Clarkson hates the GT3RS gen 2..
09-18-2010, 10:51 PM
#1
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
Clarkson hates the GT3RS gen 2..
he actually hates every car I ever bought. I have a perfect record
.
You are probably fed up to the back teeth with stories about the Stig but I couldn’t let the wave of controversy wash on by without explaining, actually, how the character was created. Back in 2002 I was working with a mate called Andy Wilman on a fresh new version of Top Gear. It would have a studio and a track — “a place where car things happen” is how we sold it to the BBC — and there would be motoring adventures in developing countries such as Bolivia and Vietnam and America.
We were in the process of screen-testing various people who wanted to become presenters when it occurred to us that while some of them were very good and very funny and capable of writing their own material, none could actually drive.
This was a problem because, for the show to have credibility, we needed someone who could really hustle a car round our track. In short, we needed a racing driver.
The trouble is that, almost without exception, racing drivers are a bit thick. It goes with the territory. To drive at 200mph, an inch from someone who wants to overtake and will stop at nothing to do so, you cannot have any imagination whatsoever. You have to be as emotionless as a stone. And stones don’t really work on television.
There’s another problem, too. To a racing driver, all road cars are rubbish.
They are all too soft and squidgy and they all suffer from too much understeer. You can try explaining to them that on the road there are bumps and kerbs and potholes but it’s no good. Unless a car feels, goes and handles like a single-seater on slicks, it is “useless”.
So, you can see our difficulty. You need someone who can drive fast to host the show, but that person will probably have the brains of a lobster and a firmly held belief that every single car that comes his way cannot win the Indy 500 and is therefore pointless. I thought about the problem for months until I hit upon the idea of having a racing driver that never spoke. He’d just turn up, see how fast each car could go round our track and then go home again. I met Andy at the Cow in Notting Hill and he loved the plan. “We’ll call him the Gimp,” I said. And Andy agreed with that, too.
Eventually, a Gimp was found, an all-black suit was designed and we developed a storyline that the Gimp would live in a box all week and be brought out only to do laps. Yes, we’d seen Pulp Fiction and we’d liked it, too.
So, we were ready to go with our new show but then, at the last minute, a BBC person who had lived in America stepped in with a bombshell. Did we know, he asked, that in America “gimp” is slang for “cripple”?
There was a moment of silence as we realised we wouldn’t be allowed to transmit a show in which we kept a cripple in a box. And so a new name was needed. And since we couldn’t think of one, I suggested we call him Stig. Stig being the name given to all new boys at the school where Andy and I had met.
In the early days Stig really wasn’t a big deal. He just drove cars round the track. But, as the years rolled by, and the first black Stig was accidentally killed when he drove off an aircraft carrier, we started to use him in other places. On a Tube train. At Blackpool Pleasure Beach. And so on. As a result, he started to have a character.
That’s why we started introducing him by suggesting that he had once punched a horse to the ground, or that he was banned in 17 US states. It reached the point where my young son, having been taken for a lap round the track by this mythical creature, came up to me afterwards and said, “Daddy. The Stig’s got a head.”
For me, that was the eureka moment. Because I realised that while adults were idly speculating that the man in the suit might be Damon Hill or Johnny Herbert, children were thinking that maybe he was a space alien.
And since Top Gear is a programme made for children, whether they are eight or 85, we began to develop the idea that he really wasn’t human. It was fun. It was a laugh. And it became a global phenomenon. I read a survey the other day that said that round the world the character we’d created was the second most famous English person after the Queen.
Today, of course, that’s all been ruined because we know the Stig was in fact nothing more than a middle-order Formula Three driver. In fact, the only person who’s pleased about his stupid book and the subsequent brouhaha is an 11-year-old boy I know. His name? Ben Collins.
I have no idea at this stage what we shall do when the next series of Top Gear starts in December. Some say we’ll kill the Stig off in an improbable accident or that we’ll develop a new idea featuring mermaids and Nicholas Witchell. All we know is ... the real Ben Collins is going to get a primary-school ribbing.
I’m afraid that as a result of this morning’s history lesson we have very little space left in which to talk about the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Which is a shame, because I have much to say. All of it fairly bad.
