Top Gear Xmas Special 2014 (Esprit in Patagonia)

[Bibs]

IMO they switched the car for a older X180 (hence the old OZ wheels ) later shown in the episode

 

Absolutely not mate. They switched wheels, not the car.

[Andrew C]

I say send in the Army to get the cars home even the fat German . Just when we need Maggie

[molemot]

I sat there watching the Terrible Twins happily hacking the Porsche and the American thing about...my heart in my mouth worrying about the fate of the Lotus. Thankfully, James May didn't descend to such atrocity...nothing wrong with a towbar! The Esprit came out of this trial by torture with great credit. A huge shame that the mob did for them......

[Chillidoggy]

Having watched it, I can't see what all the hoohah was about. Seemed like it was being hyped up by the media to be a flag-waving, nationalist, pseudo-Brit invasion of Johnny Foreigner's home turf, whereas in reality it was a normal Top,Gear production. The number plate issue was a load of bollocks, they hadn't put the number on the Porsche specially for the occasion. And there was precious little Argie piss-taking that I could detect, rather more admiration for the people they met, and the country.

I was surprised the the Esprit fared better than the other cars, though. The Mustang was the oldest car, but in my experience, having had a 70's Camaro, and driven are lot of Yank cars of that era, they're built pretty tough. The Porsche gave a good account of itself, I feel.

The one thing that I can't reconcile is that for blokes who make their living from cars, they seem strangely hell-bent on destroying them!

[Trevsked]

All the cars did brilliantly considering what was thrown at them. For me it wasnt a surprise that the Esprit was reliable but more that I expected the suspension and bodywork to be more exposed to damage and therefore failure, after all it was the most road and track focused car there. Amazing the radiator, oil coolers or any associated pipes didn't get damaged. Never again will speed bumps be viewed the same :-).

 

Trevor.

[The Pits]

I still don't see why they chose an 18,000 mile V8 when a a much leggier, scruffier car would have done the job just fine. Same goes for the 928, the GT is one of the rarer, more desirable versions, especially in manual. It made it more painful to watch the endless and entirely pointless abuse - unless of course being painful to watch was the point. In that case it was a resounding success! So much is scripted though and the formula is really getting tired now.

[Vanya]

Was it just me or had they fitted the V8 with an undertray at the front? When its boarding the truck you can briefly see under the front spoiler - looked totally smooth as it reflected the light. I think they'd done a bit to protect the radiators and such from too much damage.

 

Also I got the impression throughout the episode they'd subject it to just enough abuse as to make it salvageable afterwards.

 

I wonder if they had any trouble with it behind the scenes?

 

I'd have said the episode was an indirect homage to Lotus and the Esprit except there was no summary as per usual with the other specials where they praise the cars at the end of the journey...bit of a pity really.

[SCRken]

They will have had enough spare parts to practically rebuild all 3 cars

No way we're them cars subjected to that and the only casualty was a broken track rod end on the ford.

I can't see what subjecting a car like the esprit to that sort of abuse proves?

Personally I don't think its funny watching 3 toffs smash up things for the hell of it. Saying that I don't find BIg brother, X factor and all the other crap on TV appealing so I'm obviously in the majority.

I remember when they tested the new at the time twingo RS133 and they just smashed it up and drive it off a dock side. Meanwhile people are struggling to pay their rent and OAPs can't put he heating on and they're smashing up new cars for giggles.

Edited December 29, 2014 by SCRken

[top-plumber]

I'm waiting for the episode where the pillock Clarkson and irritating imp Hammond collide on " worlds most dangerous roads" episode and disappear off a clif edge in a fire ball. May then shrugs and poodles off into the distance.

I have been a long time fan of TG, however these "specials" are tired and pointless. Clarksons ego won't let him move over.

[Advantage]

There are many, may programmes on television I don't enjoy or know that they won't appeal to me. 

 

So I don't watch them.

[dazmans3]

Apparently the good news is, the Esprit may be still alive, in fact all three of them might be. Held up in a Police Compound it seems.

 

Seach for: 'Top Gear Patagonia Special what happened to the three cars that were left behind '

 

There's a link on there that takes you to an Argentine Local article and it shows two pictures of the cars. Sorry, couldn't get the link to work at all for this.

Anyone for a covert rescue mission.....lol. Perhaps that could be the next Topgear special...

[USAndretti42]

It must have been a difficult programme to edit as they would have expected the building of the stadium and the football match to take up a big chunk of air time which is probably why the first episode seemed a bit drawn out. I enjoyed the show, particularly the second programme up until the trouble kicked off.

