Embarassing day for Top Gear: evidence has surfaced implying that Jeremy Clarkson was totally aware of the fact that the battery of the Nissan Leaf tested for the final episode of the show’s 17th series did not have enough charge to finish its 60-mile journey. A serious issue, if you consider that the incident has been used to discredit electric cars‘ effectiveness as well as their place in the future of the automotive sector.

During the Top Gear test in fact we can see the Nissan Leaf running out of electricity half way through its journey to Lincoln - Lincolnshire - followed by the presenters’ 10-hour long struggle to get it recharged. Little we know that the show’s producers have deliberately flattened the battery before setting off in order to make electric vehicles look unmanageable and unreliable in the real world.

We have to remind you that Top Gear seems to have a problem with this kind of cars, often knocking them down, and is currently been sued by electric car maker Tesla for the similar alleged misrepresentation of their Roadster during a 2008 show. The Guardian seems to back up the Nissan Leaf test sabotage theory by pointing out that the car’s electronic dashboard would have notified the driver about the percentage of electricity available (and its translation in miles) as soon as he turned the ignition on.

Top Gear has replied stating that the point of the test wasn’t to make the vehicle look bad, but “to show how bad the charging infrastructure is in the UK [therefore] the car needed to run out of charge so that could be demonstrated” adding that the purpose of the test was not to test the car’s mileage claims. Still Jeremy, we feel a bit cheated.

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In this video Jeremy Clarkson drives the Pagani Zonda R as part of his DVD collection on Italy’s supercars. For the first time, we get what the Zonda R is all about - as Clarkson says it’s a “pure speed machine”. It’s not designed for racing, although it’s clearly one of the fastest cars on the planet, and it looks more like a pure prototype race car if you took away all the regulations involving race cars. It sounds quite scary, frankly. Compared to the Ferrari 599 GTO, which Clarkson also tried, this has an extra 70 hp and weighs a full 400 kg less. Not for the faint hearted - see what Clarkson has to say about it in the video. The key to the script? Clarkson says: “I asked the guys at Zonda how fast it goes and they said they’ve got no idea…”

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Leaving aside any nasty comments about Jeremy Clarkson he has got a really good job. In fact, we imagine there are a lot of people out there wanting his job and if not all of it, at least the part where Clarkson does the Italian job. Meaning he spends part of his summer at Imola and Fiorano driving around in Italian supercars.

Clarkson has developed a two-disc DVD set of his exploits in which we can presumably see him in lots of scenes driving vehicles like the Ferrari 458 Italia, Lamborghini Gallardo and even the Pagani Zonda R. It’s all been in preparation for him to take on the ‘pros’ at a touring car event in the UK. Unfortunately the video above is just the trailer and if you want the full thing, with all the action and smart aleck comments, you’ll have to wait.

Source | Autoblog.com

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Perhaps in response to Jeremy Clarkson rubbishing the BMW X6, in particular its ability as an off-road vehicle, BMW has produced two videos on the snow driving capabilities of both the X5 and X6. The “M” versions of the cars are driven through the Passo Valparola in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range, in a kind of off-road instruction video.

You can see the BMW X6M and X5M drifting and then in hillside driving (in the second video after the jump). In fact, it’s actually high-speed driving up a ski slope. If you’re a BMW driver and fan, you’ll probably be convinced, and I think the videos are useful for anyone who intends to actually use their SUV as an off-road vehicle. I very much doubt that Jeremy Clarkson would be very convinced, at all…

Continue reading: BMW X5 and X6 off-road driving videos

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A coupe, with high driving position and off-road capabilities…? The BMW X6 always looked like a ridiculous car to me, and I’m happy to have Jeremy Clarkson confirm this for me. The SAV (or Sports Activity Vehicle) has plenty of BMW class and technology, with two petrol and two diesel engine options, and the buttons in the interior to boot. But apart from that, this is an unimpressive effort from BMW, where they’ve tried to do too much in one vehicle.

For example, what is the point of a coupe and a jeep all in one if the back passengers wanting to enjoy the off-road experience can’t fit in properly because of the sloping roof line…? What’s more, trying to drive the X6 is very complicated once you’ve figured out what the computer display system is actually saying, the direction in which the gear change is supposed to work and which steering wheel paddle you use to shift up or down (apparently you can do both with both…). In Clarkson’s words: “What was the boss of BMW doing when all the clowns in the laptop department were coming up with this rubbish?” See it all in the video.

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Jeremy Clarkson drives the Aston Martin V12 Vantage in this video. The presentation is blanketed in pathos, with Clarkson saying that he feels like he’s driving an ending. Otherwise, the verdict on the six-litre V12 with 510 hp is: “It’s fantastic. It’s wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.”