Earlier this year I drove a standard GT3, which is a zingier, more track-focused version of the standard Carrera. It was very good. I’m not an enthusiast of what the American satirist PJ O’Rourke once called the “***-engined **** slot car” but ooh, the delicacy of its steering, the responsiveness of the engine and the traction ... it was a genuinely lovely thing to drive.
You would need to be fairly stupid to spend that much more for quite a lot less but, as we know, racing drivers are However, it is obvious that there are some people out there who looked at the GT3 and thought: yes, but I want something even more track-focused. Even more hardcore. We have a name for these people. They are called “racing drivers” and you can spot them easily down at the pawn shop, selling their mothers.
No matter. Porsche was happy to oblige and produced the car you see here. It has 15 more horsepower than the standard model but because it has shorter gear ratios the top speed is actually a little less.
So, it’s slower than the GT3 and comes with almost no equipment at all. But despite this, it is £19,000 more expensive.
You would need to be fairly stupid to spend that much more for quite a lot less but, as we know, racing drivers are.
Porsche certainly knows it, which is why, on the options list, you are asked to pay £135 for a Porsche crest embossed on the headrests, £392 for red dials, £3,130 for bucket seats and, best of all, £1,268 to replace the lead-acid battery with a lithium-ion jobby. How monumentally dull and **** do you have to be to pay more than one thousand pounds to have a lighter battery in your car? How many people, do you think, will invite you round for dinner?
Of course, the upside of the weight-saving programme and the shorter gear ratios and the revised suspension is that, on a smooth track, the RS is pretty damn fast. It’s so fast, in fact, and so precise that I found it rather like anyone who’s obsessed with their weight — a bit boring.
It certainly isn’t boring, though, when you have to drive it home. Then, it becomes awful. Loud. Bone-breakingly hard. And utterly stumped when presented with a speed bump or a steep hill.
I can see absolutely no reason why anyone would turn down the really rather good GT3 and spend more on this instead. But if you are that way inclined, do please get in touch. Mark your envelope: “Can I Be the Next Stig?, BBC TV, London”.
.You are probably fed up to the back teeth with stories about the Stig but I couldn’t let the wave of controversy wash on by without explaining, actually, how the character was created. Back in 2002 I was working with a mate called Andy Wilman on a fresh new version of Top Gear. It would have a studio and a track — “a place where car things happen” is how we sold it to the BBC — and there would be motoring adventures in developing countries such as Bolivia and Vietnam and America.
We were in the process of screen-testing various people who wanted to become presenters when it occurred to us that while some of them were very good and very funny and capable of writing their own material, none could actually drive.
This was a problem because, for the show to have credibility, we needed someone who could really hustle a car round our track. In short, we needed a racing driver.
The trouble is that, almost without exception, racing drivers are a bit thick. It goes with the territory. To drive at 200mph, an inch from someone who wants to overtake and will stop at nothing to do so, you cannot have any imagination whatsoever. You have to be as emotionless as a stone. And stones don’t really work on television.
There’s another problem, too. To a racing driver, all road cars are rubbish.
They are all too soft and squidgy and they all suffer from too much understeer. You can try explaining to them that on the road there are bumps and kerbs and potholes but it’s no good. Unless a car feels, goes and handles like a single-seater on slicks, it is “useless”.
So, you can see our difficulty. You need someone who can drive fast to host the show, but that person will probably have the brains of a lobster and a firmly held belief that every single car that comes his way cannot win the Indy 500 and is therefore pointless. I thought about the problem for months until I hit upon the idea of having a racing driver that never spoke. He’d just turn up, see how fast each car could go round our track and then go home again. I met Andy at the Cow in Notting Hill and he loved the plan. “We’ll call him the Gimp,” I said. And Andy agreed with that, too.
Eventually, a Gimp was found, an all-black suit was designed and we developed a storyline that the Gimp would live in a box all week and be brought out only to do laps. Yes, we’d seen Pulp Fiction and we’d liked it, too.
So, we were ready to go with our new show but then, at the last minute, a BBC person who had lived in America stepped in with a bombshell. Did we know, he asked, that in America “gimp” is slang for “cripple”?
