Top Gear Series 14 Sundays 7:30pm
Following his much-publicised accident, a fully mended Richard Hammond returns. Jeremy, Richard and James break the habit of a lifetime and attempt a spot of manual labour when they are challenged to resurface a road in just 24 hours. Jeremy decides whether the Jaguar XKR is a match for its Teutonic rivals. Richard talks about his terrifying 288mph crash in the jet-engined Vampire, with footage of the accident itself.
James pushes the Bugatti Veyron to its limits. Jeremy, James and Richard take the latest Audi, Mazda and Alfa Romeo coupés to Scotland to test which one is best, and Hugh Grant is the star in a Fast Car.
Jeremy, Richard and James take an inter-state road-trip in the USA, completing various challenges along the way. They start off in Miami, where they each buy a car for less than $1,000. They drive to New Orleans, where they attempt to give their cars away to people who have suffered in the hurricane.
The latest incarnation of Porsche’s 911 flagship is put through its paces. With the help of friends from the British Amateur Rocket Society, Richard and James try to make a Reliant Robin boldly go where no three-wheeler has gone before. Simon Pegg is the star in the Reasonably Priced Car. Jeremy finds the Mercedes Brabus SL65 the most powerful convertible car, ever.
In an effort to stop people jumping the lights at a railway level-crossing, Top Gear teams up with Railtrack to show what happens when hundreds of tonnes of locomotive crashes into a Renault Espace. As world oil reserves dwindle, we decide to provide for the future by growing our own biofuel crop. Obviously, this necessitates the testing of some truly enormous tractors. Kristin Scott Thomas is the star in the reasonably priced car. And Jeremy takes a spin in the new Lamborghini Murcielago LP640.
The Top Gear presenters are despatched to buy some everyday cars for converting into stretch limousines. Richard drives a muscle-bound Mustang. After a series of stretch limo challenges that somehow involve soaking Jeremy with a water cannon and James being shot with paintballs, our presenters are sent to collect some high-profile celebrities (Jamelia, Lemar and Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles), who need a lift to the Brit Awards.
James and Richard test drive three people carriers. Jeremy test-drives the new Lamborghini Gallardo. James races the new Peugeot 207 against two free runners in Liverpool. Jeremy, Richard and James race against the Stig – he is driving a Caterham from Surrey to Edinburgh and they are building a Caterham in Edinburgh. Steve Coogan is the star in a reasonably priced car.