1 00:00:59,310 --> 00:01:01,230 Hello. 2 00:01:02,750 --> 00:01:04,750 -Hello. -Hello, everybody. 3 00:01:04,790 --> 00:01:06,390 Hello. 4 00:01:09,430 --> 00:01:11,350 Hello. 5 00:01:13,030 --> 00:01:14,950 Thank you. 6 00:01:14,990 --> 00:01:17,390 And - thank you - and coming up 7 00:01:17,430 --> 00:01:19,990 in this never-to-be-forgotten show... 8 00:01:21,590 --> 00:01:23,270 ...Richard operates a bat... 9 00:01:25,990 --> 00:01:28,110 ...James sits in a car humming... 10 00:01:32,270 --> 00:01:35,550 ...and I park outside a cathedral. 11 00:01:37,550 --> 00:01:39,470 Thank you so much. 12 00:01:40,550 --> 00:01:41,950 Exciting stuff. 13 00:01:41,990 --> 00:01:44,470 Now, this is... 14 00:01:44,510 --> 00:01:47,230 this is a bit of a Ford-based show. 15 00:01:47,270 --> 00:01:50,630 Because we were staggered to hear the other day, 16 00:01:50,670 --> 00:01:52,950 that they're thinking of pulling the plug 17 00:01:52,990 --> 00:01:54,670 on the Mondeo. 18 00:01:54,710 --> 00:01:57,950 Now this is enormous news. 19 00:01:57,990 --> 00:02:01,030 In Britain, losing the Mondeo is a bit like... 20 00:02:01,070 --> 00:02:03,670 Well, losing the Royal Family. 21 00:02:03,710 --> 00:02:06,430 And if that happens, someone would make a documentary about them. 22 00:02:06,470 --> 00:02:08,750 Quite. Which is why we decided this week 23 00:02:08,790 --> 00:02:10,950 The Grand Tour should make a documentary 24 00:02:10,990 --> 00:02:16,950 about the passing of Ford's medium-sized family saloon. 25 00:02:16,990 --> 00:02:18,990 It's exciting stuff. 26 00:02:23,750 --> 00:02:26,750 The Mondeo story actually begins way back 27 00:02:26,790 --> 00:02:28,790 when the world was black and white, 28 00:02:28,790 --> 00:02:30,910 with this - 29 00:02:30,950 --> 00:02:32,870 the Ford Cortina. 30 00:02:35,150 --> 00:02:37,590 This is Genesis, the first chapter 31 00:02:37,630 --> 00:02:40,790 in easily the most important book 32 00:02:40,870 --> 00:02:42,950 in British motoring history. 33 00:02:45,510 --> 00:02:47,750 It came along in 1962 34 00:02:47,790 --> 00:02:50,670 and apart from the CND rear lights, 35 00:02:50,710 --> 00:02:52,630 it was nothing special. 36 00:02:54,590 --> 00:02:56,750 It wasn't revolutionary like the Mini. 37 00:02:56,790 --> 00:02:59,470 It was just an ordinary family saloon. 38 00:03:02,630 --> 00:03:05,270 Ford therefore decided that to put it on the map 39 00:03:05,310 --> 00:03:08,070 they'd mount an assault on the world's racetracks. 40 00:03:08,110 --> 00:03:11,590 Which meant creating a high-performance version. 41 00:03:11,630 --> 00:03:15,070 The world's first ever fast Ford. 42 00:03:15,110 --> 00:03:17,790 And this is what they came up with. 43 00:03:33,310 --> 00:03:35,990 Life doesn't get much better than this. 44 00:03:36,030 --> 00:03:37,950 Cadwell Park, sunny day... 45 00:03:39,030 --> 00:03:40,430 Mark One Lotus Cortina. 46 00:03:42,110 --> 00:03:44,310 This thing is a riot. 47 00:03:49,110 --> 00:03:55,070 It had a revolutionary twin-cam 1.6 litre engine. 48 00:03:55,110 --> 00:03:56,830 Which sounds like 49 00:03:56,870 --> 00:03:58,670 a murder of mad bees. 50 00:04:01,670 --> 00:04:03,670 It revved like hell. 51 00:04:03,710 --> 00:04:06,990 All the way to 8,000 RPM. 52 00:04:07,030 --> 00:04:10,430 And produced 105 horsepower. 53 00:04:13,710 --> 00:04:15,670 Ha-ha, ha-ha! 54 00:04:15,710 --> 00:04:17,790 Oh, wow! 55 00:04:20,870 --> 00:04:24,550 The result was some spectacular performance. 56 00:04:24,590 --> 00:04:28,150 The road cars would do 108 mph. 57 00:04:28,230 --> 00:04:32,390 And in race trim that shot up to 145. 58 00:04:34,110 --> 00:04:36,710 That was the stuff of spaceships back then. 59 00:04:37,910 --> 00:04:39,950 And best of all... 60 00:04:39,990 --> 00:04:41,830 if you were really on it, 61 00:04:41,910 --> 00:04:44,630 it would lift the front wheel in the corners. 62 00:04:48,030 --> 00:04:51,830 On the downside it didn't stop properly... 63 00:04:51,910 --> 00:04:53,830 ...and there was very little grip. 64 00:04:55,430 --> 00:04:58,110 So it was an over-steer mentalist. 65 00:04:59,830 --> 00:05:03,510 It was also astonishingly brittle. 66 00:05:03,550 --> 00:05:06,350 Autocar magazine ran one for a year. 67 00:05:06,390 --> 00:05:07,790 29,000 miles. 68 00:05:07,830 --> 00:05:11,270 And in that time, it needed six rear axles 69 00:05:11,270 --> 00:05:13,990 and three sets of rear suspension. 70 00:05:14,030 --> 00:05:16,910 And probably a whole load of new half-shafts as well, 71 00:05:16,950 --> 00:05:18,710 because they were made from chocolate. 72 00:05:18,790 --> 00:05:20,390 But it didn't matter. 73 00:05:20,430 --> 00:05:24,390 Because the Lotus Cortina wasn't designed to last a lifetime. 74 00:05:24,430 --> 00:05:27,990 It was designed to last about 40 minutes. 75 00:05:28,030 --> 00:05:31,430 Because that is how long a race lasted. 76 00:05:33,470 --> 00:05:36,950 Back in the early '60s, saloon-car racing in Britain 77 00:05:36,990 --> 00:05:39,990 was just about the most exciting motor sport 78 00:05:40,030 --> 00:05:43,150 the world had ever seen. 79 00:05:43,190 --> 00:05:46,310 The massive American Fords would roar down the straights 80 00:05:46,350 --> 00:05:48,910 and then in the corners the army of Minis 81 00:05:48,950 --> 00:05:50,670 would be right back at them. 82 00:05:50,710 --> 00:05:54,670 It was beautiful, snarling chaos. 83 00:05:56,750 --> 00:05:59,870 But when the dust settled, it was the Lotus Cortina 84 00:05:59,910 --> 00:06:02,670 that was doing the winning. 85 00:06:02,710 --> 00:06:06,630 - It actually won the Championship in 1964... - 86 00:06:06,670 --> 00:06:09,910 ...and it didn't only shine on the tracks. 87 00:06:09,950 --> 00:06:15,270 In 1966, it won the RAC Rally of Britain. 88 00:06:15,310 --> 00:06:19,070 They even drove one down the bobsleigh run in the Italian resort 89 00:06:19,110 --> 00:06:23,550 after which the Cortina had been named. 90 00:06:23,590 --> 00:06:25,870 Here's what the famed bobsled run looks like 91 00:06:25,910 --> 00:06:30,310 from the driver's seat of the world-famous Cortina. 92 00:06:30,350 --> 00:06:33,350 At this point in history, rationing had only just 93 00:06:33,390 --> 00:06:35,350 given way to The Rolling Stones. 94 00:06:35,390 --> 00:06:38,030 Hemlines were going up 95 00:06:38,070 --> 00:06:41,510 and all kinds of groovy stuff was going down. 96 00:06:41,550 --> 00:06:43,790 And the glamorous Cortina 97 00:06:43,830 --> 00:06:46,350 caught the mood of the moment perfectly. 98 00:06:48,670 --> 00:06:52,150 It was exciting. The first car ever that made 99 00:06:52,190 --> 00:06:54,910 the ordinary family man feel special. 100 00:06:54,950 --> 00:06:58,350 Like he wasn't just a downtrodden cog. 101 00:06:58,390 --> 00:07:01,430 And it was the same story with the Mark II Cortina. 102 00:07:01,470 --> 00:07:03,990 And the Mark III. 103 00:07:05,630 --> 00:07:07,270 The result was spectacular. 104 00:07:07,310 --> 00:07:11,470 One car in every three sold in the UK was a Ford. 105 00:07:11,510 --> 00:07:13,990 And one in ten was a Cortina. 106 00:07:14,030 --> 00:07:18,070 Everyone I've spoken to while I've been preparing this film has said the same thing. 107 00:07:18,110 --> 00:07:20,510 "Oh, yeah, my dad used to have one of those." 108 00:07:20,550 --> 00:07:23,830 I mean, on the crew here, whose dad had a Cortina? 109 00:07:23,870 --> 00:07:25,550 Ha! Look at that. It's everyone. 110 00:07:25,590 --> 00:07:29,150 Apart from the director, obviously, who has a double-barrelled name, 111 00:07:29,190 --> 00:07:31,310 so his dad had a Range Rover. But anyway... 112 00:07:31,350 --> 00:07:34,190 the point is, these were the best-selling cars 113 00:07:34,230 --> 00:07:37,310 Britain had ever seen... by miles. 114 00:07:39,030 --> 00:07:41,390 Of course it wasn't all rampant sexism 115 00:07:41,430 --> 00:07:47,710 and hilarious handling that Ford used to make a name for its family saloon. 