Old Top Gear Esprit reviews

[jackal2513]

been digging through my old VHS's

S4 Top Gear review:

[dodgy]

keep em coming though sheep and a windmill??

[pdgessler]

great clip!! i enjoyed the sheep and windmill as well!

[s4simon]

Mmmm - That's a tasty snipbit.

Nice one :-)

[bzguy]

nice video, just a bit pitty about the gap in the middle

What video does it come from ?

[ramjet]

More please if there is any more. I've looked for ages on the web to find something on the S4.

Michael.

[Bibs]

I remember seeing that a long time ago, excellent

[bzguy]

More please if there is any more. I've looked for ages on the web to find something on the S4.

Michael.

I know the feeling

Recently I've found a guy that sells original brochures, I think he has some on S4 as well

[tinywillyuk]

After 8 years of ownership I watch something like that and still struggle to believe I actually have one..

Nice feeling.

ps 4 beam flash on a UK car??

[jackal2513]

V8 Top Gear review:

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

Hmmmm.... a surprisingly average review from Jezza. Maybe he wasn't having a good day back then, he liked the S4, and he paid good homage to the blue 51plate V8 in the final top gear review (and that was pretty much the same car as the silver one he was driving then).

[EspritMiltonKeynes]

"clutch is heavier than a photocopier" - always makes me laugh that line.... a very fair review I thought...

[Loose Cannon]

After 8 years of ownership I watch something like that and still struggle to believe I actually have one..

God I know what you mean, still seems like yesterday I used to play the tape recording of that show in a continuous loop. The prospect of ownership was so far away it seemed impossible.

As for the bad review of the silver V8, well Jezza is just another journo at the end of the day. He'll say anything that comes into his head to stir things up regardless of facts. In his book of "100 greatest cars" or something he said he liked the Fulvia without ever having driven one. Well he'd obviously forgotten the entire episode of Top Gear devoted to Lancia a couple of years before where he drove a bunch of them. I think during that period he was pretty arsey about a lot of stuff (remember the Vectra?) I put it down to the fact he was busy having babies at the time (well his wife was anyway )

[ifly]

Much appreciated. Must say I agree with the "which way is the wind blowing this week" Clarkson comments. Love the quick switch to a windmill and cows in the S4 video.

Edited December 30, 2008 by Hunt

[bzguy]

Much appreciated. Must say I agree with the "which way is the wind blowing this week" Clarkson comments. Love the quick switch to a windmill and cows in the S4 video.

What show/episode whas the S4 test taken from ? Can't seem to find it ...

[Mark Blanchard]

Cheers for the vids. Yea, what was up with Jezza when he did that V8 review?

[Paul C]

Hey, don't know if it's old news but while clicking though the 'related' videos

there is one of castle combe last year, featuring just about everybodys esprit

and a few of us too:

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=E4OUMZzg9ik&...feature=related

I'm even on there, and i'm not saying who it is, but somebody clever has got an

S4 there with a reg number just two didgits away from the yellow top gear S4...

[Mark Blanchard]

Well spotted Paul, E597HCP is on film! . Next stop Hollywood . . .

[Esprit V8]

Really great to see that videos

[jackal2513]

guys

the sheep/windmill thing was a bit of another programme that i accidentally recorded on top

it was some gary rhodes cookery show where he was also driving a yellow S4 through norfolk

he did actually own an S4S in real life and was quite a fan

i have a nice little clip filmed at the factory ... will upload at some point

[bzguy]

from what video/show does this part on the S4 come from ? I looked in all my Top Gear episodes, no luck

[jackal2513]

its top gear

[Hippo]

Thanks for posting those clips...

I have the V8 one on tape somewhere...i first watched it when i was a mangy student, dreaming of owning an S4 and it was at that moment i decided i hated Clarkson with an absolute passion...when he is busy slagging it off and then he says 'i haven't finished yet...' and at the end he says 'the TVR cerbera...' in that stupid tone, that got my blood boiling...also where my resentment of Ferrari comes from i think...(i have many issues, it's true) they always seemed to compare the V8 to the 355 in every single magazine review...

I have, of course, come full circle now and i actually love the guy and his opinions on everything

[Loose Cannon]

at that moment i decided i hated Clarkson with an absolute passion...when he is busy slagging it off and then he says 'i haven't finished yet...' and at the end he says 'the TVR cerbera...' in that stupid tone, that got my blood boiling...

I still remember watching his first slot on Top Gear, he was driving an Alfa 164 but instead of it being about the car it was a rant about congestion in London - yawn.

Probably showing my age but I quite liked the old Raymond Baxter style of science/motoring programmes (always reassuring when the guy talking engineering to you flew Spitfires ). Distinctly remember thinking out loud, God this bloke is trying REALLY hard to get a full time job on telly, and we'll never see the end of him. Didn't realise at the time how true that would be.

[jackal2513]

i was the reason why Clarkson left PC

won't bother going into it now but suffice to say I still have the cutting from his last column somewhere where he blamed it all on me