One of the funniest thing about today’s highly recommended episode of BBC Top Gear was the fact that throughout the epic cross-Japan race that pitted Jeremy Clarkson in a Nissan GT-R against James May and Richard Hammond in a bullet train, Hamster kept calling it a Datsun.
Here’s a super-advanced all-wheel-drive grip monster with dual clutch rear-mounted transmission and a computer interface designed by the creator of Gran Turismo which measures, among other things, your g forces and can run the Nürburgring faster than a Porsche Carrera GT or Koeniegsegg CCR, but it still can’t outrun the name it began export with because the corporate overlords didn’t know if it would succeed or not, Datsun. In fact, a beautiful Datsun 120Y (B210, Sunny) sedan opened the segment. Eagle eyed viewers will remember it as the very car that robbed British Leyland of its honor last season when the Stig put it against the best (or at least middle) of what BL had to offer.
As for the GT-R, we won’t spoil the end for you but it’s a nail-biter when put up against a machine that goes over 200mph and has a yearly lateness average of six seconds. It’s a must-downl– er, see.
The race portion of the episode has already made it to Youtube.
One thing seemed very unfair in the match. Clarkson had the use of the Etc. electronic and radio toll payment system, so he did not have to stop and fumble with his wallet every 2.5 miles of Japanese highway. May and Hammond were not provided with pre purchased tickets or even a rail pass, and had to deal with the ticket purchasing machines or a railway clerk at each stage of their journey. This seemed very unfair. Maybe the GTR comes equipped with the Etc. system, but it is a subscription service after the purchase of the vehicle, and we were deprived of the obvious humor of Clarkson dealing with a toll booth attendants, and commentary about the toll fees adding up to several times the cost of gas, and probably more than the cost of the train tickets used by May and Hammond, purchased without any foreigner/tourist discounts.
very good episode, worth watching a second time =D
That’s what Top Gear should do next!
Philly to NYC; May in a GT-R with an EZ-Pass, Clarkson in a B210 on the turnpike dealing with tolls the old-fashioned way, Hammond on surface roads in a 240Z!