(bright music)
(upbeat music)
(upbeat music continues)
(audience applauding and cheering)
(audience applauding and cheering continues)
- Hello and welcome to "Top Gear."
We're back!
(audience cheering)
And this is always me favourite time of the year.
Everything feels nice and familiar.
The clocks have gone back,
"Strictly's" on the telly,
and Harris has got his autumn socks on.
(audience laughing)
- 100% merino, Pad.
Anything less, mug's game. - He's right.
- It's that time of year, isn't it,
for battening down the hatches and hunkering down.
Oh, I do love a hunker.
(audience laughing)
- I've heard you in the dressing room.
I've heard you.
And of course, we've got a brand-new series of "Top Gear."
Take a look at this.
(engine revving) (dramatic music)
- [Crew] Three,
two,
one.
- Watch this.
- [Crew] Go! (tyres screeching)
- Go on the Astra Man! - Woo-hoo!
- We're going in. Whoa, ho!
- I love the fact that it revs to 11!
Nothing revs to 11! (upbeat music)
- It's like a giant game of Guess Who, innit?
(engines revving)
- Listen to that!
- Just reminds me of being young and stupid.
- Hey, hey, hey!
- Oh he's got hold of it! (laughing)
Oh, me undies have gone again!
(horn blaring) (guys laughing)
(tyres screeching)
Watch this, boys! The Transformer.
Are you ready?
- Oh! (laughing)
Oh for (beep)!
- Way, (beep), that hurt. Wow.
Oh, he's not got it on!
(woman screaming)
- It's a crazy taxi.
- Oh my word!
I hope you've got comprehensive insurance, Pad.
(both laughing)
Oh!
(Chris blubbering)
This is absolutely bonkers. (upbeat music continues)
- [Freddie] Ready?
(Freddie spitting) - Well it sort of worked.
(audience applauding)
- Exciting. Exciting. Exciting.
It's not bad.
- Best bunch of cars we've had in ages. Real quality.
- Yes, really good. All that to come.
But right now we've got a cracking show in store.
Later on, Chris Harris gets his Merino woollen mitts
on that battery-powered beast over there.
- [Audience] Ooh!
- But we kick off by talking about this,
the humble pickup truck.
Fred, say some words.
- I will do that. (audience laughing)
Pickups are on the rise here in the UK,
but pretty much everywhere else on the planet,
they're already massive news.
About four million of them are sold
around the world every year.
- That's a lot of picking up.
(audience laughing)
- We wanted to dig a little deeper
into this mysterious world,
so we hopped on a flight to the spiritual home
of the pickup, which, as it turned out, wasn't America.
- Get down. (audience laughing)
(tropical music)
This is Thailand, home to white sand beaches,
lush jungle and plenty (fast electronic music)
of pickup trucks.
(upbeat music)
Thailand buys more pickups per head
than any other country in the world.
And with a few grand each to see
what we could pick up on the local market,
let's just say I had absolutely nailed it.
Look at this. I have not messed about.
I've gone for a Toyota Hilux, the camel of the car world.
Tough as old boots, because you see round here,
pickups, they're not just for delivering trestle tables
to the local village fetes.
These get things anywhere they need to go.
As you can see, this one, not exactly standard.
It's been raised, it's got big monster tyres,
got a winch at the front.
This thing's made Thailand-ready.
I've smashed it out the park. Jeez.
- [Paddy] Not so fast.
(upbeat music)
Because if you want a truly Thai truck,
then look no further than the Isuzu D-Max.
- Oh wow.
Look at this.
Morning. - Good morning.
(Freddie laughing)
- D-Max. - Yes.
Most popular pickup truck in Thailand, that.
150,000 sold every year.
This is what they're all about this.
This is the culture.
It's a big thing over here.
Pin pin up your pickup trucks.
- She's got a carbon bonnet, Pad. Is that carbon?
- [Paddy] Yes, I have. Carbon-wrapped fibre.
- [Freddie] Oh, it's wrapped,
it's wrapped. - Yeah, don't,
don't ruin the illusion. - Gold wheels.
- [Paddy] Yes, have a look in. Lovely, innit? Bucket seats.
- Gear stick. - Oh, it's got the lot.
- [Freddie] I must admit, I think you've done alright there.
- It's what it's all about. - Stands out, don't it?
- [Chris] Maybe.
(upbeat music)
But to really appreciate Thailand's love affair
with the pickup, you'll want something a bit more bespoke.
- [Paddy] Ah.
- I'll tell you what, Pad.
Wow, Chris, an E30 BMW!
- What I've done here chaps-
- I was just gonna say, talk us through it.
- Well I mean come on.
I've taken a lovely old three-series,
which was nearing the end of its life,
and I've transformed it into a performance pickup.
Doesn't it look gorgeous?
- [Freddie] I'm just staring at its beauty.
- I'd like to say I transformed it myself,
but it was a man here who did it, because frankly,
they will turn anything into a pickup out here,
and they'll do it with some style.
I mean it's a beautiful job. All done locally.
- Now obviously we can- - Look at it!
- We can see what you've done to it, okay?
- Yeah, yeah. - But
pickup trucks essentially, we're gonna be off-roading-
- Yeah. - We can see
what you've done to it. - Whoa, whoa, whoa.
