Episode 1

From the Top Gear Team

On a weight-watchers' Top Gear, Jeremy, Richard and James take three contestants for Automotive Slimmer of the Year on a trans-continental hunt for the world's best driving road. Jeremy meanwhile takes a look at a 641bhp hot-hatch, and a screen monarch becomes a star in a reasonably priced car.

Recently, Porsche, Lamborghini and Aston Martin have all been putting their cars on crash diets. The slimmed-down results of their efforts come in the form of the 911 GT3 RS, Gallardo Superleggera and the V8 Vantage N24, and very nice they all are too.

However, the now hopelessly congested roads of Southern England are no place to enjoy cars such as these, so with that in mind, Jeremy, Richard and James headed over the channel to France and beyond in an effort to find the best stretch of tarmac continental Europe has to offer.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Golf GTi, Volkswagen has allowed a group of its normally very sensible engineers to go on an eight-week bender in a tool shed. The result is the Golf GTi W12 650 - and, yes, the 650 bit does refer to brake horsepower.

After nicking bits from a smorgasbord of VW products - including the brakes of a Lamborghini Gallardo and Audi RS4, gearbox of a VW Phaeton, and, alarmingly, the 12-cylinder twin-turbo engine of a Bentley Continental GT (which is now wedged in the Golf's rear-end) - you'd expect the results to be pretty spectacular. And they are - sort of.

This humble hatchback goes to 60mph from a standstill in 3.5 seconds and eventually tops out at a barely feasible 202mph. But, as Jeremy discovered, it absolutely, positively will not go round corners without trying to kill you to death.

However, this car is intended as a sort of gift to the legions of die-hard Golf GTi fans who've stuck with the car over its illustrious 30-year history. And, as such, it beats the hell out of a supermarket clubcard.

Award-winning star of The Queen, Dame Helen Mirren became our first star in reasonably priced car of the new series. She showed us that despite her regal onscreen persona, she's actually a bit of demon behind the wheel.

First shown on: 07/10/2007