Top Gear - New Series

[ChrisJ]

No Stig, Back to the old track, Interesting how they've changed the celebrity. I agree with Andy,

Lot of shots of the Esprit in Extra Gear.

 

 

[The Pits]

Esprit was a nice surprise. 

Not convinced by much of the rest of it but will keep watching, naturally, it's a big budget car show. Nice to have two now instead of one.

[NedaSay]

Well that was a nice reboot. Plenty of room for improvement but a nice moment overall, I'm glad they retained Chris and Rory  not sure about how much"Joey Tribiani" they should burden Matt with. the star segment was an interesting take on the concept.

[theelanman]

Quite enjoyed that......back to 3 of them and not Evans and the hangers on......

As people have already said..room for improvement.....but it needs to evolve into its own thing so give it a bit of time......Matt Blanc still seems very wooden......I'm sure he'll relax too........

[Andyww]

Right, what is chassis number, where did they get it from etc etc?

 

 

[silverfrost]

Looks like a cut out to me and not a real car ? And if it does turn out to be a real one, just shows how much money they waste !

[Andyww]

Possible I suppose. Maybe they all are. It would be large amount of cash tied up if the Countach were real, although that could easily be a kit car. Its a very well done cut-out if it is. 

Small decals and colour-coded bumpers so not a very early Turbo.

I expect they will change the camera angles around during the series and we will see a lot more of this. Maybe they are even leading up to some kind of feature on all the displayed cars? 

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I'm sure they're real and just borrowed off someone. Looks to me that they've built a mezzanine floor to roll them on to and are pretending that the cars are the 1980s wall posters of their man cave. No 911 Turbo though, ha ha!

[theelanman]

I reckon its a walk round the car park before filming.....and if they see something interesting that an audience member has turned up in they probably invite them to 'display it'...........

just see whats on show next week.......

[The Pits]

Harris would have had a 911 up there for sure. He just had to get 'GT3RS' in there didn't he? Tiresome.

[pete]

Enjoyed it but although Harris can drive he isn't right for the studio,looked rather awkward

[LF1]

Le Blanc is good, the other two are trying too hard. Especially with the jokes. Although it's far better with the loss of Evans. I am sure they will relax and it will improve. The change to the GT86 and having the guest more involved through the show are both improvements.

[mik]

6 hours ago, Andyww said:

Possible I suppose. Maybe they all are. It would be large amount of cash tied up if the Countach were real, although that could easily be a kit car. Its a very well done cut-out if it is. 

Small decals and colour-coded bumpers so not a very early Turbo.

I expect they will change the camera angles around during the series and we will see a lot more of this. Maybe they are even leading up to some kind of feature on all the displayed cars? 

The Countach QV and Testarossa were loaned by Harry Metcalfe (founder of evo magazine) for the set. I assume another kind owner loaned the Esprit.

I had to fast forward most of the d1cking around bits, but thought Chris Harris looked only slightly uncomfortable in the studio. It's great having a real driver amongst the main presenters though.

[The Pits]

Not easy for Harris to suddenly be funny and entertaining and be compared to Clarkson, Hammond and May, especially after someone with Chris Evans' TV experience was asked to leave the show for not getting it right!

Like him, you'd have to take the opportunity if it was presented to you but it must be a huge step up compared to making Youtube videos with his mate.

I didn't go in for him being fake rude to the celebrity guest though which looks to be his schtick going forward. As said I'll be watching either way. Maybe the chemistry between the presenters will improve, they have huge shoes to fill in that regard, but at the moment they come across as colleagues, not mates so the jibes and the banter feels a bit forced. The producers need to let new presenters find their own way though. If they want funny they'd be better off hiring comedians instead of drivers.

[Bravo73]

I've only just watched the new episode on iplayer but I thought that, generally, it was excellent. Easily the best episode of either TG or GT that I have seen for at least a couple of years. 

There was some serious car stuff (the FXX-K), the challenge wasn't just overly scripted cliches and there was a genuine, laugh out loud moment (the taxi taking off under its own steam). It bodes well for the rest of the season. 

[Andyww]

It feels less scripted than before, although of course everyone knows it is. The taxi falling off the bricks was so predicable but amusing nonetheless.

The problem with GT is they have abandoned any pretence that its not scripted. Its almost as if they have decided that as everyone knows it is, they may as well not hide it and simply perform as actors. This has spoilt it. The celebrity gimmick part on GT is terrible and really hope they drop this in the future.

[Andyww]

The Esprit looks identical to the one mentioned in this thread. Color coded bumpers/mirrors, small decals, no stripes. Must be this one surely?

 

 

[Kimbers]

I am sitting on the fence with this one. I think the whole concept needs a reboot. Having the Celeb sit through a VT or 2 and asking them questions didn't work and whilst the "we were given....and told to meet at...." format is my favourite, it just didn't have the appeal this time. It was the best part though. Once again Matt LeBlanc carried it w. I think I would have preferred Sabine instead of Harris. Rory is ok and a nice "Non driver" appeal like May but Harris seems uncomfortable in a studio setting and I really don't like his VT's.

I think they need to relook at this format and go back to a real car show. By all means do a Supercar test but how about affordable sports cars, how about hatches and SUV's. 

[Neal H]

It didn't work for me. They're trying to retain the winning formula that existed with Clarkson, Hammond & May, but they lack the chemistry and charisma to pull it off.

[pete]

Just watched this again without any distraction or interruptions and it was better than I first thought. It's a car show on national TV and there aren't to many of them

[TBD]

Much better than last year, but neither Top Gear nor The Grand Tour have had many innovative ideas.  

The German car show GRIP is actually growing on me as they at least have some different ideas.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

On 06/03/2017 at 12:53, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

I'm sure they're real and just borrowed off someone. Looks to me that they've built a mezzanine floor to roll them on to and are pretending that the cars are the 1980s wall posters of their man cave. No 911 Turbo though, ha ha!

Harris must have said something. Red 911 Turbo appeared upstairs this week after all.

[auRouge]

Loved the Alfa review by Harris. The boys at Fiat must have been slightly worried as he's an M3 man... credit where it's due, that Alfa is the saloon car of the moment.

The Lambo vs Porsche was also good fun for the general viewer. 

Enjoying my Sunday evening petrol treat once again, looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[TBD]

What I am missing in the Top Gear car reviews is the lack of criticism on the car's their testing. Every car has its bright and dark sides, and review which overlooks these is useless. Which car should I buy, if they are all the "greatest cars ever made"?

At least Clarkson complained about the doors being too narrow on the Quadrifoglio.

[Mark Blanchard]

Was a better show this week and great footage of the Lambo, but the interview section was excruciating.  Chris Harris needs a personality transplant, he is a staggering penis.