- What can we not see?
What have you done to make it pickup-esque underneath?
- When you said off-roading- - Yeah.
- I'm, I'm looking at these cars and we're,
they're very much for different roads.
- You've just took a 3 Series- - Yeah.
- Cut the back off. - Yeah.
- That's it. - Yeah.
- Wow.
(dramatic music)
- So, with two trucks, and a chopped-up beamer,
all ready to roll,
(upbeat music)
we headed out to discover what Thailand
and its pickup obsession was really all about.
(upbeat music continues)
I love the Thai culture, lads.
It's very bright and brash and in your face.
It's a bit of a senses overload.
Anywhere else, if we were driving round in the UK
in this pickup, everyone'd be looking at it,
but over here, it's just part of the furniture.
- Do you know what the single most important law
of the road is over here?
It is actually illegal to drive without wearing a shirt,
and McGuinness, you are, let's say, pushing it slightly.
(upbeat music)
- Everywhere you look, boys, just pickup trucks.
- Thailand really is the pickup capital of the world.
It's known as the Detroit of the Far East,
because they built so many of the things,
literally millions a year.
- [Paddy] Look at this coming through.
(Freddie laughing) - Woo-hoo-hoo!
It's outrageous.
- [Paddy] That is ridiculously overloaded.
(Chris laughing)
(upbeat music)
- Now, to put our pickups to the test,
we'd been told to head north towards the capital, Bangkok.
From there we'd be striking out deep
into Thailand's rural interior.
(upbeat music continues)
What that would mean for my low-slung beamer,
we'd have to wait and see,
but so far it was looking very good indeed.
If you want quality and durability, go mid-80s Germany.
I mean this is a, must be a 40-year-old car.
And it's superb!
The trim's in great condition,
I've got the optional sport seats.
Still think that if BMW made a car
that looked like this now it would be a runaway bestseller.
Especially as BMW already knows exactly how to build one.
(dramatic music)
Behold the original E30 Pickup.
Built back in the mid-80s to haul parts around the factory
at BMW's slightly unhinged high-performance M Division,
it was surely the coolest pickup truck in history.
(dramatic music continues)
And now, thanks to some genius local workmanship,
there's another one. (soft music)
- I've not budgeted for tarmac as good as this.
You must be loving live in yours, Chris.
- Lovely BMW straight 6.
It's all familiar in here. It actually just cruises along.
- I don't wanna burst your bubble,
but whatever the road throws at me in this, I'm ready for.
Anything.
(upbeat music)
These days everyone's rolling round in SUVs,
but gotta ask,
what does an Audi Q7 give you that this doesn't?
I'm up high, I can see everything.
Oh, it's a bit tatty inside but it's gonna be.
These are workhorses.
And don't forget, this workhorse is a Hilux.
Over 50 years they've been building these,
selling 18 million of them to every corner of the globe.
It's 20 years old, this car.
207,000 kilometres.
It'll go forever.
- [Paddy] Maybe it will. (upbeat music)
But in Thailand they have different priorities.
(upbeat music continues)
If you go up to Holland, you'll expect to see a bicycle.
Come to Thailand and expect to see a D-Max.
It was made here, it was launched here, and it's capable.
It's practical.
They're the white T-shirt of the pickup world.
Everyone's got one, and they do the job.
And like any white T shirt,
there's always room for improvement.
Bit of glitter, a few sequins sewn on.
Really pimp 'em up.
(suspenseful music)
And to make that very point
we were soon told to stop off at a nearby circuit.
Where we'd be getting a taste of how the locals go racing.
- Look at this.
- Oh wow!
- That is mega!
(suspenseful music continues)
- Look at the trucks coming through! Look at these!
- All D-Maxes, lads.
I told you they absolutely love 'em round here.
- What a little circuit.
- [Paddy] Sits on the edge
of the Kaeng Krachan National Par,
the KK Circuit is surely one of the most spectacular tracks
that the world of Motorsport has to offer.
(engines revving)
- This is nice, Chris, isn't it? Oh.
- Look at this. - What a track!
(upbeat music)
- [Paddy] And better still,
it plays host to one of Thailand's favourite race series.
Diesel D-Maxes tuned to over 300 horsepower
going to wheel-to-wheel in a fully fledged
pickup truck championship.
(cars whooshing) (upbeat music continues)
(Chris coughing)
- Wowzers.
(engines humming)
Sound a bit different to yours, Pad.
- Yeah. Yeah. - Doesn't it? (laughing)
(dramatic music)
- [Paddy] We weren't just here to watch though, no.
To give us the full performance pickup experience,
we'd been invited to take part
in our own special relay race.
Each paired with a local pro
who's first job was to jump on board our pickups
to give us a quick look at the track.
Here we go.
A ride it would be fair to say
some enjoyed more than others.
(tyres screeching)
- Whoa! (clapping) - Woo-hoo!
- Right line? - Right line.
(upbeat music)
- Whoa! - Whoa!
- Let's go, my old friend.
(both laughing)
(engine whirring) (upbeat music continues)
- Whoa.
(tyres screeching)
That may have came up.