116 00:07:47,750 --> 00:07:50,190 There was some important business stuff too. 117 00:07:52,670 --> 00:07:57,430 Back in late-1960s Britain, if you earned £3,000 a year 118 00:07:57,470 --> 00:08:01,670 the government would take 41% of it away in tax. 119 00:08:01,710 --> 00:08:03,910 So, to get round this problem, a lot of companies 120 00:08:03,950 --> 00:08:05,670 paid their staff a bit less, 121 00:08:05,710 --> 00:08:07,150 but then to make up the difference 122 00:08:07,190 --> 00:08:09,630 they gave them...a car. 123 00:08:09,670 --> 00:08:11,590 And that... 124 00:08:11,630 --> 00:08:13,670 wasn't subject to any tax at all. 125 00:08:16,110 --> 00:08:18,110 Ford cottoned on to that. 126 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:20,710 And came up with a variety of trim levels 127 00:08:20,750 --> 00:08:23,430 to suit the typical management structure. 128 00:08:25,110 --> 00:08:27,510 There was a base model for the sales rep. 129 00:08:28,830 --> 00:08:32,870 And the L for the sales manager. 130 00:08:32,910 --> 00:08:36,870 Then you had the XL with a clock and a locking glove compartment 131 00:08:36,910 --> 00:08:40,190 for the sales director. 132 00:08:40,230 --> 00:08:46,070 And the powerful GT for the managing director. 133 00:08:46,110 --> 00:08:51,790 Ford's badging policy quite literally changed the class system in Britain. 134 00:08:51,790 --> 00:08:55,190 Because we used to judge people on how they held their knife and fork, 135 00:08:55,230 --> 00:08:57,150 or whether they said toilet or lavatory. 136 00:08:57,190 --> 00:08:59,190 But after the Cortina came along, 137 00:08:59,230 --> 00:09:02,670 it was all based on what it said on your boot lid. 138 00:09:04,790 --> 00:09:07,870 Our dads understood what these badges meant. 139 00:09:07,910 --> 00:09:11,510 And boy, oh, boy, so did we. 140 00:09:18,430 --> 00:09:21,310 You join me in Doncaster outside my old school. 141 00:09:21,350 --> 00:09:23,110 And I remember very clearly 142 00:09:23,150 --> 00:09:25,310 coming out of that door one afternoon in 1969, 143 00:09:25,350 --> 00:09:30,790 skipping along here, coming round this gatepost here, 144 00:09:30,870 --> 00:09:33,670 and I noticed that parked over there 145 00:09:33,670 --> 00:09:37,070 was a 1600E - an E - in amber gold. 146 00:09:37,110 --> 00:09:39,230 Just like that one. 147 00:09:39,270 --> 00:09:42,550 And in it...was my dad. 148 00:09:43,990 --> 00:09:45,670 And that was impossible. 149 00:09:47,390 --> 00:09:50,670 The E was the absolute king of the hill. 150 00:09:50,750 --> 00:09:54,430 It had four dials set into its wooden dash. 151 00:09:54,510 --> 00:09:58,510 It had a leather and aluminium steering wheel. 152 00:09:58,550 --> 00:10:00,670 And on the outside there were Rostyle wheels 153 00:10:00,750 --> 00:10:03,950 and front fog lamps. 154 00:10:03,990 --> 00:10:06,790 It was beautiful and wondrous 155 00:10:06,870 --> 00:10:09,070 and exciting beyond words. 156 00:10:13,190 --> 00:10:17,630 I can still remember now, vividly, how I felt. 157 00:10:17,670 --> 00:10:20,750 My knees actually buckled. 158 00:10:22,190 --> 00:10:24,270 I mean... 159 00:10:24,310 --> 00:10:27,750 The hairs on the back of my neck are rising now 160 00:10:27,790 --> 00:10:33,550 in exactly the same way as they did on that autumn day 50 years ago. 161 00:10:33,550 --> 00:10:36,950 I can also remember the enormity of the hug I gave my dad, 162 00:10:36,990 --> 00:10:39,550 cos I was just so proud of him. 163 00:10:39,630 --> 00:10:44,230 I mean, he had an E! An E stood for Executive. 164 00:10:44,270 --> 00:10:48,630 My dad had a 1600E. 165 00:10:48,670 --> 00:10:52,070 I mean, that meant he was better than the Duke of Edinburgh. 166 00:10:56,790 --> 00:10:59,070 A few years later in South Wales, 167 00:10:59,110 --> 00:11:01,870 another young boy called James May 168 00:11:01,910 --> 00:11:05,910 went through the exact same thing. 169 00:11:05,950 --> 00:11:09,110 I was at my mate Andrew Jones's house, just up the road from ours, 170 00:11:09,150 --> 00:11:11,990 when his dad came in and said that my dad 171 00:11:12,030 --> 00:11:15,590 had just arrived home and he had a new car. 172 00:11:15,630 --> 00:11:18,030 So, I went outside... 173 00:11:18,070 --> 00:11:21,110 and there parked next to the kerb, 174 00:11:21,150 --> 00:11:24,390 was a brand-new Cortina GXL. 175 00:11:24,430 --> 00:11:27,510 And I thought, "Well, that can't be my dad's new car." 176 00:11:29,390 --> 00:11:30,710 But it was. 177 00:11:33,750 --> 00:11:37,670 This was the all-new Mark III Cortina. 178 00:11:37,710 --> 00:11:40,430 And, because it was the GXL model, 179 00:11:40,470 --> 00:11:42,950 it had chrome strips on the grille, 180 00:11:42,990 --> 00:11:44,910 and a vinyl roof. 181 00:11:44,950 --> 00:11:48,910 And four auxiliary dials that were angled towards the driver. 182 00:11:50,630 --> 00:11:53,030 It also had something called a rev counter, 183 00:11:53,070 --> 00:11:55,310 and I'd never seen one of those before. 184 00:11:55,350 --> 00:11:57,910 But when I looked at it, 185 00:11:57,950 --> 00:12:01,470 I suddenly became aware that my body could produce semen. 186 00:12:04,590 --> 00:12:07,350 Unfortunately, not all children in Britain 187 00:12:07,390 --> 00:12:09,550 were as fortunate as James and me. 188 00:12:11,430 --> 00:12:13,870 Because some of them were born in Birmingham. 189 00:12:21,710 --> 00:12:24,110 And you couldn't really have a Ford here 190 00:12:24,150 --> 00:12:27,230 because this was the home of British Leyland. 191 00:12:35,750 --> 00:12:37,870 I grew up here on this street. 192 00:12:37,910 --> 00:12:41,230 And I remember the day my dad came home with our new car. 193 00:12:41,270 --> 00:12:44,990 I prayed it would be a Cortina. Literally prayed. 194 00:12:45,030 --> 00:12:46,990 But it wasn't. 195 00:12:49,910 --> 00:12:52,590 What it was... was a shoulder-sagging 196 00:12:52,630 --> 00:12:54,630 bag of disappointment 197 00:12:54,670 --> 00:12:57,390 called the Austin Allegro Estate. 198 00:12:58,910 --> 00:13:01,510 It doesn't even have four doors. 199 00:13:01,550 --> 00:13:04,430 What was my father thinking? 200 00:13:04,470 --> 00:13:06,110 Why did he do that to us? 201 00:13:06,150 --> 00:13:07,790 I fell to my childish knees, 202 00:13:07,830 --> 00:13:10,550 threw my head back and I howled at the sky. 203 00:13:10,590 --> 00:13:13,230 Birds across Birmingham took off. 204 00:13:13,270 --> 00:13:15,590 Deer in Stratford-upon-Avon looked up. 205 00:13:15,630 --> 00:13:17,070 Such was my horror. 206 00:13:17,110 --> 00:13:20,630 This was the summit. This was it! 207 00:13:20,670 --> 00:13:23,070 This is the best that we, the Hammonds, could do. 208 00:13:23,110 --> 00:13:25,990 We lived in suburbia. People drive past all the time. 209 00:13:26,030 --> 00:13:29,630 They see your car. They judge you if have a wishing well or a gate. 210 00:13:29,670 --> 00:13:32,230 We had this! On our drive! 211 00:13:32,270 --> 00:13:33,790 Where people could see it. 212 00:13:35,590 --> 00:13:37,350 Because my dad had the GXL 213 00:13:37,390 --> 00:13:42,470 he got the brake servo and the alternator as standard. 214 00:13:42,510 --> 00:13:45,150 I'm sorry to keep banging on about this GXL thing, 215 00:13:45,190 --> 00:13:48,990 but my mate Lonnie, his dad only had an XL. 216 00:13:49,030 --> 00:13:50,670 So he was scum. 217 00:13:52,070 --> 00:13:54,070 I walked home from school. 218 00:13:54,110 --> 00:13:56,350 That wasn't cos I wanted the exercise. 219 00:13:56,390 --> 00:14:00,070 That's because I would rather walk or hop or crawl 30 miles 220 00:14:00,110 --> 00:14:02,510 than be seen getting into that. 221 00:14:03,790 --> 00:14:05,790 It's cars like this, 222 00:14:05,830 --> 00:14:08,110 it's secrets, dark secrets like this 223 00:14:08,150 --> 00:14:10,150 lurking in people's pasts 224 00:14:10,190 --> 00:14:12,630 that creates serial killers and psychopaths. 225 00:14:12,670 --> 00:14:15,390 It's a bloody miracle I'm not one. 226 00:14:15,430 --> 00:14:17,670 It's not being short that makes me an angry man, 227 00:14:17,710 --> 00:14:21,750 or being born in Birmingham, it's this! It's you! 228 00:14:21,790 --> 00:14:23,590 I could have been great, 229 00:14:23,630 --> 00:14:26,670 I could have had dignity, social standing. 