Episode
Top Gear: Episode 6
Overview
An average of eight million people a year buy a second-hand car. For many, it will be one of the most fraught purchases they’ll ever make. Quentin Willson continues his series of items offering help and advice to individuals who have the cash, but not the knowledge, to buy a bargain. Plus James May says happy tenth birthday to a little Japanese roadster that sparked a revival in affordable sports cars — the Mazda MX-5.
Details
- Series
- Top Gear
- Season
- Season 41
- Episode
- Episode 6
- Air date
- 1999-04-22
Episode context
Episode 6 is Episode 6 in Season 41 of Top Gear. It aired on 1999-04-22.
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Episode 5
A new Japanese contender to be the dream car of young executives has appeared — the Lexus IS200. James May tests out the £21,000, two-litre sports salon from Toyota which has more gadgets than its rival, the BMW 3-series, but will it be more fun? Tiff Needell takes to the track in two four-door supercars that would be equally at home shopping or racing: the Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 5 and the Subaru lmpreza 22B.
Episode 7
At an auction selling hundreds of ex-police cars, Quentin Willson reveals that they can make a surprisingly good buy — and they’re cheap too. They only come in white, and most have covered globe-spanning mileages, but they are always well looked after and at giveaway prices. Top Gear’s used-car guru even finds some bargains in discreet metallics from the plain-clothes branch. Meanwhile, in a deserted airfield, Tiff Needell test-drives a new British sports car, the Noble M10. With a 2.5-litre engine mounted behind the driver, the Noble gives near supercar performance.
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Episode 4
Tiff Needell takes a two-seater Jaguar XK sportscar, one of only two in existence, for a trip around Silverstone. In the mould of the classic XK120 and XK140 of the forties and fifties, this car packs a 450 bhp supercharged engine. Quentin Willson presents the annual Top Gear customer satisfaction survey.
Episode 8
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James May tries out the Jaguar S Type, a new version of the popular sixties model. Quentin Willson goes to Holland as part of the programme’s campaign to expose Britain’s high car prices. Tiff Needell takes to the road in the latest Vauxhall Vectra.
Episode 10
The new Ferrari Modena coupe has all the classic ingredients — mid-mounted engine, rear-wheel drive and a sumptuous leather interior. Yet it is user-friendly, with a clutchless gearbox controlled by a fingertip lever and plenty of space inside. Tiff Needell is in Italy to test it. The Bugatti Royale is a legend — there are only six in existence and if one comes up for sale it would cost more than £6 million. James May meets racing circuit boss Tom Wheatcroft, who couldn’t live without a Royale and built an exact copy.
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