- Ah!
Whoa!
Wow! (Chris laughing)
- I think he likes the drift.
(upbeat music continue)
- [Paddy] With the pre-race entertainment done with,
it was relay time.
(dramatic music)
Having each been lent one of our teammates
pro trucks to run in,
the race itself would be fought over two stints,
each with a grid of six cars.
Our teammates would be up first, battling for four laps
to put us in the best position they could.
To then take on our own set of pros,
in another four lap run to the finish.
- My lad, Pete, he's all over it it.
He loves it. (engine revving)
- This is your lad, 68. - Come on, boss!
(engine humming)
- There's my lad, Sam.
He's called Sam. He's in Tommy.
A bit confusing. - Yeah.
- He's called Sam, his car's got the name Tommy on the side.
- He's not called Tommy. - Is his car called Tommy?
- His car's called Tommy.
- Who's called Tommy? - The car.
(dramatic music)
So our first pickup race was on.
(upbeat music) (tyres screeching)
Go on, Sam!
(upbeat music continues)
- They shift, don't they?
- [Chris] And it looks easy from out here.
I don't think it's so easy in there.
- I don't think it looks easy, Chris.
- No, I don't know what you're watching, Chris.
(upbeat music continues)
- Can I make a prediction here, Paddy?
We're gonna be fifth and sixth. (laughing)
(engines whirring) (upbeat music continues)
- Come on, Tommy!
Wind it up some!
(engines whirring) (upbeat music continues)
Are you at the front, Fred?
- Second. Second, Chris on third.
- Your laddy's racing the race of his life here.
He's gonna get up to you and go, "Carry on."
(upbeat music continues)
Oh! And he had the back end up then.
(engines whirring)
- With the pros now fighting over the last lap,
we headed for our race trucks
and got ready to take to the track.
Wow, it's hot in here.
(engine whirring)
McGuinness' would be handed over to him in fourth,
mine second,
while Harris'- - Bloody hell, I'm in first.
What a drive!
- Had landed him in the lead.
I'm off and we're off!
(engines revving)
- Come on! - Six cars, four laps,
and we were off to a flying start!
- [Chris] This is a very intimidating vehicle.
I might've bit off more than I can chew here.
- [Paddy] Although one of us would probably have liked
a slightly smoother take off.
- [Freddie] (indistinct) Chris Harris, oh, (indistinct).
(tyres screeching)
- [Paddie] Sure enough up straight away, (indistinct)!
- [Freddie] Get back out.
(upbeat music)
Oh, that was different!
This is sketchy!
(upbeat music continues)
What is this I'm driving?
I've spun out on the first corner!
- [Paddy] To be fair though, up at the front
even our best driver was finding his truck tricky to master.
(tyres screeching)
- [Chris] The brakes are terrible!
This thing, I know it just looks like a pickup to you,
but it's one of the most difficult cars I've ever driven.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Freddie] One, two, one, two, one, two,
we're catching up a bit.
(tyres screeching) Wow!
Wow, Fred, nice and easy!
(upbeat music continues) (engines whirring)
- [Chirs] Come on, old girl!
(instinct)
- [Paddy] Despite his teething troubles,
Harris was keeping the second place pro at bay
and was luck he nailed on for the win.
- [Chris] Come on!
- But as the laps ticked away- - Yeah, baby!
(engines whirring)
- [Freddie] Two to go come on.
- [Paddy] Flintoff was getting his eye in.
- [Freddie] Get round, get round.
(tyres screeching)
Ah, nice trick.
- [Paddy] And that meant this race
was now all about the battle for third.
(engines whirring) - [Freddie] Paddy's turn here.
I am defeated now.
Oh, Paddy, I'm gonna make you make a mistake here.
(upbeat music continues)
(tyres screeching)
- [Paddy] Oh! Smoky Joe!
Power, power, power, power.
(upbeat music continues) (engines whirring)
- [Chris] Come on, old girl!
Come on!
(engine whirring)
Ah, victory!
(upbeat music continues)
- [Paddy] Get out, get out, get out!
Let's go!
Here you go! Come on, Fred.
Here we go! Woo!
Chequered flag, over we go.
- They got me. - Man, what a run!
- [Paddy] So there we have it.
Our first taste of Thai pickup racing.
And given our usual track record with this sort of thing,
we had to chalk it up as a surprise success.
- Number one? Right on, Christopher.
- But I am absolutely rooted.
I don't advise racing in the tropics.
- Hey, thanks Pete. - Thank you.
- Well done, lads. - Well done.
- You were wicked. - I'll tell you what-
- Thanks for letting us lose in it.
We love 'em.
- I have a new found respect for the D-Max.
- Yeah, amazing. - Fantastic.
- It's the power. - The power is amazing.
- Yeah. - The brakes are not amazing.
- The brakes are either all on or nothing.
- But the real winner is the circuit.
- Yeah. - The circuit is the best.
- Amazing. - Fun.
- Fantastic.
(fighter grunting) (upbeat music)
- [Fred] It was time to get back on the road north
and see what else we could pick up about Thailand,
as we headed towards Bangkok.
(upbeat music continues)
- Dear god, have a look at this.
- [Fred] That has gotta be so heavy.
