Episode Archive - Series 9

On cut-and-shut Top Gear, we went all showbiz by building some luxurious stretch limousines, Richard drove a muscle-bound Mustang, and time-travelling TV star Billie Piper took a spin in our reasonably priced car.

The formula for a modern limousine is pretty straight forward. Take one awful American car, add a bit more in the middle, garnish with curry house-grade velour and, voila - one stretch limo ready for a life of endless hen nights, alcopops and vomit.

But, in an effort to do things a bit differently, we asked our presenters to go out and buy their own everyday cars, before converting them into stretch limos to compete in a series of challenges.

Jeremy used the logic that, if you're going to make a car really long anyway, you might as well start with something short, and opted for a tiny Fiat Panda. Richard decided to fly in the face of convention and build the world's first mid-engined open top limo, using an MGF roadster. James, meanwhile, found a loophole in the rules and bought himself an Alfa Romeo 164 and a Saab 9000, with the intention of making a sort of Salfa Romeaab.

After a series of challenges that somehow involved soaking Jeremy with a water cannon, and James being shot in his gentleman's area with paintballs, our presenters were sent to collect some high-profile celebs who needed a lift to the Brit Awards. Richard collected R&B star Jamelia, who was visibly alarmed by the low quality and open-air nature of her evening's ride. James took best male nominee Lemar for a tour of every one-way system in West London, and Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles was happy just to survive the journey as Jeremy's giant Panda fell in half.

Ford has taken the already pretty muscular Mustang and fitted it with the supercharged 5.4 litre engine from the GT supercar, to create the Shelby 500. The result is 500-ish bhp and the sort of straight line speed you normally associate with £300,000 supercars, rather than £35,000 Fords. Unfortunately, Richard also discovered that sophisticated rear suspension, a clever racing differential and state-of-the-art brakes are just some of the things the Shelby doesn't have.

First shown on: 04/03/2007