230 00:14:26,710 --> 00:14:29,510 I could have mattered. But you came into my life... 231 00:14:32,110 --> 00:14:35,310 My dad bought a Mark III Cortina 232 00:14:35,350 --> 00:14:37,030 because he had three children 233 00:14:37,070 --> 00:14:38,750 and he wanted them to be safe. 234 00:14:38,790 --> 00:14:40,150 And he knew they would be safe, 235 00:14:40,190 --> 00:14:42,630 because Ford had made a film telling him so. 236 00:14:42,670 --> 00:14:45,030 We've got the teddy bears in, we've got the golf clubs. 237 00:14:45,070 --> 00:14:46,910 We've got the racing car. 238 00:14:46,950 --> 00:14:49,270 And if you don't happen to carry those things 239 00:14:49,310 --> 00:14:50,910 but you have a bigger family, 240 00:14:50,950 --> 00:14:52,870 you can pack those in as well. 241 00:14:52,910 --> 00:14:54,950 Even with five children in the back, 242 00:14:54,990 --> 00:14:57,630 you can drive in a more or less relaxed fashion, 243 00:14:57,670 --> 00:15:00,870 safe in the knowledge that they're kept in the four-door Cortina 244 00:15:00,910 --> 00:15:02,830 with child-proof safety locks. 245 00:15:02,870 --> 00:15:04,790 I've never driven one of these before, 246 00:15:04,830 --> 00:15:06,630 and to be honest, I never wanted to, 247 00:15:06,670 --> 00:15:09,590 because that really would be meeting a childhood hero. 248 00:15:11,150 --> 00:15:14,630 I love it, though. It's... 249 00:15:14,670 --> 00:15:17,070 You can see even better now, can't you? 250 00:15:17,110 --> 00:15:19,830 What about this one? That's it. 251 00:15:22,950 --> 00:15:25,550 Back in 1974, we used to have regular power cuts 252 00:15:25,590 --> 00:15:27,030 because of the miners' strike, 253 00:15:27,070 --> 00:15:29,070 and there was absolutely nothing to do 254 00:15:29,110 --> 00:15:31,230 in our completely pitch-black house. 255 00:15:31,270 --> 00:15:33,310 So I used to go outside and sit in my dad's car 256 00:15:33,350 --> 00:15:36,030 and just pretend to drive it, which was brilliant. 257 00:15:36,070 --> 00:15:38,350 Not least because you could turn the light on, 258 00:15:38,390 --> 00:15:40,190 which you couldn't do in the house. 259 00:15:44,350 --> 00:15:46,070 Lights. 260 00:15:48,870 --> 00:15:51,510 Oh, I used to love the power cuts. 261 00:15:51,550 --> 00:15:53,710 Outside of Birmingham, then, 262 00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:55,710 everyone young and old was in love 263 00:15:55,750 --> 00:15:57,670 with Ford's four-door saloon. 264 00:15:59,550 --> 00:16:01,310 Because of this love affair, 265 00:16:01,350 --> 00:16:08,470 Ford sold a Cortina somewhere in Britain every 47 seconds. 266 00:16:08,510 --> 00:16:12,790 In 20 years, they sold 2.6 million of them. 267 00:16:12,830 --> 00:16:14,590 And let me put it this way: 268 00:16:14,630 --> 00:16:17,750 British Leyland took twice as long as that 269 00:16:17,790 --> 00:16:20,590 to sell half as many Minis. 270 00:16:24,750 --> 00:16:29,390 The Cortina then had become a part of the fabric of Britain. 271 00:16:29,430 --> 00:16:32,710 It was the nitrogen of our existence. 272 00:16:35,110 --> 00:16:39,030 But, on 22nd July 1982... 273 00:16:40,910 --> 00:16:43,190 ...Ford pulled the plug. 274 00:16:44,870 --> 00:16:47,270 And that was the end of that. 275 00:16:50,870 --> 00:16:52,710 -Sad story of the Cortina. -Yeah, it is. 276 00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:54,710 -But it's a great story. -It goes on. 277 00:16:54,750 --> 00:16:56,550 -Yeah. -Do you feel better? 278 00:16:56,590 --> 00:16:59,590 -Um...yeah. A bit. -That's good. 279 00:16:59,630 --> 00:17:02,190 I just want to do... I just want to do one thing. 280 00:17:02,230 --> 00:17:05,710 Can I just ask, how many people's dads here had Cortinas? 281 00:17:05,750 --> 00:17:08,030 - This is... Look at that. - Yeah. 282 00:17:08,070 --> 00:17:09,830 That's an astonishing array, isn't it? 283 00:17:09,870 --> 00:17:12,390 - Amazing. - Yes, it is. 284 00:17:12,430 --> 00:17:15,470 It makes me feel really... Just to put some perspective on this. 285 00:17:15,550 --> 00:17:18,470 -Ford sold 2.6 million Cortinas. -Hm. 286 00:17:18,470 --> 00:17:20,470 Austin... 287 00:17:20,550 --> 00:17:24,830 - ...sold 57,000 Allegro Estates. - That's it. - 288 00:17:24,870 --> 00:17:27,630 -It's a shame one of them was to your dad. -You're damn right! 289 00:17:27,670 --> 00:17:29,430 It ruined my life. 290 00:17:29,470 --> 00:17:31,590 Anyway, we shall pick up the Ford story later on. 291 00:17:31,630 --> 00:17:34,590 But now it is time for us to deploy 292 00:17:34,630 --> 00:17:37,150 the plastic bag of chat, 293 00:17:37,190 --> 00:17:39,350 to scoop up some dog eggs of debate... 294 00:17:39,390 --> 00:17:43,710 --...from the pavements of Conversation Street. 295 00:17:51,710 --> 00:17:54,590 - Wow. - I don't know. I don't know. 296 00:17:54,630 --> 00:17:56,790 - Whatever it was. - Er... 297 00:17:59,190 --> 00:18:02,910 Now actually, despite the incredible snazziness of those graphics, 298 00:18:02,950 --> 00:18:04,590 we don't actually have time 299 00:18:04,630 --> 00:18:06,990 -for traditional Conversation Street this week. -No. 300 00:18:06,990 --> 00:18:08,870 Because we are engaged, as we said, 301 00:18:08,910 --> 00:18:11,110 -in important documentary-making work. -We are. 302 00:18:11,150 --> 00:18:12,870 Which is why I would like to talk about 303 00:18:12,910 --> 00:18:14,670 -body-coloured bumpers. -Ooh! 304 00:18:14,710 --> 00:18:17,670 -I think you should. -Yes, I will, because in the old days, 305 00:18:17,710 --> 00:18:20,630 if you were driving up the motorway and a car came up behind you, 306 00:18:20,670 --> 00:18:24,430 and they had bumpers the same colour as the car, 307 00:18:24,470 --> 00:18:26,310 and you only had black plastic bumpers, 308 00:18:26,350 --> 00:18:27,870 you knew you had to get out of the way. 309 00:18:27,910 --> 00:18:29,470 -You did. -They were better than you. 310 00:18:29,550 --> 00:18:31,990 Yeah, they were better than you because of that. 311 00:18:31,990 --> 00:18:34,390 What if you were driving up the motorway, 312 00:18:34,430 --> 00:18:36,310 looked in the rear-view mirror, OK, 313 00:18:36,350 --> 00:18:39,470 and you saw the car behind had head restraints? 314 00:18:41,470 --> 00:18:43,710 Honestly, head restraints, 315 00:18:43,790 --> 00:18:45,990 I used to look at those in the way people these days 316 00:18:46,070 --> 00:18:47,670 look at superyachts. 317 00:18:47,710 --> 00:18:50,350 They were simply unattainable. I mean, you could not... 318 00:18:50,390 --> 00:18:52,110 These were the symbols of rank. 319 00:18:52,150 --> 00:18:54,230 - I mean, if you had a sun roof... - Oh! 320 00:18:54,230 --> 00:18:55,790 ...you were an emperor. 321 00:18:57,230 --> 00:18:59,910 What if...it was an electric sun roof? 322 00:18:59,950 --> 00:19:01,470 Oh, my God! 323 00:19:01,550 --> 00:19:05,430 You were probably from space, you were a space emperor! 324 00:19:05,470 --> 00:19:07,590 Let me see if I can explain this in a language 325 00:19:07,630 --> 00:19:09,150 people under 40 understand, OK? 326 00:19:09,190 --> 00:19:10,910 It's the same as going for a job, OK, 327 00:19:10,950 --> 00:19:13,390 and your boss saying, "We're gonna give you a pay cut, 328 00:19:13,430 --> 00:19:15,710 but we're gonna give you a phone, OK? 329 00:19:15,710 --> 00:19:17,830 And this phone you can use to make calls, 330 00:19:17,870 --> 00:19:20,310 and then if you work really hard for a couple of years, 331 00:19:20,350 --> 00:19:23,430 we'll give you an iPhone L, 332 00:19:23,470 --> 00:19:26,230 and you can use that to make texts as well. 333 00:19:26,230 --> 00:19:27,830 And then if you stay with us for 30 years, 334 00:19:27,870 --> 00:19:29,190 and you never put a foot wrong, 335 00:19:29,230 --> 00:19:31,550 you can have an iPhone GXL." 336 00:19:31,590 --> 00:19:35,230 Because that's what... I mean, I have no idea which one this is. 337 00:19:35,310 --> 00:19:38,390 -No, is it a 7, an 8, a 9? I don't know. -No, you don't know. 338 00:19:38,430 --> 00:19:41,470 But the thing is, under 1970s rules, you would have known, 339 00:19:41,470 --> 00:19:44,710 because that would have had a great big chrome GXL badge on. 340 00:19:44,790 --> 00:19:47,070 And a chrome strip round the outside and fog lights here. 341 00:19:47,110 --> 00:19:50,070 -Yeah, exactly, so you would know. -They were the badges of rank 342 00:19:50,110 --> 00:19:52,710 and everybody could see them. That was the world we lived in. 343 00:19:52,710 --> 00:19:54,990 My dad, right, when he had the 1600E, 344 00:19:54,990 --> 00:19:57,310 he had a minor front-end biff in it, yes? 345 00:19:57,350 --> 00:20:01,910 The local Ford garage replaced the damaged grille with one from a 1600 Super. 