- [Chris] The chassis's bowing in the middle
and there's two lads sitting on the top.
- It's bent that much he can't even shut
his driver's door properly.
- [Chris] In my many years of travelling the globe,
that is the ropiest thing I've ever seen, car wise.
(upbeat music continues)
- Look at the vista, lads.
Welcome to Bangkok.
(upbeat rock music)
- You must have been here before, Chris.
Did you not have a gap year when you was at uni?
- I might have had a gap year. Did you?
- [Fred] Did you spend it in Thailand?
- No, I did not. I went to Africa to teach, actually Andrew.
- "I went and found myself,
I just went over, it was amazing."
- What did you do? Rob shops?
(Freddie laughing)
(upbeat music)
- Lads, now we're in our first bit of traffic,
coming into the heart of the city.
Last night I was doing a bit of research
on the old internet, googling Bangkok.
And I've found us a very, very interesting backstreet venue.
- Remember, delete history Patrick.
(upbeat music)
- [Paddy] No need for that,
because what I'd actually found was 'pickup paradise'.
(upbeat music continues)
- What we got here, Pad? - D-Max nirvana.
This is the Mecca for all things pickup.
Oh.
Fellow D-Maxer there, look at these D-Max lads.
Look at this!
- [Freddie] I think they've even got you covered here,
Paddy, with graphics.
Look at that one. Bacon.
- [Chris] How many turbo chargers?
That one's got two massive blowers on it.
(soft music)
- Look at this, it goes all the way around here,
it carries on going.
There's everything.
- I'll tell you what, this makes me feel a bit wistful
for my past, for the max power years.
When I was younger, I couldn't leave stuff alone.
If I bought a car, I had to add the bits,
the fancy hi fi, the rims, the lowering kit.
It's just a, it's a,
it's a rite of passage, isn't it?
You wanna just add things.
- Gotta say, Pad, when I saw your pickup,
I thought that's a bit much that.
However, I get it now, I get it.
- Good lord, I could waste days here.
(fast music)
- [Freddie] But the market was only the warm up.
And just around the corner
we found some of Thailand's proper max power petrol heads.
(upbeat music)
- [Paddy] Wowzers. Check out the metal here.
- Look at that Lotus. Wow!
(upbeat music continues)
- [Freddie] Look at these.
- That might be the fastest Jazz I've ever seen in my life.
- [Freddie] Turns out Bangkok
isn't just mad for mods though.
- This is mega. - They also love
a bit of drifting.
(upbeat music) (engine revving)
- Oh!
- [Chris] Yes.
- Look at this behind, look at this.
(tyres screeching)
Now this was what we'd come to see.
(engine revving)
Another corner of the world completely mad
for tuning and tyre smoke.
(engine revving) (upbeat music)
- [Paddy] Fantastic.
- [Freddie] To get the full Thai drift experience though...
- Come on then, McGuinness.
- [Freddie] We nominated our D-Max correspondent
to go along for the ride.
- He's gonna love this. He's gonna love this.
- Here we go. I'm Kristie.
- Hi, Kristie.
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
Where are we?
- Sorry, there is no belt for you.
(Paddy bangs head)
Oops. (Paddy laughing)
- [Paddy] Yep. No belts, lots of exposed metal.
(engine starting)
Kids, do not try this at home. (dramatic music)
(engine revving)
(Paddy screaming)
(engine revving)
- Whoa!
(Paddy screaming)
(Chris laughing)
(Paddy screaming)
(engine revving)
- Oh my god!
(engine revving)
(Freddie and Chris applauding)
- [Freddie] Nicely done!
(Kristie laughing)
- Right. - Thank you.
- I'm just gonna find a little spot to
lie down and have a cry.
- Ha. Is he okay?
- [Paddy] Oh.
Wowzers.
(audience cheering and applauding)
- Good? You enjoy it? - You okay?
- Makes me feel a bit, feel a bit like that.
- So, Pad, how did you enjoy your first experience
of the Z drift scene?
- Well, schoolboy error, I had a Thai green curry
before I got in the car.
- Messy. - And I just felt
extremely queasy. - Yeah.
- Everything was spinning, hot sweats,
but I wasn't on me own. - No, you weren't, Pad.
As the day went on I was getting rougher and rougher.
- Did you have the curry as well?
- Oh no, worse than that. I got COVID.
- Oh! - Again. Again.
- Oh!
- And I spent the rest of the trip
holed up in an hotel room, sweating and shivering,
browsing the web. - I bet you did.
I bet you did. - No, what, no. (laughing)
- Well there's plenty more of Thailand still to see
and we'll get back to it later on in the show.
But first, there's a shiny new
electric supercar on the scene.
And we told Chrissie Harris to pop on his rubber wellies
and go check it out.
(suspenseful music) (lights whirring)
- Here it is. It's called the Nevera.
It's powered by electricity, and it doesn't come from Italy.
Or Germany, or Britain, or Japan, or even America.
No, the Nevera comes
from Croatia. (dramatic music)
(air whooshing)
Now, Croatia.
Lovely place, cracking seafood scene,
but not one with any history of building fast cars,
or any history of building any cars.
