U.K.’s Top Gear Tests Power of Every Porsche on Epic Journey

Every model from the Cayenne E-Hybrid to the 918 Spyder completed 3,370-mile trek from the Article Circle to southern Europe.

The crew from the BBC’s Top Gear may be attempting to carry on without the trio that shall not be named, but the website is still churning out some incredible content. The outlet, for instance, recently went on a road trip from the Article Circle to the southernmost tip of Europe and took seven Porsches with them. Fortunately, they chronicled virtually every moment of their trek in a comprehensive report on the site.

The article is in the form of a lengthy journal with the outlet describing what happened every couple of hours on the road trip. And while it’s a long read, it’s definitely worth taking a look at, because it covers a journey that some enthusiasts can only dream of: driving from Norway’s snow-capped mountains to the bottom tip of Spain, which overlooks Africa. Porsche was also extremely kind to Top Gear and gave the outlet the keys to a vehicle from each of the automaker’s range.

As Top Gear happily writes, the crew got to pilot a 718 Boxster S, 718 Cayman S, Macan GTS, Panamera 4S, Cayenne E-Hybrid, 911 Turbo S, and 918 Spyder through eight countries. And boy, were there some incredible moments.

“Luckily, thanks to four-wheel-drive, four-wheel steer, a computer-controlled torque vectoring system and a rear e-diff, even in minus-five degrees on summer tyres, the 918 does all it can to keep me going in the direction I point it,” said Top Gear. That’s a great revelation to make at the start of a road trip, and who wouldn’t grab the keys to the hypercar right from the get-go?

‘Thanks to four-wheel-drive, four-wheel steer…even in minus-five degrees on summer tyres, the 918 does all it can to keep me going in the direction I point it.’

Unfortunately, the trip also caused some damage early on to the poor 718 Cayman S. “However, the gritted roads have cracked the Cayman’s windscreen,” said Top Gear. And the Cayenne didn’t fair well either, as a screw got lodged into one of the SUV’s tires before the outlet got out of Sweden. Not good, not good at all.

Local animals also proved to be of some concern. Top Gear thanked the Macan GTS’ ceramic brakes for being able to stop on a dime, and saving reindeers from an unfortunate end. “If it didn’t, there’d be the back half of a reindeer currently parked in its grille,” said Top Gear. “Stubborn blighters, reindeer.”

‘Less than a day in, our convoy of colourful cars already have five o’clock shadows of filth, making them look thoroughly excellent.’

However, although proverbially ” bumpy” at times, the nearly 4,000-mile trek was mostly an incredibly rewarding experience overall. “With clear blue skies and ice lakes slowly thawing back to water, the duvet of snow we started with this morning is turning into a dusting with each mile,” reports the Top Gear crew. “And less than a day in, our convoy of colourful cars already have five o’clock shadows of filth, making them look thoroughly excellent.”

All of that goodness happened on the first day of the trip, while the rest of the account is from the other four days, which all happened to include non-stop driving from the crew. For those of us that will never get to embark on a similar trip in a Porsche, Top Gear’s article will have to do.