346 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:03,950 And my dad said, "Oh, it doesn't matter." 347 00:20:03,990 --> 00:20:07,990 But it did! It was more important than the Vietnam War! 348 00:20:08,070 --> 00:20:10,950 -I mean, it... -You were being... being publicly humiliated. 349 00:20:10,990 --> 00:20:14,670 People were going, "You haven't got a 1600E, there's chrome..." It is a 1600E! 350 00:20:14,710 --> 00:20:16,710 "You just put fog lights on." We haven't! 351 00:20:16,710 --> 00:20:19,310 -We've really got one! -These things mattered so much. 352 00:20:19,350 --> 00:20:22,630 -Oh, they really did. -Didn't... You had a 1600E? 353 00:20:22,670 --> 00:20:25,990 Oh, we did. No, ten years after my dad sold his, I bought one. 354 00:20:26,070 --> 00:20:28,190 -Well done, that was imaginative. -It was... 355 00:20:28,230 --> 00:20:31,190 Says the man whose first car was? 356 00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:34,790 -Toyota Corolla? -It was a Liftback, actually. 357 00:20:34,830 --> 00:20:38,670 Yeah, but my 1600E, I modified it, and put... 358 00:20:38,710 --> 00:20:41,190 I put a Debbie Harry badge in the middle of the steering wheel. 359 00:20:41,230 --> 00:20:43,870 Fur-lined doors... 360 00:20:43,910 --> 00:20:46,230 -Ooh! -Wolfrace seats... 361 00:20:46,230 --> 00:20:50,670 And a chromed sports air filter, which I told me mates, 362 00:20:50,710 --> 00:20:53,990 "That gives extra 40 horsepower, that does." It didn't. Not really. 363 00:20:54,070 --> 00:20:56,670 -But I told my mates it did. -Do you know what you did there? 364 00:20:56,710 --> 00:20:58,230 -What? -By fitting those extra bits 365 00:20:58,230 --> 00:21:00,310 like the sports air filter onto your car, 366 00:21:00,350 --> 00:21:04,430 you were effectively calling yourself Jeremy Clarkson OBE 367 00:21:04,470 --> 00:21:06,630 -when you didn't have one. -It is a bit like that. 368 00:21:06,670 --> 00:21:10,710 With those fur-lined doors you had interfered with the class system. 369 00:21:10,710 --> 00:21:13,590 Mm, mm. But let's not forget, shall we, 370 00:21:13,630 --> 00:21:17,350 you modified your Corolla by driving it into a Volvo. 371 00:21:17,390 --> 00:21:19,190 Yeah, I did. 372 00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:21,630 I did do that, it was my first crash. 373 00:21:21,670 --> 00:21:23,830 -The first of many. -Yes, all right. Yes. 374 00:21:23,870 --> 00:21:26,910 -Rather set the trend for your life, didn't it? -I got the hang of it. 375 00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:29,630 -Yes. Yes, OK. -"I like crashing, I'll make a living out of this. 376 00:21:29,670 --> 00:21:31,470 -There I go again." -And I did. 377 00:21:33,830 --> 00:21:35,670 Exactly. 378 00:21:36,990 --> 00:21:40,070 Oh, God. 379 00:21:40,110 --> 00:21:42,910 Do you know, I've... I've never actually owned a Ford. 380 00:21:42,950 --> 00:21:44,230 -What, never? -No. 381 00:21:44,230 --> 00:21:46,590 That's like saying you've never owned your own pen. 382 00:21:46,630 --> 00:21:48,310 I've never bought a stamp. 383 00:21:48,350 --> 00:21:50,990 -I mean, even I have managed to own a Ford. -Really? 384 00:21:51,070 --> 00:21:55,150 After I left Birmingham, I moved on, and I had two. 385 00:21:55,190 --> 00:21:56,990 But sort of in the same car. 386 00:21:57,030 --> 00:22:00,350 The front... front of one and the back of the other joined. 387 00:22:00,390 --> 00:22:03,590 -It was absolutely hopeless. -Were they the same colour? 388 00:22:03,630 --> 00:22:07,070 Well, when I bought them, broadly similar, yes, they were. 389 00:22:07,110 --> 00:22:09,710 Look, this is, it's not really Conversation Street, is it? 390 00:22:09,750 --> 00:22:11,190 -No. -It's more Memory Lane. 391 00:22:11,230 --> 00:22:13,830 Anyway, we now have to get back to the Cortina. 392 00:22:13,870 --> 00:22:17,590 Yes, we do, because when it was killed off in 1982, 393 00:22:17,630 --> 00:22:20,990 Ford didn't give up on the idea of a multi-million-selling 394 00:22:21,030 --> 00:22:22,910 medium-sized family saloon, 395 00:22:22,950 --> 00:22:24,990 they came up with a replacement. 396 00:22:25,030 --> 00:22:27,030 It was called the Sierra. 397 00:22:27,070 --> 00:22:29,510 Here is a picture of it. And, to begin with, 398 00:22:29,550 --> 00:22:31,830 -it was a bit of a lemon, wasn't it? -It was. 399 00:22:31,870 --> 00:22:33,590 When it came out, everybody said they hated 400 00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:36,590 its kind of futuristic, aerodynamic shape. 401 00:22:36,630 --> 00:22:38,790 They said it looked horrid, like a jelly mould. 402 00:22:38,830 --> 00:22:40,750 And then everybody worked out 403 00:22:40,790 --> 00:22:43,270 the aerodynamics didn't even work. 404 00:22:43,310 --> 00:22:45,390 No, it turned out in a straight line it was fine, 405 00:22:45,430 --> 00:22:46,870 but when it got hit by a crosswind, 406 00:22:46,910 --> 00:22:49,150 or would overtake a truck on the motorway, 407 00:22:49,190 --> 00:22:50,870 it would veer about like a drunk. 408 00:22:50,910 --> 00:22:54,230 Yeah, another problem was the motor trade hated it 409 00:22:54,270 --> 00:22:57,150 because that plastic front end, if you had a crash, 410 00:22:57,190 --> 00:22:59,590 it would boing back into shape, which was brilliant. 411 00:22:59,630 --> 00:23:04,670 But you didn't know that everything behind it was actually smashed to pieces. 412 00:23:04,710 --> 00:23:06,830 Now, Ford decided there was only one way 413 00:23:06,870 --> 00:23:10,430 to get everybody to fall in love with its new mid-sized family saloon. 414 00:23:10,470 --> 00:23:12,590 It was something they'd done before. 415 00:23:12,630 --> 00:23:14,030 Make a fast version. 416 00:23:15,790 --> 00:23:18,190 What they came up with was this... 417 00:23:21,110 --> 00:23:23,830 ...the Sierra RS Cosworth. 418 00:23:25,990 --> 00:23:29,870 A car that could do 150 miles an hour. 419 00:23:41,190 --> 00:23:47,790 It was 1986. Lots of cars could do 150, but not a Ford. 420 00:23:47,830 --> 00:23:51,550 That was madness. BMW and Mercedes could not believe it. 421 00:23:51,590 --> 00:23:56,030 This was the gardener coming into the parlour and kicking the baron's teeth out. 422 00:23:59,750 --> 00:24:02,750 The blue-bloods were being absolutely battered by this - 423 00:24:02,790 --> 00:24:04,950 the blue-collar worker. 424 00:24:10,110 --> 00:24:12,550 The Sierra's muscle came from Cosworth. 425 00:24:13,710 --> 00:24:15,230 The British engine builder 426 00:24:15,270 --> 00:24:17,670 whose most famous Formula One V8 427 00:24:17,710 --> 00:24:22,270 had taken a staggering 176 Grand Prix victories. 428 00:24:24,270 --> 00:24:27,590 They took a drab, cast-iron saloon car engine 429 00:24:27,630 --> 00:24:30,230 and fitted it with an aluminium twin-cam head, 430 00:24:30,270 --> 00:24:33,190 a turbo the size of a dustbin, 431 00:24:33,230 --> 00:24:36,270 and turned it into a masterpiece. 432 00:24:40,110 --> 00:24:42,750 It was built to be a hard-working unit, this. 433 00:24:42,790 --> 00:24:44,470 As you can tell. 434 00:24:44,510 --> 00:24:47,390 The interesting thing about this engine, is if you look carefully 435 00:24:47,430 --> 00:24:49,390 you can see there's a second set of injectors 436 00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:51,790 that weren't actually connected to anything. 437 00:24:51,830 --> 00:24:55,430 They were installed because Ford knew they'd be necessary 438 00:24:55,470 --> 00:24:58,990 when they did what they always did with their family cars... 439 00:24:59,030 --> 00:25:00,950 go racing with them. 440 00:25:03,350 --> 00:25:07,190 With those injectors engaged, and bigger turbos fitted, 441 00:25:07,230 --> 00:25:13,590 the race cars were churning out a massive 525 horsepower. 