But this Nevera could be the car to put Croatia
on the car map,
because it's built by a company called Rimac.
(upbeat music)
Rimac's barely a decade old,
but it's already worked its electric wizardry
for the likes of Porsche, Aston Martin,
Ferrari and Koenigsegg.
Last year it took control of Bugatti.
In short, Rimac means business,
and with the Nevera, it's very much going it alone.
See, normally, if you're a start-up car maker,
you buy all your bits off the shelf.
You get your headlights from Ford,
steering wheel from Volvo, engine from GM
and then you wrap it all in some fancy new bodywork.
(air whooshing)
But Rimac hasn't done that.
(air whooshing) (upbeat music)
The Nevera is built completely from scratch.
The only bits this car shares with any other on the planet
are the tyres and a few bits of the aircon.
Everything else, battery, motors, software,
single piece carbon fibre chassis, is bespoke.
(lights buzzing)
(upbeat music)
As business plans go, that's like opening
your own pizzeria and deciding that
instead of buying in any ingredients,
you'll grow your own wheat, your tomatoes,
your pineapple, your buffalo.
I mean it's a ruinously stupid idea
and it's why no one does it.
But somehow Rimac has made it work.
(air whooshing) (electronic music)
And more remarkable still,
they've actually made it rather well.
It's comfy in here.
I mean, the seat's pretty good.
Everything's covered in expensive materials.
I can see out of the thing perfectly well.
I mean, I wouldn't call it a luxury motorcar,
but it's beautifully built.
And it's practical-ish.
I mean, it's fitted with the largest battery
of any electric vehicle.
So it'll do 300 miles on a single charge.
As products from companies you've never heard of go,
it's all very convincing.
How much they want you to pay for it, on the other hand,
might take a little more convincing.
(mysterious music)
Because this upstart costs, wait for it,
two million pounds.
Now, that's not Ferrari money.
That's not even Lamborghini money.
That's Bugatti money.
It's private jet money. That's, that's punchy.
(electric whirring)
Luckily, the Nevera does have a little trick up its sleeve
that might go some way to justifying its enormous price tag.
A little trick that requires
a rather long runway to demonstrate.
Now I probably should've mentioned this earlier,
but even by conventional supercar standards,
the Nevera is, it's quite powerful.
(upbeat music)
You see, it's got one electric motor for each wheel.
Combined power output just under 2,000 horsepower.
(upbeat music continues)
That is a lot.
So what does it feel like?
(dramatic music)
Oh, my lord. (upbeat music)
That's 100.
130.
150.
170.
This is ridiculous. 190.
That's 200. She's still pulling.
That's, that's 211, 212.
(upbeat music continues)
Right, that is absolutely mind-scramblingly fast.
(Chris blubbering)
Good lord.
That's not driving, that's an out of body experience.
In fact, the Nevera accelerates to 60 miles an hour
in under two seconds.
And whereas electric cars up to now
have always run out of puff
the further north of 100 they go,
this car is limited to 219.
Now what we need here is a bit of context.
To my left, we have a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ.
(dramatic music)
By any standards, a very, very fast car.
(engine revving)
Watch what happens now.
(engines revving) (dramatic music)
- [Crew] Three, two, one, go!
(engines revving)
- Bye bye. (dramatic music)
Just disappearing.
I can't begin to describe,
I mean, he's not even there.
He's gone.
(engines whirring)
I can barely see him in my mirror.
(engines whirring)
Over the line.
(engines whirring)
Some speck in the mirror that I can hardly see
is one of the fastest Lamborghinis ever made.
I'm...
It's not, it's not a beating, it's a mauling.
(suspenseful music)
Tell you what, the old guard better get ready for it,
'cause this is, this is all new.
For me, it's all new, for everyone.
The remarkable thing about the Nevera
isn't that it's the fastest accelerating
road car ever built, it's the sheer scale
of the leap in performance it's made.
Round two.
Let's give the Aventador a better chance this time.
It's 300 metres up the runway
and we're gonna run over a standing mile. (clears throat)
Watch this.
(engine revving) (dramatic music)
- [Crew] Three, two, one, go!
(dramatic music)
- Here we go.
It can't do it, can it?
How can it possibly catch that Lamborghini?
(engines whirring)
We're catching it.
We're catching it. I can't believe this.
It's absolutely absurd! (dramatic music)
Oh my lord. (laughing)
That's outrageous!
I'm doing 218,
219 miles an hour!
(engines whirring)
Wow!
And it doesn't stop there.
In case all that straight line fun wears off,
Rimac says they've been to town on the handling too.
Each wheel's motor is independently controlled.
So the way the Nevera drives can be transformed
at the flick of a switch.
A switch that includes (car beeping)
drift mode. (dramatic music)
(tyres screeching)
Dearie me!
This is a drift beast like I've never ridden before.
(tyres screeching)
(Chris laughing)
(dramatic music continues) (tyres screeching)
It's so easy. It's just wind the lock on.
Bit of throttle.
(dramatic music continues) (tyres screeching)
Whoa-hoho!
Oh, they're clever.
They're clever and it's fun. It's fun and it's silly.
(dramatic music continues) (tyres screeching)
This car slides.
It feels fantastic when it's moving around.
