Jeremy, James and Richard have a challenge: to travel the length of Vietnam in just eight days. Yes - eight days. They have millions of Dong [Vietnamese currency] to buy suitable transport to complete the journey, but they discover it\'s only enough to buy two-wheeled transport.
A battery-powered supercar? Such a thing does exist; it\'s called a Tesla and Jeremy drives it on the track. James also forsakes the petrol engine this week to drive the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity in California. Richard celebrates the 50th year of British Touring Cars and Sir Tom Jones is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Question: did Communists ever build a good car? A question literally several people have asked - ever. To find out, Jeremy, James and Richard go to the former American airbase at Greenham Common, Berkshire, England. Richard drives the Veritas; the latest sports car to come from Germany. Meanwhile Jeremy gives the humble Ford Fiesta a rather thorough going-over. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
The 40th birthday of the Ferrari Daytona is celebrated in true Top Gear style - with a race. Richard, driving the Daytona, will race James, who is in a power boat, from Portofino in Italy, to St. Tropez. Back in the cold part of Europe, Jeremy is on the track with a BMW M3 and a Lexus IS-F and some Touring Car drivers swap their cars for buses... Grand Designs presenter, Kevin McCloud, is this week\'s Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
This week's challenge is to drive from Basel in Switzerland, to the north west coast of England. This must be done on just one tank of petrol - no splashing and dashing in France, just one tank. The first to arrive - if any do - gets the honour of switching on Blackpool's illuminations. Stig finally gets to set a lap time in the Bugatti Veyron and James drives the Pagani Zonda F Roadster on the track. Seriously! Harry Enfield is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Finland has produced some of the finest drivers in both Formula 1 and rallying. James travels to the country and meets Mika Häkkinen to try to find out why this is so. Richard stays closer to home and drives the Veritas sports car on the track. All three try to make a second-hand car lap the track faster than a purpose built sports saloon. Benefiting from the suspension of Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, Top Gear gives Mark Wahlberg a place to plug stuff and a go in the Reasonably Priced Car.
They have never been too fond of American cars on Top Gear, so maybe a trip from San Francisco to Utah driving American muscle cars will change their minds. Back in Blighty, Jeremy drives the Abarth-tuned Fiat 500 and Will Young is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
You would imagine, quite rightly, that Jeremy, James and Richard know very little about lorries. That hasn\'t stopped each of them buying a second-hand lorry and entering the world of the HGV driver. Normal service is resumed with Jeremy behind the wheel of a \"scary\" Porsche 911 and a \"tame\" Lamborghini Gallardo. The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is former chat show host, Michael Parkinson.
Eco-cars feature his week including an LPG-powered Bristol and Ford\'s Th!nk, which, driven by the Stig, races against the less-than-sporty Jason. Richard Burns drives the Peugeot RC -a diesel sports car and Richard Hammond tests the Saab 93 2.0T; driving to work following Government guidelines on how to commute in an eco-friendly manner. Basically, that means driving at 50 mph and turning your engine off at the lights. Jeremy drives the Lotus Elise 1 11S - then someone from Lotus drives it properly. Jason takes five supercars to a school to see which one the children like best. The search for the fastest faith begins with six men of God(s) driving a Subaru STI Racing car, one of whom is the Bishop of Lewes.
First aired: 7/27/2008 It\'s an epic age-old rivalry: Britain versus Germany - but this time it\'s serious. Germany\'s equivalent of Top Gear - D Motor - is up against dear old Blighty\'s magnificent original in a series of challenges. Battle commences in Belgium. Richard drives the Gumpert Apollo and James drives two cars made by Mitsuoka: the Galue and the Orochi. In the studio, Mazda\'s new racing car, the Furai and the Crossbow, made by KTM. Jay Kay is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car and he has Simon Cowell\'s fastest lap time in his sights. Top Gear will return in October. Director: Brian Klein Guest star: Jay Kay (Himself)