Episode Archive - Series 8

In manpower-versus-horsepower Top Gear, we got some young men in silly trousers to leap around Liverpool. And the presenters built their own car. The world's major car manufacturers needn't feel threatened.

The French are clearly all mad. When they aren't building cars that have gear sticks where the indicator should be, they're inventing new sports. The latest of which seems to be jumping off things and doing stuff that anyone over the age of 28 would never dream of.

Of course, there are quite a few younger people who'd be too terrified to try their hand at parkour (the art of running through a city and leaping over obstacles). But we managed to find a couple of chaps who were prepared to leap from rooftops in Liverpool, to test a Peugeot 207. As they did their thing, James battled against bumbling shoppers to try to get to the Liver building first. The jumping blokes won.

Some say his fingernails have 330 bhp and that he was raised by wolves. Obviously, no human can race the Stig. So we decided to lay down a challenge where he wouldn't have an advantage. We placed him in the Caterham factory in Surrey and instructed him to drive to the Knock Hill Circuit in Scotland. The presenters were already at Knock Hill with a little task: to assemble a Caterham before the Stig arrived.

What transpired was some of the lowest-quality car construction ever, and some of the worst bickering. Jeremy proved to be especially inept with a spanner, or any tool for that matter. It all looked pretty hopeless as the clock ticked and the Stig approached.

At the last minute, the boys got their car going and crossed the start line, making them the winners. Poor old Stig got himself into a little trouble with PC McPlod...

First shown on: 23/07/2006