Top Gear 18
1987-09-10 | Documentary | 11 episodes45 Seasons
Episode
Episode 1 (1987)
From Press Day at the Frankfurt Motor Show — William Woollard and Sue Baker report the latest cars. Frank Page drives the new medium-sized Peugeot 405. On the road, there are test reports on the BMW V12, Mercedes Coupe and Porsche 959. You can still drive as fast as you like on the German autobahn, but is it just too dangerous? Chris Goffey reports on the political pressure to slow down.
Episode 2 (1987)
Surrounded by the glories of Britain’s motoring past at the Heritage Motor Museum, Syon Park, William Woollard introduces a new feature — the Top Gear Car of the Decade — and road tests nine cars with a claim to be the most significant designs of their decade. In the first test, the programme looks at the original 1906 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost, a car that set a standard of excellence in engineering that has been a benchmark for designers ever since. Ten pre-1915 Rolls Royces were among the 26 veteran cars that set out on a 2,500 mile tour of Britain earlier this summer. Sue Baker viewed £2 million worth of machinery at Stratford-Upon-Avon. Frank Page has been sifting through viewers’ suggestions on how to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists on rural roads, and visits Water End in Hertfordshire to illustrate how some of them might work in practice. Chris Goffey tests Toyota’s new family saloon out this autumn.
Episode 3 (1987)
Are Top Gear viewers dissatisfied with their cars? Several hundred of you wrote in to complain last series, in response to an invitation to air your problems. William Woollard investigates some of the more interesting cases. Sue Baker road-tests Vauxhall’s new flagship, the Senator. Is it prestigious enough to compete with established luxury cars? At the Acropolis Rally earlier this year Hannu Mikkola became the first driver ever to take part in 100 world championship rallies. Tony Mason was there to discover why Hannu is regarded by many as the world’s greatest rally driver. Chris Goffey drives a Ford Model T, the car that put America on wheels — and much of the rest of the world, too — and which Top Gear viewers have voted their ‘car of the decade’ for 1910-20. Frank Page, meanwhile, has been to Southend to examine the latest in car customising — California-look Volkswagens.
Episode 4 (1987)
Car design in Eastern Europe has lagged behind the west, but with the new Lada Samara, has caught up. Sue Baker visits the Togliatti factory in central Russia, to drive one of the first righthand drive versions of the hatchback. Disabled drivers using conversions, fitted to conventional cars, are faced with a confusing range of devices. Chris Goffey visited the Mobility Roadshow to see how well the market caters for their special needs. Road safety depends on good tyres, inflated to the right pressure, but how sure can you be that the gauge is accurate? Frank Page looks at new machines that may be better. This week’s car of the decade is the Austin Seven, the first genuine car for the working person. For many people, the only accessible motor sport is ‘banger racing’. Tony Mason reports from Wimbledon on the Top Gear team’s courage and skill behind the wheel.
Episode 5 (1987)
This year’s motorcycle show at the NEC Birmingham is set against a continuing background of falling bike sales. William Woollard views the latest models the industry hopes will encourage people out of their cars and back onto two wheels. Frank Page investigates the revival of the Norton company and the new bike they’ll be launching on the private market this autumn, and Top Gear looks at some of the more radical machines on which hardened bikers keep the cult of biking alive. One of Top Gear’s family of test drivers joins Sue Baker to evaluate the new small Citroen, the AX, and compares it with its established rivals from Ford and Peugeot. And why are Britain’s motorways so frequently in need of repair? Chris Goffey reports on new ways to try to make them last longer.