442 00:25:14,950 --> 00:25:17,830 They were unstoppable. 443 00:25:17,870 --> 00:25:19,830 The Ford Sierra Cosworth, 444 00:25:19,870 --> 00:25:23,230 the top touring car of the day. 445 00:25:23,270 --> 00:25:26,070 In its day, the Sierra won 84% 446 00:25:26,110 --> 00:25:27,990 of races it entered. 447 00:25:28,030 --> 00:25:31,230 84%. 448 00:25:31,270 --> 00:25:35,030 And that makes it the most successful racing car ever made. 449 00:25:37,910 --> 00:25:41,110 I'd love to meet a driver who raced one and didn't win. 450 00:25:41,150 --> 00:25:44,310 "Right, so I had absolutely the best tool for the job, 451 00:25:44,350 --> 00:25:47,190 and everyone else has won with it except me. 452 00:25:47,230 --> 00:25:48,870 I'm fired, aren't I?" 453 00:25:55,110 --> 00:25:57,510 To keep the road-going rocket ship 454 00:25:57,550 --> 00:26:00,150 pointing mostly in the right direction, 455 00:26:00,190 --> 00:26:04,230 it got beefed-up suspension, a limited slip diff, 456 00:26:04,270 --> 00:26:06,030 and its most famous feature... 457 00:26:08,510 --> 00:26:10,830 ...that massive back wing. 458 00:26:10,870 --> 00:26:13,310 And that wing says everything about the Cosworth. 459 00:26:13,350 --> 00:26:16,630 Compared with grown-up things from Mercedes and BMW, 460 00:26:16,670 --> 00:26:18,470 it said, "Ah, sod off! 461 00:26:18,510 --> 00:26:21,670 I don't care what you think about me." 462 00:26:23,510 --> 00:26:24,870 But it was also there for a reason, 463 00:26:24,910 --> 00:26:27,750 to make actual downforce. 464 00:26:27,790 --> 00:26:30,070 Which, according to men called Gav 465 00:26:30,110 --> 00:26:32,030 in every flat-roof pub in the country, 466 00:26:32,070 --> 00:26:34,230 meant the Sierra could drive upside-down 467 00:26:34,270 --> 00:26:36,190 on the roof of a tunnel. 468 00:26:39,950 --> 00:26:41,310 I'm not sure about that. 469 00:26:41,350 --> 00:26:43,150 This thing is still pretty lively. 470 00:27:00,510 --> 00:27:02,430 Ha-ha, ha-ha! 471 00:27:04,510 --> 00:27:06,110 It brings out the worst in you. 472 00:27:06,150 --> 00:27:08,510 This is like a really bad mate. 473 00:27:08,550 --> 00:27:10,230 You know, the one you absolutely love 474 00:27:10,270 --> 00:27:13,910 but nobody appreciates you hanging around with him. 475 00:27:16,630 --> 00:27:21,190 Cosworth turned the Sierra into one of the most desirable cars on the planet. 476 00:27:23,110 --> 00:27:25,270 And because it only cost 17 grand, 477 00:27:25,310 --> 00:27:28,430 six grand less than a BMW M3, 478 00:27:28,470 --> 00:27:30,110 your local builder could have one. 479 00:27:31,990 --> 00:27:36,790 However, while everyone wanted Ford's latest working-class hero, 480 00:27:36,830 --> 00:27:40,110 not everyone was prepared to pay for it. 481 00:27:40,150 --> 00:27:41,750 -Joy riders... -Joy riders... 482 00:27:41,790 --> 00:27:44,390 Joy riders in a stolen Sierra Cosworth... 483 00:27:44,430 --> 00:27:46,910 ...driving around a Newcastle housing estate... 484 00:27:46,950 --> 00:27:49,710 The high-performance vehicle is the twoccer's favourite. 485 00:27:52,150 --> 00:27:53,470 In the late '80s, 486 00:27:53,510 --> 00:27:55,950 car crime saw a massive spike. 487 00:27:55,990 --> 00:27:58,950 And the Cosworth was at its tip. 488 00:28:02,310 --> 00:28:04,870 Here was a car with the performance of a supercar 489 00:28:04,910 --> 00:28:07,990 and the locks of a shed. 490 00:28:08,030 --> 00:28:10,270 If you had five seconds and a screwdriver, 491 00:28:10,310 --> 00:28:12,430 you too could have a Sierra Cosworth. 492 00:28:12,470 --> 00:28:15,350 And whatever you did next, the fuzz couldn't catch you. 493 00:28:18,070 --> 00:28:20,070 Ford tried to get on top of things, 494 00:28:20,110 --> 00:28:21,910 by stripping off the wing, 495 00:28:21,950 --> 00:28:23,550 and putting the firecracker engine 496 00:28:23,590 --> 00:28:26,710 into a sober, four-door shell... 497 00:28:26,750 --> 00:28:29,350 ...to make this the Sierra Sapphire Cosworth. 498 00:28:30,830 --> 00:28:32,590 But it didn't work. 499 00:28:34,510 --> 00:28:36,510 If anything, the crims were grateful. 500 00:28:36,550 --> 00:28:38,150 "Oh, thanks, back doors. 501 00:28:38,190 --> 00:28:40,870 Makes it easier for the lads to get in after a bank job." 502 00:28:40,910 --> 00:28:42,830 But ultimately... What? 503 00:28:48,190 --> 00:28:50,110 Oh, for God's sake! 504 00:28:53,510 --> 00:28:55,550 Things got so bad by the early '90s 505 00:28:55,590 --> 00:28:59,750 that the Sierra Cosworth was five-and-half times more likely to be stolen 506 00:28:59,790 --> 00:29:02,230 than any other car. 507 00:29:02,270 --> 00:29:05,470 There were many owners who reported being followed by criminals, 508 00:29:05,510 --> 00:29:08,990 waiting for them to park so they could nick it. 509 00:29:09,030 --> 00:29:11,950 That would take the edge off the pleasure of owning it, if I'm honest. 510 00:29:13,110 --> 00:29:14,870 Ford got so desperate, 511 00:29:14,910 --> 00:29:18,310 they dropped the price of the Cosworth by £7,000 - 512 00:29:18,350 --> 00:29:20,910 the value of an entire Fiesta - 513 00:29:20,950 --> 00:29:22,950 just to shift the things. 514 00:29:22,990 --> 00:29:26,030 And even that didn't work. 515 00:29:26,070 --> 00:29:29,110 There were numerous reports at the time of Cosworth owners 516 00:29:29,150 --> 00:29:32,990 receiving insurance quotes that were more than the value of the car. 517 00:29:33,030 --> 00:29:35,550 And eventually, insuring a Sierra Cosworth 518 00:29:35,590 --> 00:29:38,670 became not just expensive but impossible. 519 00:29:38,710 --> 00:29:40,630 They were uninsurable. 520 00:29:43,710 --> 00:29:45,630 But by then, it didn't matter. 521 00:29:47,630 --> 00:29:49,750 The Sierra Cosworth had done its job, 522 00:29:49,790 --> 00:29:54,390 just as the Lotus Cortina had done 25 years earlier, 523 00:29:54,430 --> 00:29:59,070 by making an ordinary family saloon seem impossibly cool. 524 00:30:14,950 --> 00:30:16,830 Honestly, I was flipping drooling. 525 00:30:16,870 --> 00:30:18,750 -It's a legend of a car. -Absolute legend. 526 00:30:18,790 --> 00:30:20,790 I was drooling, watching. 527 00:30:20,830 --> 00:30:23,270 I absolutely loved... 528 00:30:23,310 --> 00:30:25,590 I adored the Sierra Cosworth. 529 00:30:25,630 --> 00:30:27,350 -It was brilliant. -Fabulous. 530 00:30:27,390 --> 00:30:31,630 Absolutely fabulous, but I need to do a bit more documentary work. 531 00:30:31,670 --> 00:30:34,470 -I think you should. -The Cosworth wasn't the most important thing 532 00:30:34,510 --> 00:30:37,670 about the Sierra. The most important thing was, 533 00:30:37,710 --> 00:30:40,070 the Sierra changed the Labour Party. 534 00:30:40,110 --> 00:30:42,710 -Really? -It genuinely did. 535 00:30:42,750 --> 00:30:45,350 A young Tony Blair was out canvassing one day, 536 00:30:45,390 --> 00:30:47,830 saw a man washing his Sierra on the drive, 537 00:30:47,870 --> 00:30:49,590 sort of went up to him. 538 00:30:49,630 --> 00:30:52,470 The Labour Party policy back then, as now, actually, 539 00:30:52,510 --> 00:30:55,670 was to get the man out of his car and back where he belonged on a bus. 540 00:30:55,710 --> 00:30:59,070 -Yes. -Tony Blair realised this guy didn't want to go on a bus. 541 00:30:59,110 --> 00:31:02,470 He wanted a better Sierra, faster Sierra, Sierra with headrests. 542 00:31:02,510 --> 00:31:04,790 So he went away and he created New Labour 543 00:31:04,830 --> 00:31:06,750 as a result of that conversation. 544 00:31:06,790 --> 00:31:08,710 And then started an illegal war. 545 00:31:12,030 --> 00:31:13,270 Well, he did. 546 00:31:13,310 --> 00:31:14,710 Well... 547 00:31:14,750 --> 00:31:16,470 Well, he did. 548 00:31:16,510 --> 00:31:19,310 He did. He did. 549 00:31:20,830 --> 00:31:23,470 He did do those... He did do those two things, yes. 550 00:31:23,510 --> 00:31:25,110 Should we get back to the car? 551 00:31:25,150 --> 00:31:28,030 Good idea, because we must now find out how fast... 552 00:31:28,070 --> 00:31:30,550 Let's see if I can still pronounce it properly. 553 00:31:30,590 --> 00:31:32,710 -...the Cozzer... -Yeah, you've still got it. 554 00:31:32,750 --> 00:31:34,630 The Cozzer. You know what I mean? The Cozzer. 