing years. Handling? Looks? Engine noise? The results are again interesting. It’s also a great excuse to drive very fast and wear out lots of rubber. This is Jeremy Clarkson, after all. He asks the question “Is motoring as much fun as it was?”. Judging by the tyre smoke, yes, it is.

Even recycling the older cars is more fun. We see the classic segment from Top Gear where elderly cars are fired off a cliff edge and Jeremy shoots them with everything from a shotgun to a Carl Gustav anti-tank rocket. It’s much more fun than draining their fluids and crushing them.

So, in the end, we come to the fastest car. Will it be the new Ford GT or its ancestor, the old GT40? You will have to buy the DVD to find out.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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