Top Gear The Worst Car in the History of the World
The latest entrant into the astonishingly
expansive Top Gear canon, the self-explanatorily titled Worst
Car in the History of the World is a solid movie-length one-off that
encapsulates everything that’s best about the show.
After Jeremy Clarkson’s brief intro and a
smattering of the usual contrived banter between him and co-host James
May the lads get down to business: finding the worst car in history,
thrashing it and then trashing it.
First up is the Communist-built FSO Polonez,
a marvel of Iron Curtain ineptitude that breaks down several times
despite Clarkson’s best attempts at fixing the electrics with gaffer
tape. After testing several similar disasters the boys decide a little
bit of contrast is in order, and head to the race track to pit the
stunning Ferrari 458 Spider against Clarkson’s favourite, the impossibly
sleek Mercedes SLR. The Ferrari is determined the winner in something
of an uneven bout, May joyously declaring, with his usual dexterity,
that ‘the Ferrari back catalogue is a symphony of perfection.’ Or is
it? For after a few speed laps and more than one bald tire it’s back to
the crap, to take a look at a monumentally ugly 1983 Ferrari that makes
the DeLorean in Back to the Future look like a Lamborghini.
The episode largely follows this format to
its conclusion: testing out some tat, then contrasting it with one of
the better cars of its brand. No one is spared, and the cars tested
include those from Ford, Lincoln, Chrysler and Alfa Romeo, though at
least the big names like Porsche are given a chance to redeem
themselves, in this case with the beautiful new 911 after a thorough
shaming at the hands of the 1991 Carrera RS.
It’s a fun, lively and highly enjoyable
standalone episode with plenty of history as well as some modern
classics, and a release that will make a nice stocking stuffer for Dad
this Christmas.
Bonus Features
No sign of the usual smorgasbord of extras
- Worst Cars is bare bones, with nary a trailer in sight.