555 00:31:34,670 --> 00:31:38,870 Let's see how fast it goes round the Eboladrome. 556 00:31:38,910 --> 00:31:41,110 And away it goes, gentle off the line, 557 00:31:41,150 --> 00:31:44,950 but then a scuff of wheel spin as the turbo roars into life 558 00:31:44,990 --> 00:31:47,910 and catapults it onto the Isn't. 559 00:31:50,150 --> 00:31:52,750 The 1980s gear change workout there, 560 00:31:52,790 --> 00:31:56,870 and a lot of body roll on those soft '80s springs. 561 00:32:00,230 --> 00:32:01,750 Ooh, look at that! 562 00:32:01,790 --> 00:32:03,350 Driving it like it's stolen, 563 00:32:03,390 --> 00:32:05,590 which 30 years ago, it would have been. 564 00:32:05,630 --> 00:32:08,710 Here we go, ooh, yeah, bit of oversteer into Your Name Here. 565 00:32:08,750 --> 00:32:11,710 You don't see that from the modern stuff. 566 00:32:11,750 --> 00:32:13,390 And now the turbo lag clears 567 00:32:13,430 --> 00:32:15,910 as it fires back down the Isn't. 568 00:32:15,950 --> 00:32:18,710 This won't be the fastest car we've ever seen, 569 00:32:18,750 --> 00:32:22,750 but I can bet you Abbie is having an absolute riot in there. 570 00:32:24,990 --> 00:32:27,350 OK, hard braking for Old Lady's House, 571 00:32:27,390 --> 00:32:29,270 wrestling it in, keeping it neat 572 00:32:29,310 --> 00:32:31,430 through the right, and then the left. 573 00:32:31,470 --> 00:32:35,550 And now back on the power for the blast to Substation. 574 00:32:35,590 --> 00:32:38,270 Engine note that screams, "Oi, Gary!" 575 00:32:38,310 --> 00:32:42,310 That's it, braking, flicks it in like a touring car driver. 576 00:32:42,350 --> 00:32:44,510 Only Field of Sheep left. 577 00:32:44,550 --> 00:32:48,310 Not much drama there, and across the line! 578 00:32:48,350 --> 00:32:50,670 That looks great, looks really exciting. 579 00:32:50,710 --> 00:32:53,150 I was really expecting the full crossed up... 580 00:32:53,190 --> 00:32:55,510 No, but that...it does that four-wheel drift thing, 581 00:32:55,550 --> 00:32:57,950 same as the Lotus Cortina, wah! 582 00:32:57,990 --> 00:33:00,390 -It's what they do. -Anyway, let's see now 583 00:33:00,430 --> 00:33:03,910 how quickly Abbie got it round the Eboladrome. 584 00:33:03,950 --> 00:33:06,870 Let's find out the time - oh, quicker than I thought. 585 00:33:06,910 --> 00:33:08,390 Oh-ho! 586 00:33:08,430 --> 00:33:09,910 What? 587 00:33:09,950 --> 00:33:11,750 Well, it's faster than a Lamborghini. 588 00:33:13,710 --> 00:33:15,350 I told you that thing was slow, 589 00:33:15,390 --> 00:33:17,790 it's actually slower than a Ford Sierra. 590 00:33:17,830 --> 00:33:20,030 But the interesting thing for me there 591 00:33:20,070 --> 00:33:23,270 is it's quicker than a Ford Fiesta ST200, 592 00:33:23,310 --> 00:33:25,830 and they both have the same power, about 200 horsepower. 593 00:33:25,870 --> 00:33:28,310 They did, yeah. I think what that goes to show is, 594 00:33:28,350 --> 00:33:31,110 despite all the improvements in suspension and tyres, 595 00:33:31,150 --> 00:33:34,350 you can't beat fitting something with a sodding great turbo. 596 00:33:34,390 --> 00:33:36,790 -Exactly. -A massive turbo does the job. 597 00:33:36,830 --> 00:33:39,830 Anyway, can I get back to our documentary, yes? 598 00:33:39,870 --> 00:33:43,150 In 1993, Ford stopped making the Sierra 599 00:33:43,190 --> 00:33:46,710 and decided instead to export the idea 600 00:33:46,750 --> 00:33:50,390 that had revolutionised Britain to the whole world. 601 00:33:50,430 --> 00:33:53,910 What they came up with was something they called a World Car. 602 00:33:53,950 --> 00:33:56,390 Something not just for everyone here, 603 00:33:56,430 --> 00:33:58,270 but for everyone everywhere. 604 00:33:58,310 --> 00:34:00,310 They called it the Mondeo. 605 00:34:00,350 --> 00:34:05,550 And it achieved something that no car in history has ever managed. 606 00:34:10,190 --> 00:34:12,910 Over the years, Richard, James and I have driven 607 00:34:12,950 --> 00:34:15,870 almost every car ever made. 608 00:34:19,550 --> 00:34:21,910 We've waxed lyrical about many of them... 609 00:34:23,710 --> 00:34:25,710 ...drooling over their styling... 610 00:34:27,870 --> 00:34:30,670 ...or their handling... 611 00:34:30,710 --> 00:34:34,430 ...or the way they make the roots of our penises fizz. 612 00:34:39,470 --> 00:34:44,110 But incredibly, there is only one car that we all like. 613 00:34:48,270 --> 00:34:49,870 This one - 614 00:34:49,910 --> 00:34:52,590 the Mondeo ST Estate. 615 00:35:02,350 --> 00:35:05,550 Let's be clear, there are lots of cars we all don't like. 616 00:35:05,550 --> 00:35:07,230 -Yeah, yes. -Nissan Juke. 617 00:35:07,270 --> 00:35:08,790 Hate it. The Beetle. 618 00:35:08,830 --> 00:35:11,230 Good one on the Beetle, we all hate that. 619 00:35:11,270 --> 00:35:13,790 -Nissan "Quashquai". -Yeah, that's a good one. 620 00:35:13,830 --> 00:35:15,710 Audi Q5. 621 00:35:15,750 --> 00:35:17,670 -No, don't like that. -All hate that. 622 00:35:17,710 --> 00:35:20,070 -And the Q7. -And the Q7. We all hate that. 623 00:35:20,110 --> 00:35:22,470 -Jaguar X-Type. -Yeah, we all hate that. 624 00:35:22,510 --> 00:35:24,310 The new Land Rover Discovery. 625 00:35:24,350 --> 00:35:25,550 -Yes. -Yeah. 626 00:35:25,550 --> 00:35:26,950 BMW X3. 627 00:35:26,990 --> 00:35:28,070 -Yep, yeah. -Yes. 628 00:35:28,070 --> 00:35:30,070 -Mini Countryman. -Oh, yeah, yeah! 629 00:35:30,110 --> 00:35:33,510 We all hate that. 630 00:35:33,550 --> 00:35:36,830 So, we've established there are many, many cars we all don't like. 631 00:35:36,870 --> 00:35:38,750 But cars we do like? 632 00:35:38,790 --> 00:35:40,790 -There's this. -There's this. 633 00:35:43,070 --> 00:35:45,430 What about the Subaru Legacy Outback? 634 00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:47,070 But the front diff's rubbish. 635 00:35:47,110 --> 00:35:49,550 You can't go round a corner when you're going slowly. 636 00:35:49,590 --> 00:35:51,670 -So it's a bit annoying. -So it is just this? 637 00:35:51,710 --> 00:35:54,750 - Yeah. - This is it. 638 00:35:54,790 --> 00:35:58,510 Do you know what I liked? It's the fast version, but it was still comfortable. 639 00:35:58,550 --> 00:36:00,870 These seats were great. It still rides properly. 640 00:36:00,910 --> 00:36:03,470 It doesn't make a terrible racket, it's just civilised. 641 00:36:03,510 --> 00:36:05,550 I like the way it was a practical estate. 642 00:36:05,590 --> 00:36:08,950 It had a massive boot, and Ford had the sense to give it five doors. 643 00:36:08,990 --> 00:36:11,670 Which is something Austin didn't think of with the Allegro. 644 00:36:11,710 --> 00:36:13,670 No, that is true. I like the speed. 645 00:36:13,710 --> 00:36:15,070 Oh, there's a surprise. 646 00:36:18,190 --> 00:36:20,070 V6 engine, 200 horsepower. 647 00:36:21,990 --> 00:36:26,070 0-60, seven seconds. Top speed, 150. 648 00:36:26,070 --> 00:36:29,030 It didn't look it, but this was as quick as a Cosworth. 649 00:36:32,470 --> 00:36:36,710 And when they turned it into the ST220 in 2002, 650 00:36:36,750 --> 00:36:39,950 it looked right as well. 651 00:36:39,990 --> 00:36:42,390 They should have sold these by the million. 652 00:36:43,510 --> 00:36:45,230 But there was a problem. 653 00:36:49,030 --> 00:36:51,390 This. 654 00:36:51,430 --> 00:36:57,270 The first so-called MPV, the Toyota Picnic. 655 00:36:57,310 --> 00:37:00,390 In 1996 when it was first introduced, we laughed at it, 656 00:37:00,430 --> 00:37:03,230 because it seemed so stupid. 657 00:37:05,790 --> 00:37:09,870 I mean, why name a car after something you might do in it? Picnic. 658 00:37:09,910 --> 00:37:12,190 No, they didn't have a Toyota Dentist, did they? 659 00:37:12,230 --> 00:37:15,790 The Honda Pop-to-the-Shops. It's just an ordinary act, it's not even exciting. 660 00:37:15,830 --> 00:37:17,550 The Volkswagen Dogging. 661 00:37:17,590 --> 00:37:19,230 It's just a stupid idea. 662 00:37:19,270 --> 00:37:20,870 A naff thing to do. 663 00:37:20,910 --> 00:37:25,030 It cost the same as a Mondeo, it was just a bit taller. 