I know it doesn't have the noise,
but when you've got this performance,
I'm starting to wonder if you care.
(thunder cracking)
Of course, we have seen this sort
of digital drifting before.
In recent years, it's become pretty much the standard
party mode for performance cars all over the market.
(dramatic music) (electronic whirring)
But this being Rimac, in the Nevera,
there's also an after party.
Four-wheel drive, no traction control,
all wheels spinning.
Here we go.
(dramatic music) (tyres screeching)
Good god.
(music slowing)
(dramatic music)
What is going on in this car?
We just did a tyre in one skid!
That's just ridiculous.
Mr Rimac, you are my kind of lunatic.
Yes you are. (laughing)
I don't quite know what to say about that.
(dramatic music)
Wow.
(audience applauding and cheering)
Mind blown. - Yes.
- Mind blown. - That is absolutely bonkers.
It went past that Lambo like it was standing still.
- It's extraordinary.
It's not like anything I've ever driven before.
It's that fast.
Now, the day after I drove it, I actually felt a bit queasy.
I don't know if it's the high voltage cables
or whether my kidneys are bruised.
I mean, it's crazy.
- So what you're saying, your innards have been Rimac-ed.
(audience laughing)
Not a nice sounding phrase, but that's correct.
(guys laughing)
- And these lads are now in charge of Bugatti?
- Yeah, they are. It's, it's very business-y.
They were bought by Porsche,
who've now put them in charge of Bugatti.
I mean, the whole world's been changed
upside down in a matter of years.
- So is that it? Electric's won?
Should all petrol supercars just give up now?
- It's not as simple as that.
They need to give up on the acceleration and speed race,
'cause these things are so fast, there's no catching up.
Petrol needs to trade on emotion now.
Gear changes, sound, go lightweight.
But don't try and out-accelerate this monster,
'cause you will lose.
- Well, with that in mind,
when are we gonna get it on the track?!
- Slight problem, it's so fast,
we've got to update the software on the Stig,
'cause he can't deal with it just yet.
(audience laughing)
But hopefully next year.
- Okay, watch this space.
But now it's time to get back to Thailand,
where Fred was properly in a bad way.
Coughing, shivering, the lot.
So Chris and I did what any true mates would do.
Left him to it and enjoyed the rest of our trip!
(audience cheering)
(audience laughing)
(upbeat music)
(horn blaring) (dog barking)
- With Flintoff left behind in Bangkok,
me and Harris had pointed our pickups north.
(upbeat music continues)
Our mission now was to haul our much-needed cargo
to a remote hill village near the border with Laos.
Nice to have been given something useful to do.
Plus, hauling for three
meant we'd had to start doing things the local way.
(upbeat music)
I've got to be honest,
I'm happy with the extra weight in the back.
'Cause it just gives the car a bit more stability.
- And whereas when we first saw something overloaded
coming past us, we sort of whooped with joy,
they're probably going, "Amateur,
he could get another bale on that."
- Yeah. (laughing)
I know, it's bonkers, innit?
- It was bonkers. Particularly given two important points.
Now, one thing preying on my mind though, Pad.
I've never seen so much fresh grass.
So why are we carrying grass?
- I've seen quite a few cows knocking about.
Maybe we're taking 'em a bit of feed?
Do cows eat hay or is that horses?
- They do eat hay, yes.
- I reckon we're going feeding a load of cows.
(upbeat music)
- Whatever the bales were actually for, though,
as the miles ticked up, the second more pressing issue
was that the scenery was getting bigger.
You look to your left, you've just got a tree
and a foliage covered mountain
with a vast amount of weather coming off it.
Look at the moisture coming off these hills.
- Can you say, "Look at the moisture coming off these hills"
again, but a little bit slower? (laughing)
(upbeat music continues)
- [Chris] This is ominous. We're climbing up a hill.
- [Paddy] Yeah, it's starting to get less tarmac-y now.
(upbeat music continues)
- [Chris] I've got a funny feeling
this is more D-Max country.
- Oh, this is what the D-Max loves.
- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
(suspenseful music)
Oh, this looks like it's too much for me.
Come on then, little fella.
(metal thudding)
Not sounding good, this. Oh my lord.
(metal thuds) Oh, god.
(suspenseful music continues)
- The D-Max absolutely loves this terrain.
- Power, power, power.
Power, power, power.
Come on, ol' girl.
- [Paddy] Ah, now this is where the two-wheel drive
has been found out, Chris.
- She's struggling now.
- This is like live Jenga.
(suspenseful music continues)
Oh, your load's looking a little bit wobbly there, Chris.
Stop, you've lost a bale!
You've lost a bale, son. Come back.
- I can't lose a bale. - Right. Keep coming.
- How far back can I come?
- [Paddy] Keep coming. That'll do ya.
(Paddy grunting)
- [Chris] Should we just lob it up?
Or is too heavy? - Ready? One, two, three.
- It sort of worked. (Paddy spitting)
(soft music)
- [Paddy] Back on the move though.
Our oversized and badly lashed cargo
was quickly becoming the least of Harris' concerns.
- I've got an issue. My air-con's gone.
And also I've lost the front windows.
