Top Gear Returns Tonight

Yes, you read it right. Top Gear is returning tonight, 22/06/08 at 8PM on BBC2. I know you can't wait to see the gang once again so here's some more information to whet your appetite:

• The Stig is back in an F430 Scuderia
• Jeremy, James and Richard give some petrol-saving tips
• The boys look at how police cars can be made better
• The guest slot is a bit different and you'll see Justin Lee-Collins and Alan Carr going head to head

Given that tidbit of information, I'm sure that you can't wait to see the show.

The 240MPH WOODEN Supercar

Yes, you read it right. The picture above is of a 240MPH wooden supercar, named Splinter (ha ha). It is a plywood, maple and MDF dream come true and clearly has the lines of a Murcielago if you ask me.



MSN had the following to report on the project:

It is the brainchild of designer Joe Harmon, a North Carolina State University student who worked with fellow undergraduate designers to create the world's first wooden supercar. Wood is used wherever possible, and that includes the chassis, the body and in the majority of the suspension components and wheels. Harmon said: "We aren't trying to sell anything, we aren't trying to save the world, and we aren't advocating that everyone should drive a wooden car. This project is a scholastic endeavour in which we are simply trying to explore materials, learn, teach, share ideas and stimulate creativity."



Powered by a V8 600BHP rocket of an engine you'll hit 60 in around (or possibly even under) 3 seconds. One thing I wouldn't recommend is either being in the car if it ever has an accident. I'm fairly sure that plywood and such don't take a serious collision very well...

Dream Garage...

The BTCC 2007

You may have seen the coverage on ITV4 of the BTCC. Whilst Formula One has been very exciting this year, I can't help but feel that the public are missing a trick. These are cars going extremely fast around a track - but these are cars you could realistically own and drive. Wouldn't you rather watch that? It is fast becoming my number one sport to watch and the drama is just brilliant. Why not give it a watch next time it's on?

Fast? Why?

I'm quite often annoyed by specs that I see for cars, or indeed cars that I see when I am out and about. If something booms past me, inevitably it'll be going in excess of the speed limit. Now emergency aside, why?

Let's look at this from another angle. Plenty of cars that go quite fast have a limiter set at 155mph. Why? That is more than double the legal speed on any UK road. Frankly, you'll probably never even use that speed on a track (they tend to have corners too y'see). You could go to an aerodrome and fly away. Would you though?

That leaves fast acceleration. Now, that can and is used by lots of people. Races at the lights for instance. I don't go in for that anymore and a lot of people don't once they've been driving a while. If you're in that much of a hurry, then be my guest.

This brings us to why people REALLY buy fast cars. Status. Plain and simple. It's the 'mine's faster than yours' that does it. More to the point, it's a truism. It probably is faster. But you know what, it's only you that's bothered, because on a track I could probably beat you anyway.

You know how to press the 'loud' pedal hard but you DON'T know where an apex of a turn is, what your max torque and power outputs or or probably even how to change your oil and check your pressures without using your in-car gauge. So, sod off. Whilst you're at it, go get caught doing 110mph down the A1.