VIDEO: Top Gear takes a Reliant Robin to the heavens... and back
If you missed the most recent episode of Top Gear (download it here via bittorrent), we feel obliged to bring you this clip of what was by far the show's highlight. As if the Clarkson, Mays and Hammond haven't learned already that disaster lurks around every corner, they thought it would be a smashing idea to build a space shuttle out of a Reliant Robin. The goal would be to send the craft up into the heavens and have it guide back down to earth safely via remote control. That's right, they did learn one lesson from Richard Hammond's near death experience and decided to hide the humans safely within bunkers.
The contraption certainly looks the part, but we expected the thing to blow up Mythbusters style when the launch sequence reached 00:00:00. We'll let you watch for yourselves what happens and how the story concludes in the video after the jump, but we're pretty certain that with the show's track record that you can guess the outcome. Skip to about 2:29 left in the video to see the launch if you don't care about the build up.
[Source: Engadget]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
jj 6:20PM (2/22/2007)
Holy crap.
Yeah, work on that detach mechanism, but the flight itself was pretty exceptional.
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mike 6:36PM (2/22/2007)
i agree, usually their stunts turn out pretty crummy and messed up. but this one was seriously amazing. they have such a large budget.
Also: Earlier in this episode, The 911 turbo kicked some ass. can't wait to see how fast it goes around the track. (porsche fanboy)
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mxrz 7:25PM (2/22/2007)
Best show on TV, period.
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Howard Kerr 7:28PM (2/22/2007)
I had to do a double take before I noticed that wasn't the space shuttle. Do you suppose Reliant would be interested in building a "Commemorative Shuttle Edition" of the Robin? (Assuming they are still in transportation business)
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John B 8:13PM (2/22/2007)
Bloody amazing. Go to YouTube and search for the first part which shows the planning and construction of the rocket. The rocket generates 8 tons of thrust. Actually, here is the link to the first part:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks9-8XOtfC4
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rygar 8:41PM (2/22/2007)
I was so hoping that they would pull it off! Sooooo close. Top Gear must have one hell of a budget from the BBC to do stuff like this - I guess that's why taxes are so high over there!
LOVE THIS SHOW.
BTW What happened to the supposed american version that Discovery was going to air?
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Dan 9:25PM (2/22/2007)
That was AWESOME. Had a pretty good chance of working too...
The music around the 3:00 mark is some James Bond supervillain stuff, I wonder if it's from Moonraker? Or maybe You Only Live Twice?
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Kowell 9:49PM (2/22/2007)
How far will the McGiver legacy go.....
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Big jim 11:07PM (2/22/2007)
fun video
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zach 11:28PM (2/22/2007)
WOW!
can anybody provide a coherent reason why we don't get this show here??? it seems my BBC America channel would suffice quite nicely.
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Heydn 12:38AM (2/23/2007)
What a show... everything about it. The hosts, the cars, the soundtrack, the cinematography... simply amazing.
And why don't we get it here (anymore)? Because Jeremy Clarkson made fun of Americans after Katrina: "Most Americans barely have the brains to walk on their back legs." I laughed, plus America deserved it after we royally screwed-up our reaction to Katrina (which Clarkson was writing about when he said that)
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David 7:14AM (2/23/2007)
#7: that's the music from Superman
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toucego 7:35AM (2/23/2007)
LOLOLOL
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John B 10:50AM (2/23/2007)
10. Zach:
It's available in Canada on the BBC Canada service. Unfortunately it's on a digital subscriber channel and I can't justify the fee for just that one program.
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Justin 10:58AM (2/23/2007)
Surprisingly good when you think about it. Yea the thing didn't detach...but up till then perfection. I'd still call it a success.
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anthem 12:11PM (2/23/2007)
That has to be the coolest thing I've seen this morning. Fantastic television! I think it was better NOT having the car detach; I sat here dreamily envisioning my loquacious mother-in-law strapped-in to the "cockpit" head to foot, frantically pressing buttons and turning dials, screaming at the top of her lungs to me on the ground, "This is all your fault!" And I, remote control in hand, smiling through a shoulder shrug as if to say, "Yes. It is."
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Guy 7:29PM (2/23/2007)
I watched this a few days ago and it had me on the edge of my seat then in tears of laughter. It was one of the best things I have ever watched on TV.
I don't think they really gave credit to the guys that made it though. They dedicating a whole show to a car trip though hicksville (funny but lame) compared to less than 5 min on the construction of a rocket ship! Not even having them on the end of the show to say thank you as they often in such cases.
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Simon Miller 5:13PM (2/25/2007)
No 7 and No 12...that music is from You Only Live Twice and was played in the scenes where the spacejackings were being perpetrated.
Imagine what would have happened if that rocket slammed into the cast and crew...pretty dangerous stuff...how do they get permission to do it?
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