Top Gear/Season 3 Episode 2

Season 3 Episode 2
Season 3, Episode 2
Airdate	November 2, 2003
Written by
Directed by
← 3x01 Season 3 Episode 1	3x03 → Season 3 Episode 3
Top Gear — Season Three

Episode Two of the third season of Top Gear, and is episode twenty-two overall.

Guest Stars: Stephen Fry

Information

The Stig Tribute

After the Black Stig's death off the H.M.S. Invincible, Jeremy Clarkson presents a video montage of the Stig. He then introduces a new Stig, the White Stig, to the audience who will take over from the previous Stig.

BMW M3 CSL

Clarkson reviews the 58,000 GBP (about 107,000 USD) BMW M3 CSL at the Isle of Man. He decided on taking the M3 CSL to the Isle of Man because it's not part of the European Union and thus there are no speed limits. To save weight, the car has no electric seats, no air conditioning, and not even a radio. In addition, the roof is made of carbon fiber, the rear window made of special thin glass, the trunk lid made of plastic, and the trunk floor made of cardboard. The 3.2 liter engine produces 355 bhp. The tires are nearly racing slicks and Clarkson claims BMW makes buyers sign a disclaimer stating they know the tires won't work in the rain or if it's cold. Overall, Clarkson thinks the M3 CSL is magnificent and is BMW at its absolute best.

The Stig takes the BMW M3 CSL around the test track in 1.28.0 in the wet.

Volvo 240 Estate jump over Caravans

Richard Hammond sees if a Volvo 240 Estate can jump over 5 caravans. It manages to clear two.

BMW M1, BMW M3, BMW M5

Not to be outdone by Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take the BMW M1, M3 and M5 to the Isle of Man. First up is the mid-engined BMW M1. May claims the M1 is truly a BMW as they had Lamborghini do the design and production work for them. BMW planned to sell 400 M1's in order to meet homologation rules for their race car, but, by the time the M1 came out, the racing rules had changed enough to make it no longer competitive. The engine is a BMW-made 3.5 liter straight six developing 277 bhp. 161 mph and 0-60 in 5.8 seconds. It's a 25-year-old supercar and May thought it'd be absolutely dreadful, but it wasn't. And BMW engineers managed to salvage something out of the BMW M1 — The "M" badge.

Next up is a 1985 BMW M5 and Hammond's personal favorite. 0-60 in 5.9 seconds with a top speed of 155 mph. And then the BMW M3: 0-60 in 6.7 seconds with a top speed of 143 mph.

Star in a Reasonably Priced Car

This week's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Stephen Fry, a British comedian, author and actor. Stephen Fry takes the Suzuki Liana around the test track in 1.54.0 in moist conditions.

BMW Z4, Porsche Boxster, Honda S2000

While on the Isle of Man, James May and Richard Hammond had a disgreement about what is the best roadster. Hammond believes it's the BMW Z4, but May believes it's the Porsche Boxster. But then Jeremy Clarkson shows up, telling the two they have the wrong cars, and what they want is the Honda S2000. It's 5,000 GBP (about 9,200 USD) cheaper than the Z4 and 6,000 GBP (about 11,000 USD) cheaper than the Boxster, yet is more powerful and more reliable than either of them. And Hammond claimed the Z4 had the fastest electric folding roof on a production car in the world, but the Honda S2000's electric folding roof was quicker than the Z4's when they had a roof folding challenge. While discussing the cars, Clarkson and May agree the Z4's ride is atrocious, but a clear winner could not be agreed upon.

The Stig takes the BMW Z4 around the test track in 1.37.3 in the wet, the Porsche Boxster in 1.37.0 in the wet, and the Honda S2000 in 1.37.4 in the wet.

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