That's the first Top Gear I haven't watched to the end. They are a complete set of idiots! But no doubt I'll tune in next week!

Montego clubman?
There is a shit Brown fugeo a few houses down the street. Not a turbo though.

The best one IMO. Quick in their time, good handling and plenty of hot start problems

Legendary car!





I've got a R5gtt with a stage 5 BBR engine with 12k worth of receipts, tucked away waiting for a refurb when the cash flow allows.

Do show it off on here when you get time to finish it

As for Top Gear, its the usual larking around, but is still very watchable.

I just wish they'd do a few more reviews.

Odly, I now consider Top Gear to be in the same boat as all the other crap TV you listed there

I had it recorded, as I always do. But I ended up watching the entire show in about 15 minutes. There were A few good moments but they were few... I suppose if I had downed several beers it may have been slightly more interesting.

Funny how old top gear, on Dave, seems to be more watchable than the NEW stuff...

P1 was stunning, worth watching for that bit alone.

Definitely an improvement on last week's effort.

have to agree , was good watching the P1 go around spa .

I missed the end of the P1 bit, had to go change my underwear.

Quite enjoyed it this week. That quad bike would be great for the flooded areas of the uk !!

I only caught the end with the P1 and I must say that it's amazing

2nd that
Did anybody else notice the tyre wobble of the P1 when it clipped the rumble strip (rear angle shot) in the slow-mo bit, truly scary

A much better episode, I agree. Even Clarkson's humour was better (hardest substance known to man joke). P1 was incredible and the 4C looked lovely - shame they didn't take it around the track but, judging by the rain, that would have been a pointless exercise.

Better, but still only saved by the hardware. Though that is probably as it should be in a "car show". I've ended up watching the first 2 as stepson major (aged 15...) has chosen the telly for the last 2 Sundays. Last week's was just a persuasive argument for euthanasia, whereas the feature on the P1 was amazing. I can't help thinking that F1 really has moved the supercar game forward and in 10 years I bet there will be a lot more ERS devices on normal road cars, not just wet dream exotica. As Hammond pointed out - there will be a lot more very light cars like the Alfa, so hi-tech power units may be the only way to get high-performance thrills. Formula E anyone...?

Oh the P1

Would have been good to see how the Alfa compared around the track, I'm guessing it needs to be atleast a few seconds quicker than an elise/vx220 to justify the extra cash.

That F Type Coupe they showed a couple of times does more for me than the Alfa. The shriek of that engine
.

I thought last nights episode was quite entertaining . With the 4C and the Mclaren P1 and Mays segment about the armoured vehicles in afganistan .

As has been said, a much better episode - roll on Spa Italia !!!

The 4C looks incredible, but would I buy one over a Cayman? Luckily it's not a dilemma I'm likely to have anytime soon.

Enjoyed the show though. Everything except the tedious 'news' segment was genuinely entertaining.

I was kinda hoping the 4C would be "normal" money. It looks like it is based on the Mito platform, so is small hence the 1.7 litre (turbo) engine.

I know it is to keep it compact and good power to weight ration, but I'm not sure I could pay £45k for a 1.7 lire 4 cylinder engine... not that I will ever have that kind of money !

I know I wouldn't. While I'm sure that the 4C is an amazing car which would stuff the Cayman on a track most of the time I'd rather have climate control, power steering and not having to deal with the Alfa Romeo dealer network



Ditto, unfortunately.

Quite an interesting feature on the P1's rival Porsche 918.
http://www.topgear.com/uk/car-news/porsche-918-spyder-first-drive-2013-11-26
It might have to do as the P1s are sold out.

Exactly. These reasons, along with a lack of any type of storage, mean it appears it's useless even as a weekend car. And if you're going to buy a very impractical car for pure driving pleasure, why would you not get a Caterham or an Atom for £20k less?

It looks gorgeous. Much nicer in my opinion than the Mc P1!
Sadly £45k is too much. In 5 or 6 years time, based on Alfa residual's you'll be able to pick one up for less than £10k?
I'd definately have one then as a weekend car???
In the meantime perhaps I should revisit buying a Brera!

If the weather stays the same more people will buy the quad bike than the Alfa....

Every time I see the 4C I wonder whether I should have blown my redundancy on one. Two things make me glad I didn't -
1. In standard set up, it tends to understeer. I actually think the Cayman might be quicker and possibly more fun.
2. By the time it turned up, the house I bought instead might have earned enough for a down-payment on a second-hand Cayman.

Alfa have announced they're upping production to 5000 units per year. I'm not sure I understand why they went for a CF tub rather than a more Lotus-like design. If you watch the production video, you'll see why they're so pricey.

They'll never be cheap - special Alfas do tend to hold their value - SZ ES30s have remained pretty much their original price.

Tell me you're joking!?! It's a bespoke carbon fibre tub, hand made, with small light engine giving a superb power to weight ratio. To put a bigger, heavy engine would defeat whole ideology of the car.

Not aimed at you, but quite a lot of people don't really grasp progress. Head on over to AO and you're confronted with things like "Alfa should be petrol only" If cars didn't evolve we would all still have model Ts!

Fair comment. To a point.

Ok, I'd forgotten it was a bespoke carbon tub. I'd assumed that it was the usual story where the manufacturer bases their sports car on a similar sibling like the Mito and Punto. You can see the resemblance to the Mito, and similar size too.

I did agree that a bigger engine would not be in the ethos of the car, but I was merely making the point that it felt odd to have a sporty Alfa with an in line 4 pot (yes I know Suds had flat 4s..).

I'd want that V6 noise ! Though, as you say, since this is "progress," why didn't they use a 3 cylinder to save more weight ? Would have sounded almost like a V6 then?! Smart car anyone??

This was a big factor in me getting the Coupe 5 cyl rather than the conventional 4.

I wanted something different. For me the engine is the heart and soul of the car, and I drive a 4 cylinder DI turbo every day of the week.

I'd want my sports car to be different. No offence to you 16V chaps. Just a matter of aural preference.

Excuse my further ignorance, but what is "AO?"

I found your post a little patronising if I'm honest. We are all car enthusiasts here, and inferring I'm an automotive motive luddite is a bit harsh.

I still love the Mito.. sorry 4C. I think I'd have one over a Porsche just to a) be different b) have have a bespoke carbon tub

Alfa Owner?