I'm just sitting literally in an oven now.
- Sit rep on the ol' D-Max.
Everything's fine.
Air-con's blowing a bit extreme though. Bit chilly in here.
(soft music continues)
- Oh, tell you what.
Three series,
with a black vinyl interior in this heat,
well, it is a hot place to be.
I can't deal with this.
This heat is just absurd. (sighing)
- And so my slow-cooked colleague
set about redesigning the ventilation on his beamer.
(door thudding)
What are you doing?
(Chris panting)
- [Chris] I've broken the door but not the window.
- What are you doing?
- Just trying to deal with my ventilation issues
at the moment.
I just got to have a minute to contemplate it,
if you don't mind, Pad.
- So the place to contemplate it
is on a steep gradient on a gravel track?
Oh my god. What are you doing?
- I've got to get rid of that glass. I can't breathe.
- What?
Great work.
(Paddy laughing)
I feel like this is a job for a man from Bolton.
Watch yourself, son.
- Thank you, Pad. - There you go.
- Lovely.
- Would you like me to give you a little nudge?
- This is gonna hurt, isn't it?
(engine revving)
Oh!
There she goes. There she goes.
(engine revving)
- Oh, go on.
Go on, the D-Max!
That low range is doing the business.
Right up your chuff.
(upbeat music)
See, one of the biggest problems with the D-Max,
Chris, when you're driving it is your fingers get cold.
It's so, it's like driving a fridge, this thing.
- This isn't aimed at you, dear viewer.
This is aimed at Paddy McGuinness.
- Rude.
After all, the D-Max had got us both
up to the top of the hill.
And our destination was now just around the corner.
- [Chris] Where are we going now?
Oh, look at this. Look at this.
- This has got to be the place. That's a surprise, innit?
(people chattering)
- [Chris] Look at this, McGuinness,
a beautiful little village.
- Hang on.
You're taking the bunting.
Chris.
You've got a man on the side of your car, Chris.
Chris, you've got a man on the side of your car.
- Have I? - You just drove off.
He's up the side of your car. (laughing)
- Is he still holding onto it? I can't see anything.
(Paddy laughing)
Slightly embarrassing arrival notwithstanding,
we had two flatbeds full of bales.
Which as the villagers set about unloading...
- Hello.
- [Chris] We would soon discover
were definitely not for feeding the cows.
- Ah, now,
doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to work out
there's the hay bales. - Yeah.
- That looks like a finish line.
(upbeat music)
- So this is a race track. - Yep.
- [Chris] And what they race around here are these.
(cart whooshing)
- Whoa!
- [Chris] Known as Formula Hmong,
this traditional Thai downhill event
is about as grassroots as Motorsport gets.
- [Paddy] He's off! - The braking is rudimentary.
The steering is done by foot.
The only fuel is gravity.
And the machines themselves are, let's say,
sustainably sourced. (dramatic music)
And as a thank you for safely delivering
their plant-based barriers,
they were kind enough to let us have a go.
- You know what, I love his safety gear.
White pumps, tracky pants.
- [Chris] But he's got some elbow protection on,
but that lad there's got a spoiler.
So he can alter his downforce.
- [Paddy] And he's got a pair of wellies on.
- And he's got welly boots on.
Gentlemen, start your legs.
- Ok. Nueng, soeng, saam!
- Oh no, they're gone, they're gone.
(carts rumbling)
My word.
- [Chris] There's not a lot of-
- We'd be off there. - Yeah,
we're not going as fast as that.
(carts rumbling) (suspenseful music)
- Oh, he's off!
(audience applauding)
Dear me.
Dear me!
- And then, it was our turn.
(ominous music)
You're welcome to this win, by the way, McGuinness.
- [Paddy] T-the feeling is reciprocated.
Formula Hmong. Good luck, brother.
- [Chris] Good luck.
Come on then, you horrible wooden bastard.
(Paddy laughing)
(officiant speaking in foreign language)
- Ready? - Yeah.
- [Officiant] Okay.
Nueng,
soeng,
saam,
pi! (dramatic music)
- [Paddy] Whoa! I've got him, I've got him straight away.
- [Chris] That's a jump start, McGuinness.
- [Paddy] Oh, where's the, where's the bloody brakes?
- [Chris] He's getting away from me. Why is he so quick?
I can't steer it.
- [Paddy] Oh! (dramatic music continues)
My word.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh my god.
(dramatic music continues)
- [Chris] I'm catching him. I'm definitely catching him.
- [Paddy] Where's Harris? Where is Harris?
Is he on my shoulder? Where is he? I can't see him.
- [Chris] Got absolutely no control over this thing!
Oh no!
Oh.
- [Paddy] Oh, whoa, whoa.
(audience applauding)
Where is he? (audience cheering)
(Chris groaning)
- [Chris] That was a shunt. (panting and grunting)
- [Paddy] You all right?
- My hand really hurts.
That's gonna smart in the morning, that is.
- So, with Harris's career in Formula Hmong
ending as quickly as it started,
it turned out the winner
would now have the honour of running the course again.
This time, against one of the local pros.
(dramatic music)
Nice to meet ya. I saw you oiling your wheels up.
I'm not that big of a threat.
