The "Top Gear", Season 24/25/26 thread

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I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting tbh. Paddy was better in this than other programmes I have watched him in.

Looking forward to the next one see how it progresses.
 

daz

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Enjoyed it, bit of a shame they didn't show more of the 600LT and Pista though. Could also have thrown the Performante in to the mix for good measure? Why has it not been around the track?
 

mrk

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Didn't really find the story segment that interesting really, maybe it was just the cars in question or lack of top level bants. There was bants but it was all mediocre juvenile stuff. Matt was better ;-(

Still better than a Rory segment though I suppose.

Pista segment though. Oh yes :cool:
 
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Problem with the Pista & 600LT segment is that the cars arent that loud & don't sound especially fantastic esp through a TV. Removed a lot of the drama against TG supercar tests of old ie 458 vs 12C etc
 

mrk

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Problem with the Pista & 600LT segment is that the cars arent that loud & don't sound especially fantastic esp through a TV. Removed a lot of the drama against TG supercar tests of old ie 458 vs 12C etc

That's the problem with modern turbo supercars though. Only a couple sound properly good, the rest need intervention from Larini, Renntech, Novitec etc to sound actually nice.

Maybe that's what TG should do, approach these companies for their versions of supercars. That I could get behind. If YouTubers can seemingly get these cars to review so paisley, so can Top Gear.
 
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I enjoyed it far more than I was expecting tbh. Paddy was better in this than other programmes I have watched him in.

Looking forward to the next one see how it progresses.

Some genuinely funny moments but largely didn't really feel it - again it feels like they've got 2 presenters that sit too closely role wise which makes it a bit awkward.
 
Soldato
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That's the problem with modern turbo supercars though. Only a couple sound properly good, the rest need intervention from Larini, Renntech, Novitec etc to sound actually nice.
Yep it's just a reason that potentially that Harris segment was not that exciting. If it had been R8 or Huracan, 812, Aventador etc included in there would maybe have been better.
 
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Problem with the Pista & 600LT segment is that the cars arent that loud & don't sound especially fantastic esp through a TV. Removed a lot of the drama against TG supercar tests of old ie 458 vs 12C etc


It is because the modern ones really sound poor.

After watching numerous reviews, even Chris Harris driving stuff like 488 GTB, 488 Pista and after me personally driving the 488 GTB and Portofino I can tell you now that irrelevant of what the manufacturer says, irrelevant of what the reviewers say these cars do not sound good, they sound not a patch on the 458 or the other atmospheric engines and they state turbo lag free, that is also another lie, I drove a Portofino over two days in all conditions and though its an excellent car, there is turbo lag, but I will agree it is absolutely minimal and the engine does rev out nicely, but of course its always more about mid-range with a turbo motor no matter how hard the manufacturer tries to make the power delivery replicate NA.

To put it simply a 458 with stock exhaust sounds much better, much louder than a 488 Pista or 488 GTB and even louder than a Portofino to you the driver even with roof down.

I like a proper sounding engine, screaming flat plane Ferrari V8, screaming V10 or a traditional throb throb throb American V8.


I drove an M2 Competition yesterday and I'd go as far as saying BMW have truly nailed it as far as turbo motors go, yes its got lag but its got a serious kick around 5000rpm that holds nicely until 7000rpm and believe it or not from the outside its still got that lovely straight 6 noise too, the only disappointment inside the cabin it was so quiet, no classic NA induction noise or roar which is a shame and I was driving a stripped out M2 Competition on track, what I will say is what a car, the handling in MDM mode was ace, you can get some serious slip angle and drift the thing with the safety of the computers making you feel hero, but even then it was very progressive and easy to modulate which sometimes turbo motors can struggle.

For me the M2 Competition is the best BMW since the E46 M3 CSL, seriously what an awesome little yet big car. :)
 
Soldato
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It is because the modern ones really sound poor.

After watching numerous reviews, even Chris Harris driving stuff like 488 GTB, 488 Pista and after me personally driving the 488 GTB and Portofino I can tell you now that irrelevant of what the manufacturer says, irrelevant of what the reviewers say these cars do not sound good, they sound not a patch on the 458 or the other atmospheric engines and they state turbo lag free, that is also another lie, I drove a Portofino over two days in all conditions and though its an excellent car, there is turbo lag, but I will agree it is absolutely minimal and the engine does rev out nicely, but of course its always more about mid-range with a turbo motor no matter how hard the manufacturer tries to make the power delivery replicate NA.

To put it simply a 458 with stock exhaust sounds much better, much louder than a 488 Pista or 488 GTB and even louder than a Portofino to you the driver even with roof down.

I like a proper sounding engine, screaming flat plane Ferrari V8, screaming V10 or a traditional throb throb throb American V8.


I drove an M2 Competition yesterday and I'd go as far as saying BMW have truly nailed it as far as turbo motors go, yes its got lag but its got a serious kick around 5000rpm that holds nicely until 7000rpm and believe it or not from the outside its still got that lovely straight 6 noise too, the only disappointment inside the cabin it was so quiet, no classic NA induction noise or roar which is a shame and I was driving a stripped out M2 Competition on track, what I will say is what a car, the handling in MDM mode was ace, you can get some serious slip angle and drift the thing with the safety of the computers making you feel hero, but even then it was very progressive and easy to modulate which sometimes turbo motors can struggle.

For me the M2 Competition is the best BMW since the E46 M3 CSL, seriously what an awesome little yet big car. :)

Well TBH I have no access to such cars and probably never will let alone M2C so don't really know what they sound like inside but yes agree from my limited experience these noises will never be matched. There are a few exceptions though, my 5 cyl focus sounded pretty good for a turbo motor, merc seem to have pulled a number with 4.0 V8 biturbo although still no where near as special sounding as old M156

Anyway we have electric cars to look forward to :D
 
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Well TBH I have no access to such cars and probably never will let alone M2C so don't really know what they sound like inside but yes agree from my limited experience these noises will never be matched. There are a few exceptions though, my 5 cyl focus sounded pretty good for a turbo motor, merc seem to have pulled a number with 4.0 V8 biturbo although still no where near as special sounding as old M156

Anyway we have electric cars to look forward to :D


Yes some manufacturers are better than others, Merc and even some of the Mustangs and Camaro's with Turbo kits, still sound great, of course they sounded better NA but still sound damn good with a blower, so it is possible for a turbo to sound good, but NA will always trump it, of course NA and supercharger can sometimes be the holy grail, you get glorious induction whine on some and glorious V8 soundtrack out the back. But superchargers are generally not as efficient as a turbo and hence are a rarer application, they tend to also cost more and take more maintaining.
 
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I don’t get the Chris Harris hate. I find him amusing and he’s knowledgeable and has a lot of infectious enthusiasm to me :)

Enjoyed Freddy more than Paddy, don’t really know what he brings but still much improved.

Thank god there’s no Rory. I think it might have worked if they had Matt Le Blanc as a guest presenter or something occasionally. He was pretty good, barring the awful stilted studio bits.
 
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