664 00:37:25,070 --> 00:37:27,470 Yeah. It's in case your head suddenly grows tall. 665 00:37:27,510 --> 00:37:29,030 Was there a fashion for wearing 666 00:37:29,070 --> 00:37:31,550 Victorian industrialist hats at the time? 667 00:37:31,550 --> 00:37:34,190 -No, there wasn't. -Well, there's no excuse for it, then. 668 00:37:34,230 --> 00:37:36,070 Unless you've actually got a Busby 669 00:37:36,070 --> 00:37:38,950 glued to the top of your head... 670 00:37:38,990 --> 00:37:40,710 There is no other reason. 671 00:37:40,750 --> 00:37:42,870 And what troubles me, 672 00:37:42,910 --> 00:37:45,510 is think of the damage this did to children. 673 00:37:45,550 --> 00:37:47,590 "Come out and see the new car, kids!" 674 00:37:50,350 --> 00:37:53,350 - It's just a Picnic! - "That... 675 00:37:53,390 --> 00:37:55,110 That's our car. 676 00:37:55,190 --> 00:37:56,510 It's hateful!" 677 00:37:56,550 --> 00:37:59,310 It's dismal. 678 00:37:59,350 --> 00:38:02,310 "It's got big windows so people will see me in it." 679 00:38:02,350 --> 00:38:05,030 It actually says, "Family fun vehicle" on it. 680 00:38:05,070 --> 00:38:06,950 It doesn't? What's fun about it? 681 00:38:06,990 --> 00:38:08,870 It isn't more fun. 682 00:38:08,910 --> 00:38:12,270 We thought, when it first came along, that it would be a fad, 683 00:38:12,310 --> 00:38:15,310 like culottes, or deep fried brie, 684 00:38:15,350 --> 00:38:17,230 or Crocs, or tattoos. 685 00:38:17,270 --> 00:38:19,950 Something where you think, "Oh, that's fun," 686 00:38:19,990 --> 00:38:23,710 and then realise five minutes later that it's actually ridiculous. 687 00:38:24,830 --> 00:38:26,190 But, no. 688 00:38:26,230 --> 00:38:28,790 This idiotic tall car idea 689 00:38:28,830 --> 00:38:30,910 actually started to catch on. 690 00:38:33,950 --> 00:38:35,750 Renault came up with their version, 691 00:38:35,790 --> 00:38:37,790 which was called the Scenic. 692 00:38:37,830 --> 00:38:40,590 And pretty soon, everyone was at it - 693 00:38:40,670 --> 00:38:43,870 Mazda, Fiat, Vauxhall, the lot! 694 00:38:45,950 --> 00:38:48,510 Think what you started, you bastard. 695 00:38:48,550 --> 00:38:50,750 You deserve this, and you're having it. 696 00:38:51,870 --> 00:38:54,670 And you're having more of it. 697 00:38:54,710 --> 00:38:57,590 A new car is a great thing, but not when it's you! 698 00:38:57,670 --> 00:38:59,550 Oh, you've got a mirror left. 699 00:39:01,110 --> 00:39:03,910 Think how many lives you ruined. 700 00:39:03,950 --> 00:39:06,790 You are the Allegro Estate of modern times, 701 00:39:06,830 --> 00:39:09,350 and you deserve this. 702 00:39:09,390 --> 00:39:11,870 To make matters worse for Ford, 703 00:39:11,910 --> 00:39:15,030 in 2000, the British Government decided that company cars 704 00:39:15,070 --> 00:39:17,190 should be taxed, like income. 705 00:39:17,230 --> 00:39:19,550 Yeah, that meant people had to buy their own cars. 706 00:39:19,550 --> 00:39:22,790 And many responded by not buying a car at all. 707 00:39:24,910 --> 00:39:26,670 As interest rates were so low, 708 00:39:26,710 --> 00:39:29,430 it made more sense to lease. 709 00:39:29,470 --> 00:39:31,910 And if you're gonna do that, why not get a BMW? 710 00:39:33,390 --> 00:39:36,030 Or a Mercedes? 711 00:39:36,070 --> 00:39:38,430 As the rot started to take hold, 712 00:39:38,470 --> 00:39:42,350 Ford reverted to type and got serious about motor racing. 713 00:39:49,750 --> 00:39:53,670 In 2000, they came first, second and third 714 00:39:53,710 --> 00:39:56,070 in the British Touring Car Championship. 715 00:39:56,110 --> 00:40:00,190 All three Fords were on the front row again for the sprint race... 716 00:40:00,230 --> 00:40:04,310 And the following year, Mondeo sales did go up a bit. 717 00:40:04,350 --> 00:40:06,310 Ford drivers clocking ... 718 00:40:06,350 --> 00:40:10,790 But then, they stopped motor racing. 719 00:40:10,830 --> 00:40:15,110 And the MPVs kept coming, and leasing a Mercedes got cheaper, 720 00:40:15,190 --> 00:40:18,910 and the effect on Ford was astonishing. 721 00:40:20,670 --> 00:40:26,030 In 1994, they sold 127,000 Mondeos in Britain. 722 00:40:26,070 --> 00:40:30,070 In 2017, that was down to 12,000. 723 00:40:32,070 --> 00:40:36,190 And 85% of those 12,000 were fleet sales, 724 00:40:36,230 --> 00:40:38,230 hire car companies and the police. 725 00:40:38,270 --> 00:40:41,470 And that means only 1900 Mondeos 726 00:40:41,510 --> 00:40:43,430 were sold to private buyers. 727 00:40:43,470 --> 00:40:47,110 -Yeah, people that actually went and bought one. -Yeah, 1900. 728 00:40:47,190 --> 00:40:48,950 And, if you think about it, 729 00:40:48,990 --> 00:40:51,190 Ford has 500 dealers in Britain, yeah? 730 00:40:51,230 --> 00:40:54,510 -Yeah. -Each of those will have taken two Mondeos a year? 731 00:40:54,550 --> 00:40:57,310 Oh, God, yeah, as demonstrators. Yes, they would have done. 732 00:40:57,350 --> 00:40:59,830 -So really, we are... -900, you're talking about. 733 00:40:59,870 --> 00:41:02,950 900 people actually said, "I'll buy one of those with my money." 734 00:41:02,990 --> 00:41:06,030 Yeah, 900 people. 735 00:41:06,070 --> 00:41:09,990 When they used to sell 127,000 of them a year. 736 00:41:10,030 --> 00:41:12,110 -That's an astonishing fact. -I know. 737 00:41:16,390 --> 00:41:21,070 In America, things are so bad the Mondeo will be pulled from the showrooms this year. 738 00:41:32,350 --> 00:41:35,070 And it's predicted that soon after that, 739 00:41:35,110 --> 00:41:37,470 it'll go from the rest of the world as well. 740 00:41:40,550 --> 00:41:42,510 And when that happens, 741 00:41:42,550 --> 00:41:45,870 Britain will have lost much more than just a car. 742 00:41:47,870 --> 00:41:51,070 The Mondeo was never fancy or spectacular, 743 00:41:51,070 --> 00:41:54,910 it never won Le Mans, it was never awarded a Nobel Prize, 744 00:41:54,950 --> 00:41:56,870 it didn't write The Grapes Of Wrath. 745 00:41:57,950 --> 00:41:59,590 It was just your mate, 746 00:41:59,670 --> 00:42:02,950 someone you enjoyed going to the pub with. 747 00:42:07,430 --> 00:42:08,870 And here's the thing. 748 00:42:08,910 --> 00:42:12,310 When someone fancy or spectacular like, say, 749 00:42:12,350 --> 00:42:16,270 Mick Jagger dies, it'll be sad. 750 00:42:16,310 --> 00:42:20,790 But when your mate dies, that is heart-breaking. 751 00:42:26,390 --> 00:42:29,350 So, to give this car the send-off it deserves... 752 00:42:31,950 --> 00:42:33,990 ...we've booked Lincoln Cathedral. 753 00:42:41,670 --> 00:42:44,830 And invited some like-minded souls 754 00:42:44,870 --> 00:42:46,950 to mark the moment of its passing. 755 00:42:53,870 --> 00:42:56,670 This'll be a funeral for a friend. 756 00:43:05,310 --> 00:43:07,390 A few people have turned up already. 757 00:43:07,430 --> 00:43:09,350 Look at that. 758 00:43:15,990 --> 00:43:19,070 - Big, isn't it? - Very. 759 00:43:19,070 --> 00:43:22,750 Tallest building in the world for 250 years, this. 760 00:43:22,790 --> 00:43:25,950 How many people do you think are gonna turn up? 761 00:43:25,990 --> 00:43:27,990 Well, it is a Tuesday afternoon. 762 00:43:28,030 --> 00:43:30,030 Well, we might get 50. 763 00:43:30,070 --> 00:43:32,190 No, I think it could be 100. 764 00:43:32,230 --> 00:43:35,510 -100 would be nice, wouldn't it? -Yeah. 765 00:43:35,550 --> 00:43:37,990 In fact, it was rather more than 100. 766 00:43:51,390 --> 00:43:52,990 So many people came, 767 00:43:53,030 --> 00:43:56,270 that the traffic in Lincoln ground to a halt. 768 00:44:02,310 --> 00:44:05,550 And we had to begin the service before they'd all arrived. 769 00:44:09,270 --> 00:44:11,070 Ford, Ford. 770 00:46:31,510 --> 00:46:33,430 Yep. 771 00:46:35,270 --> 00:46:37,190 It is very sad. 772 00:46:39,590 --> 00:46:42,790 It is, um... 773 00:46:42,830 --> 00:46:47,870 It's very sad, and it's not the only British motoring institution 774 00:46:47,910 --> 00:46:49,830 that's coming to an end. 775 00:46:52,270 --> 00:46:54,230 We are. 776 00:46:54,270 --> 00:46:56,470 Aww. 777 00:46:56,510 --> 00:47:00,470 This is not just the last in the series. 778 00:47:00,510 --> 00:47:03,870 I mean...sorry, the show as you know it is actually ending, 779 00:47:03,910 --> 00:47:06,510 with you know, the track, audience, us three, 780 00:47:06,550 --> 00:47:10,670 and bad... really badly fitting jackets every week. 781 00:47:12,110 --> 00:47:14,190 This is the last one. 782 00:47:14,230 --> 00:47:16,070 It is. It is. 783 00:47:16,110 --> 00:47:20,870 It's sad but we have been doing it together for 17 years. 