You don't need that, trust me.
(audience cheering and applauding)
Here we go. Whoo-hoo!
(officiant speaking in foreign language)
- Okay. - Okay.
- [Officiant] Nueng, soeng, saam, pi!
- [Paddy] We're off! (dramatic music)
(Paddy grunting)
I'm taking him! I've taken him! I've got it! I've got it!
Oh, no, no, no, no! He's here! He's here!
Aah! He's gone past me!
He's flying! I can't catch him!
- Come on, Pad. (dramatic music continues)
Come on! Come on, McGuinness! Come on!
(carts rumbling)
I can hear something.
- [Paddy] I see me line! I can see a line!
I'm going for it! I'm going for it!
- I can hear him now! I can hear him now!
- [Paddy] I'm going for it! Nearly there!
Oh, I see him!
I've got him! I've got him! Oh, no!
Jesus!
- Mate, are you all right?
- Oh my God! (laughing)
- What are you doing?! - I nearly had him!
- Go on! - I nearly had him!
- [Chris] Get over the line!
(audience applauding and cheering)
- [Paddy] Fantastic!
- [Chris] Chalking up Formula Hmong, then,
as one of our more painful Motorsport failures...
Ah! - Oh, sorry! (laughing)
- [Chris] We left the winner with a parting gift
of lightly soiled body armour. - Thank you. Thank you.
(audience applauding)
- And then it was time to return to our pickups.
Because having now proven their Thai readiness
to the local village, while we'd been busy
getting battered and bruised,
they'd been tasked with one last job.
(soft music)
That job would take us to the next hilltop,
where a new temple was under construction.
Its exterior is covered in thousands
upon thousands of tiles.
And so, to help complete it, that was the cargo we'd bring.
Loaded up, with a muddy road ahead,
setting out to be useful once more.
(upbeat music)
The pickup.
I know we've tried to joke around them,
but these things are the workforce of humanity, aren't they?
There's something about an honest pickup.
When you see one on the road you know
ultimately it's helping someone somewhere
or giving someone something.
- It just makes you feel good about yourself.
And I'm telling you now,
I know we're in the jungles of Thailand,
but no matter where I'd be dropped in the world,
I'd pick the D-Max.
- Yeah, it has served you well.
And it's actually served me pretty well as well.
(soft music)
- By the word! I can see the temple 'pon the hill!
Come on, we're nearly there.
- So, are we awarding the victory to the D-Max
given that I turned up in a saloon car
and had hacked the back off it
and Flintoff is still in isolation?
- I think so. (soft upbeat music)
My word.
Wow!
This is mega, Chris. (upbeat music continues)
- I'm gonna have a soppy moment
and say this is quite special.
- Wow.
That is something else.
(soft upbeat music continues)
Look at that.
- [Chris] Do they climb up there and tile that?!
- [Paddy] That's amazing.
- Cor!
So each of those goes-
- On that roof. (grunting)
Right, which is your good hand?
- Left.
- Have you got it? - Yeah.
- You sure? - Yeah. Let's go.
- [Paddy] Right. Up we go.
(soft upbeat music continues)
- [Chris] Wow!
What a place. - Phew.
- [Chris] Amazing.
These are stunning.
- [Paddy] Wow.
- [Chris] That is a big, big statue.
- [Paddy] Look at the size of that guy there.
- [Chris] I know.
Look at the size of him!
- You can't take it all in. You look up and it's so much.
- It is massive.
- Ah, he's waiting for, it looks like he's waiting for us.
Pop them down there. Pop them down here.
Sawasdee khap.
Apparently- - Yeah.
- [Paddy] We need another 600,000 of them.
- 600,000? - 600,000.
- [Chris] Where's F, where's Flintoff when you need him?!
Flintoff! (laughing) - Back down to the pick-up.
Thank you, Thailand.
- [Chris] Tile-land.
(soft music)
- [Paddy] Kicking meself for not coming up with that one.
How's your body? - Broken.
- Good.
Good, good, good.
(audience applauding and cheering)
Beautiful.
Beautiful country. Beautiful. Beautiful. Amazing. Amazing.
What a place that temple was,
and what a pleasure to help out.
And, Fred, I'm gutted you weren't there, pal.
'Cause he'd have been handy carrying them tiles
up them steps, wouldn't he? - Oh, cheers, thanks, yeah.
(audience laughing)
Thanks, Pad. But I am upset too.
Firstly, because my Hilux would have smashed
your two up the hill.
- Oh. - Oh, come on. The Hilux?
- Yeah. - And secondly, Formula Hmong.
- Ooh!
- That's my type of Motorsport.
Just falling.
- Yeah, yeah! (audience laughing)
Gravity is your specialist subject, to be fair!
- Exactly. I'd have wiped the floor
with you two. - Yeah.
- We did a pretty good job of that ourselves,
actually, Fred. - Yeah, we certainly did.
We certainly did. Great trip, though.
And an amazing country. Thailand, thanks for having us.
Well, that's it for tonight.
But we're back next week as we head to Paris
in some tiny cars and Germany in some very fast supercars.
See you then. Thanks for watching. Good night.
(audience applauding) (upbeat music)
(upbeat music continues)