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In this video we see lead AC/DC singer on Top Gear, get behind the wheel of a car and really drive. Given the rock star culture, we’d not very surprised this guy drives like his pants are on fire. After all, AC/DC has the second most sold album of all time, Back in Black.

Brian Johnson first drove a Ford Popular sit up and Beg, with a beige exterior and salmon pink interior. He says: “It was mine, and it was freedom.” I know what he means, except that my first car was a 12-year-old Corsa that my boyfriend sold me.

The interview with the AC/DC lead, complete with talk of sex in the back seat of a Mini, continues into the heavy metal phase and the heavy metal vehicles (whatever they are). But check out the video for Brian’s tidy corners and “smooth violence”. By the way, if you wanted to know about the throttle pedal on the 1928 Bentley LeMans 4.5-litre, apparently it makes “your arse go like a rabbit’s nose”. One to enjoy.

Source | Autoblog

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If you had any doubts that the guys from Top Gear had a few loose marbles rolling around upstairs, you should now be totally convinced that they are a little crazy. Top Gear is going live and to promote the tour the BBC has put at their disposition an army tank, which will be cruising the streets of London escorted by a Ferrari F430 and an Aston Martin DBS.

Clarkson, Hammond and May will be touring the country from October 20 to November 2 with 20 live shoes including the classic challenges and comedy from the presenters. Tickets are divided into three tiers according to seats, with silver at 38 pounds, gold at 56 pounds, and platinum costing 105 pounds.

The possibility of another tour outside Britain is remote, and time taken to organise any possible European show would be likely a long way in the future.

Source | Autoblog.com

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Jeremy Clarkson is well impressed by the Nissan GT-R (can anyone tell me what car he drives..?), as demonstrated in this Top Gear video which tests the new Nissan. The fact that Clarkson was carried off in an ambulance at the end of the test could be all you need to know (neck problems due to over-indulgence in speed, nothing serious).

He discusses the stability and balance of this car, which even has a specially designed rim so the wheels don’t fall off in more extreme situations. All that switch flicking at the beginning can’t dampen his enthusiasm for the feel of the vehicle as he says: “It is extremely hard to explain how this feels. Agony’s probably the best word. It feels mechanical, it feels analogue, it feels human. It feels fab-bleeding-tastic!”

With the final test on the Top Gear circuit, this car results faster than the Ferrari 430, a McLaren and a Porsche. And it costs a whole lot less. As Clarkson says: “They haven’t built a new car, they’ve built a new yard-stick”. We’re asking ourselves what the V-spec version will produce with 100kg less and 70hp more…

Thanks to “joker1372″

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With the words “I cannot tell you how happy it makes me feel to be driving a proper Ferrari again,” Jeremy Clarkson from TopGear gives his thumbs up to the Ferrari Scuderia. And the thumb couldn’t be bigger.

Apart from an initial whinge about the computer system and the silly name, Clarkson is enchanted by the car. The computer system sits in the background, and Ferrari has gone back to its driving roots where it’s all about the car…and the speed.

Apart from some titillating blinking from Clarkson on the gear changes, in the video you can check out the serious aerodynamics of the car, its downforce and especially the purring, then roaring sound. Enjoy.

(Thanks to “nelson92″)

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Jeremy Clarkson’s second job, after his work with Top Gear, is the editorial of the automobile column of the Times: a hilarious space in the authoritative British daily. We’ve already looked at various articles from this said column (Jaguar XF, Fiat Bravo), but today’s article is a little special, because firstly it shows Jeremy at the wheel of a 500 and secondly because before now, no such test has previously been seen (if we can call it such).

St. Moritz: in front of Clarkson’s eyes run images of the Drophead Coupè, Maybach, Phantom and Audi R8 parked here and there in front of hotels and boutiques. Together with the ML 63 AMG they do nothing but contribute to the supercar panorama which people who come to stay here are used to seeing. A panorama in which to stand out, to show off, you don’t need the series listed above, but something with a little extra touch. “Something more appropriate to the place than Princess Carolina,” to use the words of the Top Gear driver.

And that something is the new Fiat 500, which attracted the attention of stars, magnates and the nobility alike, who can be seen walking on the streets of the Swiss city more frequently these days. “The 500 is the best revival job of recent years, from the new Beetle until now. There’s no comparison to the Mini, as this is more beautiful. The 500 is fantastic.”

Continue reading: At some stage they had to meet: Jeremy Clarkson and the Fiat 500

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