There’s no quicker way to warp your perception of what a “fast” car truly is than by stepping from your Golf into a Lamborghini—or pretty much any supercar, for that matter. Some of us are lucky enough to drive one or two in our lifetimes, but Jeremy, James, and Richard were breathing rarefied, supercar-rich air during their tenure on Top Gear. It seemed like every week they were tearing up the Dunsfold Aerodrome with the latest offering from Ferrari or McLaren.
Are we jealous? Maybe a little. But then again we’ve had plenty of supercar fun ourselves. With that said, we know that even the best laid plans can go awry, and supercar shootouts are certainly no exception. As part of MotorTrend’s “Best of Top Gear” series we’re looking back at some of the moments where not everything in the world of supercars was picture-perfect.
Remember the first time the boys tried to find the greatest driving road in the world? It didn’t go so well for James, who, in all of his wisdom, decided a “normal” Aston Martin was just too comfortable. No, instead Captain Slow decided what he needed was the Aston Martin V-8 Vantage N24—a slightly modified version of the then new Vantage. When I say slightly modified, what I mean is that it’s been made worse for road driving in every way. There’s no air conditioning, no radio, almost no sound deadening, a race-spec front seat with next to no padding, and suspension with almost no compliance for regular road use. Driving that car on the Nürburgring would be difficult enough, but on a public road with ruts, divots, and bumps it would be an absolute nightmare, as James very quickly found out.