- This week the Grand Tour tent is on the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, from where Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May introduce their experiences of buying used Maseratis with their own money and then using them to tour the drizzle flecked landscapes of the North of France. Along the way, they encounter worrying noises, unusual electronics, a small engine fire, and the cruel delight of watching James trying to drive with a broken arm. Also in this programme, Richard is at the Eboladrome track trying out the Abarth 124 Spider as he discovers if it's a real Italian sports car or just a Mazda in a fancy suit. Plus, gold medal winning Olympic cyclist turned car racer Sir Chris Hoy arrives to try Celebrity Brain Crash and Jeremy has an innovative way to install cutting edge features in an older car.
- From the shores of Loch Ness in Scotland, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May introduce their attempts to buy used Maseratis for a bargain price and then use them to tour the drizzle flecked landscapes of the North of France. Also in this programme, Richard takes the Abarth 124 Spider to the Eboladrome, Jeremy comes up with a way to install cutting edge features in an older car, and Olympic cycling champion turned car racer Sir Chris Hoy is invited to try Celebrity Brain Crash.—Carlo
- The trio set up on the shore of Loch Ness, Scotland, for their next episode. Clarkson theorizes that Scots are good at inventing since due to their bad weather, they spend too much time inside their garages.
Heading to France, the presenters seek to prove that second-hand Maserati's are a good purchase, by each buying a specific Maserati they think will prove their point - Clarkson buys a Biturbo S Coupé (first car in the world to have 2 turbo chargers, 24000 miles for BP 8000), Hammond chooses a 430 Saloon, and May selects a Zagato Spyder (May had a broken arm). The trio put their cars through a series of tests, before embarking on a road trip across Northern France, finishing in a race to the Port of Le Havre. The trio have a drag race with the Suzuki Celerio (a similarly priced modern car). Hammond wins. In a proper race, both Hammond and Clarkson spin off the track to get stuck in gravel. While there is nostalgia in the cars, but soon reality hits in a 700-mile ride to the South of France. There is no heating, no de-misting, brakes work unreliably, Steering wheel rattling and sparks from under the car. Clarkson has to piss on his engine, when there is smoke coming from there.
Since the South of France is too far away, the trio drive to the North instead and go to the beach for some fun. They get stuck in Normandy's narrow streets. Clarkson makes a deal that they will all race to England in their cars and the last one on English soil will have to sell their car. The others assume that May will lose as he has the slowest car and a broken arm. Hammond is first to the port, Clarkson's car keeps breaking down. He loads his Maserati on the back of a Nissan tow truck and gets back in the race. He drops the Maserati while driving towards the port, where they have to board a ferry to get to UK. whoever boards first, wins. Hammond is first in queue; Clarkson arrive without his Maserati. But May hires the company yacht and arrives in UK first before anyone else.
Meanwhile, Hammond heads to the Eboladrome to try out the new Fiat Abarth 124 Spider. Their first sports car in a decade. Based on their rear wheel roadster from the 1970's. Mazda and Fiat are built on the same production line in Japan. So, is Fiat a sports car or a Mazda with a different badge. Abarth is Fiat's go to people to spice up a car. They have tuned the 1.4 L turbo charged engine to give more power than the MX-5. 0-60 in 6.8 seconds, 145 mph, Record Monza exhaust (big car noise from a small car), BP 30,000, 5K more than the top MX-5. Limited slip differential, sport button. so, 124 Spider has taken the MX-5 and added Italian showmanship to it. 1:33.7 at the Eboladrome.
Conversation street: In old days cars had leather seats only for the drivers (as they were durable) and cloth seats for the passengers at the back. But over time we got the idea that leather is posh. In 1920's a Scottish company made a car for women called Galloway. Today there's the Mii Cosmopolitan, for women, where the headlights have an eyeliner shape, easy to park. A few years ago, VW released a car designed entirely by women, which had gull-wing doors and a massive engine. Scots made an electric car in the 1960's, the Scamp, top speed 35 mph. range of 20 miles.
Voice activation functions in car don't work in Scotland due to the accent of local folks. So, Clarkson hires a Bulgarian man to be his car voice control system.
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