784 00:47:20,910 --> 00:47:22,470 16. 785 00:47:22,510 --> 00:47:24,350 -OK, that's...you were late. -Sorry. 786 00:47:24,390 --> 00:47:25,870 Yeah, he was. 787 00:47:25,910 --> 00:47:28,910 Nevertheless, we do feel the time has come to move on. 788 00:47:28,950 --> 00:47:30,670 - Yeah. - Aww. 789 00:47:30,710 --> 00:47:32,470 Boo! 790 00:47:32,510 --> 00:47:35,030 The problem for us is we can't... 791 00:47:35,070 --> 00:47:37,790 We can't make an announcement as momentous as that 792 00:47:37,830 --> 00:47:40,790 and then just walk out of the tent, can we? 793 00:47:40,830 --> 00:47:42,750 No, we can't. So we've uh... 794 00:47:42,790 --> 00:47:45,510 We've actually put together a montage of some of the things 795 00:47:45,550 --> 00:47:50,070 we've done not just at Amazon but also with our previous employers at the BBC. 796 00:47:50,110 --> 00:47:51,310 Here it is. 797 00:47:54,830 --> 00:47:57,030 This is gonna take forever. 798 00:48:08,030 --> 00:48:10,870 Oh... Here we go. Agh! 799 00:48:15,990 --> 00:48:17,630 Oh, my God. 800 00:48:17,670 --> 00:48:19,430 Its carrot's come out. 801 00:48:19,470 --> 00:48:21,470 Power! Power, come on! 802 00:48:21,510 --> 00:48:22,710 You have to let... 803 00:48:24,830 --> 00:48:25,910 Watch this. 804 00:48:27,630 --> 00:48:28,950 Oh, yeah! 805 00:48:31,390 --> 00:48:32,510 -Let's go! -Go on! 806 00:48:39,990 --> 00:48:42,350 Holy shit. 807 00:48:42,390 --> 00:48:46,510 We are in fact at the cutting edge of cocking about. 808 00:48:49,190 --> 00:48:52,430 Am I dead? 809 00:48:52,470 --> 00:48:55,110 I can't believe I'm looking in...whoa! 810 00:48:59,990 --> 00:49:01,590 This could go so wrong. 811 00:49:06,110 --> 00:49:09,030 I've crashed! 812 00:49:09,070 --> 00:49:11,110 Now I know what it's like to be Richard Hammond. 813 00:49:11,150 --> 00:49:12,710 It's looking good. 814 00:49:20,430 --> 00:49:22,430 Oh, my God! 815 00:49:34,710 --> 00:49:36,150 The fact is... 816 00:49:43,150 --> 00:49:45,470 Ooh, shit! Sorry. 817 00:49:45,510 --> 00:49:46,990 What are you two wearing? 818 00:49:52,390 --> 00:49:54,310 You bastards! 819 00:50:20,110 --> 00:50:21,350 Oh, no! 820 00:50:22,430 --> 00:50:23,990 Agh! 821 00:50:25,190 --> 00:50:27,830 USA! USA! USA! 822 00:50:31,510 --> 00:50:32,910 Very scared. 823 00:50:38,230 --> 00:50:40,150 See you there. 824 00:50:44,950 --> 00:50:46,390 Aagh! 825 00:50:51,550 --> 00:50:52,630 Bollocks. 826 00:50:54,830 --> 00:50:56,230 Whoa! 827 00:50:57,510 --> 00:50:58,710 Agh! 828 00:51:02,270 --> 00:51:04,990 -Ho-ho-ho! -We have travelled far! 829 00:51:14,070 --> 00:51:15,990 Is that all right? 830 00:51:42,390 --> 00:51:44,110 Thank you. 831 00:52:01,590 --> 00:52:03,270 Thank you, and honestly. 832 00:52:03,310 --> 00:52:06,270 Tell you what, though, we haven't half had some laughs. 833 00:52:06,310 --> 00:52:08,430 We have. 834 00:52:08,470 --> 00:52:11,390 -It was brilliant, wasn't it? -Yeah, it's all just brilliant. 835 00:52:11,430 --> 00:52:15,030 I'm just going back in my head, there's the cow on the Camaro... 836 00:52:15,070 --> 00:52:17,310 -Yeah. -The indestructible Toyota... 837 00:52:17,350 --> 00:52:19,070 -Yeah. -Oliver. 838 00:52:19,110 --> 00:52:21,230 Beach buggies across the dunes, that was... 839 00:52:21,270 --> 00:52:24,390 Driving down - it was in there - driving down the ski slope in Col... 840 00:52:24,430 --> 00:52:26,550 That was one of the best things I've ever done. 841 00:52:26,590 --> 00:52:28,950 My horse mating with your horse whilst we were... 842 00:52:28,990 --> 00:52:30,350 I didn't like that so much, no. 843 00:52:30,390 --> 00:52:32,230 -Him falling off his horse. -Yes. 844 00:52:32,270 --> 00:52:34,870 -Him falling off his motorcycle. -A lot, yeah. 845 00:52:34,910 --> 00:52:38,110 And the great thing was, in all of the years we've worked together, 846 00:52:38,150 --> 00:52:43,190 every single time um... one of us fell over, 847 00:52:43,230 --> 00:52:45,030 there was never any sympathy. 848 00:52:45,070 --> 00:52:47,910 --You'd burst into laughter straight away, 849 00:52:47,950 --> 00:52:49,830 "Ha-ha! He's hurt himself!" 850 00:52:49,870 --> 00:52:53,710 A whole 17 years of your mates not giving a shit. 851 00:52:54,990 --> 00:52:57,950 Well, anyone out there got fond memories? 852 00:52:57,990 --> 00:53:00,590 James falling over and hitting his head. 853 00:53:00,630 --> 00:53:03,630 James hitting his head in Syria, that was hilarious. 854 00:53:03,670 --> 00:53:05,710 At least I can't remember. 855 00:53:05,750 --> 00:53:07,310 - Caravans. - What? 856 00:53:07,350 --> 00:53:09,230 -Caravans. -Just caravans, generally. 857 00:53:09,270 --> 00:53:12,150 Endlessly caravans, no, the disintegrating cow... 858 00:53:12,190 --> 00:53:13,790 - It just goes... - Spitfire! 859 00:53:13,830 --> 00:53:16,310 -Spitfires was good. -Sitting in a Spitfire looking at your mates 860 00:53:16,350 --> 00:53:18,350 also in Spitfires was just... 861 00:53:20,430 --> 00:53:22,110 - Vietnam. - Oh, yeah. 862 00:53:22,150 --> 00:53:23,630 God, I hated Vietnam. 863 00:53:23,670 --> 00:53:25,310 I liked it. 864 00:53:25,350 --> 00:53:28,750 I mean, I liked Vietnam, I just didn't like being on a motorcycle. 865 00:53:28,790 --> 00:53:30,350 Italian supercar. 866 00:53:30,390 --> 00:53:32,830 Well, we've done Italian super cars. There isn't an... 867 00:53:32,870 --> 00:53:35,390 -I liked when we did the cheap ones. -Oh, the cheap ones? 868 00:53:35,430 --> 00:53:39,190 I blew the Maserati's big end right through the windscreen of your Lamborghini. 869 00:53:39,230 --> 00:53:41,630 You literally threw an engine at me. 870 00:53:41,670 --> 00:53:43,830 Yeah, I did literally throw an engine at his head. 871 00:53:43,870 --> 00:53:46,190 - It's all been epic. - Robin Reliant. 872 00:53:46,230 --> 00:53:47,670 -Don't stop. -What? 873 00:53:47,710 --> 00:53:50,390 -Don't stop. Carry on. -Please. 874 00:53:53,790 --> 00:53:54,870 Well, um... 875 00:54:00,030 --> 00:54:02,030 We do have some good news. 876 00:54:02,070 --> 00:54:04,350 We do have some good news, we're not. 877 00:54:04,390 --> 00:54:05,910 No. 878 00:54:05,950 --> 00:54:09,030 -We're not stopping. -We can't. We'd have to get jobs. 879 00:54:09,070 --> 00:54:10,630 Eugh! 880 00:54:10,670 --> 00:54:12,270 No, we're not actually stopping. 881 00:54:12,310 --> 00:54:15,830 I mean the truth is, Amazon loves us, we love Amazon. 882 00:54:15,870 --> 00:54:18,390 So we'll carry on a bit, yeah? 883 00:54:18,430 --> 00:54:21,230 Yeah, we'll stick around. The thing is, as I said, 884 00:54:21,270 --> 00:54:24,310 the show as you know it is ending, and that's very upsetting for us. 885 00:54:24,350 --> 00:54:29,070 You know, the audience, and this sort of thing, and the track. 886 00:54:29,110 --> 00:54:32,750 But, who'd like to see us doing more big adventures? 887 00:54:34,350 --> 00:54:36,190 Road trips. Road trips? 888 00:54:36,230 --> 00:54:38,630 Specials, who wants some specials, yeah? 889 00:54:38,670 --> 00:54:40,670 Thing is, there is... 890 00:54:40,710 --> 00:54:43,430 -That's uh... -There is... 891 00:54:43,470 --> 00:54:45,190 Thank you. 892 00:54:45,230 --> 00:54:47,950 There's still so much of the world we haven't been to yet. 893 00:54:47,990 --> 00:54:50,670 So many people I haven't insulted. 894 00:54:50,710 --> 00:54:52,990 There are so many cars he hasn't crashed. 895 00:54:53,030 --> 00:54:58,430 -There's a few. -Exactly. So although this is gone, The Grand Tour goes on. 896 00:54:58,470 --> 00:55:00,270 It goes on! 897 00:55:00,310 --> 00:55:02,350 It goes on. 898 00:55:02,390 --> 00:55:04,990 We are gonna need walking sticks and nappies. 899 00:55:05,030 --> 00:55:07,190 -No, we are. -We are. 900 00:55:07,230 --> 00:55:10,590 So while it's um... it's not goodbye from us, 901 00:55:10,630 --> 00:55:13,350 it is goodbye from this. 902 00:55:14,550 --> 00:55:16,270 Anyone want to buy a tent? 903 00:55:16,310 --> 00:55:18,590 See you, take care. 904 00:55:18,630 --> 00:55:20,390 -See you soon. -Thank you.