Regarding them abusing the cars, all motoring reporters do it. They all thrash the cars without much regard to the mechanical bits. When you see Chris Harris et al. thrashing cars sideways around a track, it's the same mentality. I suspect the Esprit avoided much modification because James May was too sore and stiff to do more. If the cars had returned to England, they probably would have been installed in the hangar where the live parts of the are filmed, so they would never have been available for use again so no loss to the fleet once they were chosen.

Overall, the Esprit came out of it very well. Many times Clarkson said how amazing it was at doing things it should never be expected to do and May certainly looked the most comfortable of the three in their cars. Well done, Lotus!

[cbclotus]

The lotus looked fantastic.As said above I can't Belive there to have been no damage to oil coolers and radiator sorry just my take on it .The same old jokes about lotus .But worth watching just to see the lotus....Mike

did any one notice the roll gage to the lotus...

[CaptainSlow]

Long time fan of TG, but I do find the "special" episodes repeating themselves these days. No special challenges in this one but stunning sceneri. Feel sorry for the Porsche and the Esprit being wasted, looked really good initially and would have been well worth keeping. However good to see that the Esprit managed that well and got an overall positive verdict. As said above, miss a final wrap up in the studio to conclude.

And finally, bring back Maggie and roll out the Vulcans once more!

[Vulcan Grey]

I like the specials just for the scenery.  This one had some great landscapes!

 

The Esprit looked good, and showed no damage throughout the drive.  I did spot the smooth tray under the radiator as well.

 

I'm sure they were doing this to give Lotus a boost, as they do need it.  They just made the Esprit look pretty good, and comparatively much much better than the other 2.

[Andrew C]

Great

[Loose Cannon]

I still don't see why they chose an 18,000 mile V8 when a a much leggier, scruffier car would have done the job just fine. Same goes for the 928, the GT is one of the rarer, more desirable versions, especially in manual. It made it more painful to watch the endless and entirely pointless abuse - unless of course being painful to watch was the point. In that case it was a resounding success! So much is scripted though and the formula is really getting tired now.

 

They want reliable cars to make their lives easier off-set, then they can stage fake breakdowns when it's funny (Rover SD1 bumpers falling off, oh how we laughed). The Lotus was c. 22k wasn't it, the Mustang proved to be 15k, and manual 928s start near 20k. That's a lot of nice metal to trash for giggles.

 

It's so depressingly predictable that they always want  to go over the line....epic scenery and fantastic shots of the cars powering around those awesome roads is awesome stuff, doing roundy-rounders to smash headlights/screens and fill carbs with rubble is arsehole stuff.

[ramjet]

Just watched the stream of both episodes. I enjoyed it.

 

If the esprit had broken down, it would have made the final film. No doubt about that.

[Dave Eds]

Bloody BBC wasting more licence payers money.

(the poker is still taxed ffs!)

[Vanya]

I wouldn't call it a waste of tax payers money - Top Gear has come to be an important part of Britains cultural legacy and should be a source of pride sooner than anything else. Sure it sucks that they sometimes wreck cars but they also promote locations, a certain type of humor as well as car culture. Jeremy Clarkson is who he is and if you can't get over that it's a bit of a deal breaker but that's also a part of what makes him a national treasure as well. Top Gear simply would cease to draw in viewers without him - and I think a lot of this will come to light should he ever quit or leave the scene.

 

For my part, Top Gear (the specials at least) is one of the few things that brings the family together in the living room - and most of them aren't particularly mad about cars; it just goes to prove there's something in it for everyone.

[Elaine]

SO. All in all, is this worth me watching? 
We haven't owned a tele for ages, so it'd be a on the laptop, via iPlayer jobby.

 

Or (bearing in mind we own an Esprit, and aren't TV fans) will I feel like I've wasted two whole hours of my life? 

 

E.

[Dave Eds]

Licence payers not tax payers.

 

And you missed my point.......

[Daniel]

Licence payers not tax payers.

 

And you missed my point.......

Subtle joke not missed this end love 

[Andy Esprit SE]

Im chuffed to bits it will be repeated on dave for the next ten years, does anyone fancy offering to collect the car on behalf of the bbc? I bet theyd take a couple of quid now for the log book, change the owner and go fetch it

[red vtec]

I was impressed by the Esprit and the 928 handling the rough stuff. as for collecting the cars, only with a battalion of marines.

 

But have to be honest TG is getting a bit old hat now.

 

I think Ed China's company preps the cars, I understand he built the vehicles for the edition with the Australians. Two cars on top of each other one upside down if anyone remembers it