There was a moment of silence as we realised we wouldn’t be allowed to transmit a show in which we kept a cripple in a box. And so a new name was needed. And since we couldn’t think of one, I suggested we call him Stig. Stig being the name given to all new boys at the school where Andy and I had met.
In the early days Stig really wasn’t a big deal. He just drove cars round the track. But, as the years rolled by, and the first black Stig was accidentally killed when he drove off an aircraft carrier, we started to use him in other places. On a Tube train. At Blackpool Pleasure Beach. And so on. As a result, he started to have a character.
That’s why we started introducing him by suggesting that he had once punched a horse to the ground, or that he was banned in 17 US states. It reached the point where my young son, having been taken for a lap round the track by this mythical creature, came up to me afterwards and said, “Daddy. The Stig’s got a head.”
For me, that was the eureka moment. Because I realised that while adults were idly speculating that the man in the suit might be Damon Hill or Johnny Herbert, children were thinking that maybe he was a space alien.
And since Top Gear is a programme made for children, whether they are eight or 85, we began to develop the idea that he really wasn’t human. It was fun. It was a laugh. And it became a global phenomenon. I read a survey the other day that said that round the world the character we’d created was the second most famous English person after the Queen.
Today, of course, that’s all been ruined because we know the Stig was in fact nothing more than a middle-order Formula Three driver. In fact, the only person who’s pleased about his stupid book and the subsequent brouhaha is an 11-year-old boy I know. His name? Ben Collins.
I have no idea at this stage what we shall do when the next series of Top Gear starts in December. Some say we’ll kill the Stig off in an improbable accident or that we’ll develop a new idea featuring mermaids and Nicholas Witchell. All we know is ... the real Ben Collins is going to get a primary-school ribbing.
I’m afraid that as a result of this morning’s history lesson we have very little space left in which to talk about the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Which is a shame, because I have much to say. All of it fairly bad.
Earlier this year I drove a standard GT3, which is a zingier, more track-focused version of the standard Carrera. It was very good. I’m not an enthusiast of what the American satirist PJ O’Rourke once called the “***-engined **** slot car” but ooh, the delicacy of its steering, the responsiveness of the engine and the traction ... it was a genuinely lovely thing to drive.
You would need to be fairly stupid to spend that much more for quite a lot less but, as we know, racing drivers are However, it is obvious that there are some people out there who looked at the GT3 and thought: yes, but I want something even more track-focused. Even more hardcore. We have a name for these people. They are called “racing drivers” and you can spot them easily down at the pawn shop, selling their mothers.
No matter. Porsche was happy to oblige and produced the car you see here. It has 15 more horsepower than the standard model but because it has shorter gear ratios the top speed is actually a little less.
So, it’s slower than the GT3 and comes with almost no equipment at all. But despite this, it is £19,000 more expensive.
You would need to be fairly stupid to spend that much more for quite a lot less but, as we know, racing drivers are.
Porsche certainly knows it, which is why, on the options list, you are asked to pay £135 for a Porsche crest embossed on the headrests, £392 for red dials, £3,130 for bucket seats and, best of all, £1,268 to replace the lead-acid battery with a lithium-ion jobby. How monumentally dull and **** do you have to be to pay more than one thousand pounds to have a lighter battery in your car? How many people, do you think, will invite you round for dinner?
Of course, the upside of the weight-saving programme and the shorter gear ratios and the revised suspension is that, on a smooth track, the RS is pretty damn fast. It’s so fast, in fact, and so precise that I found it rather like anyone who’s obsessed with their weight — a bit boring.
It certainly isn’t boring, though, when you have to drive it home. Then, it becomes awful. Loud. Bone-breakingly hard. And utterly stumped when presented with a speed bump or a steep hill.
I can see absolutely no reason why anyone would turn down the really rather good GT3 and spend more on this instead. But if you are that way inclined, do please get in touch. Mark your envelope: “Can I Be the Next Stig?, BBC TV, London”.
09-19-2010, 01:00 AM
#2
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 2,457
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
He is a ****-Car ****.
The new GT3 RS has been proclaimed by most car magazines to be the best road/race car Porsche has ever produced. Jeremy Twatson doesn't like it? Who is he again?
Love your color combo, btw.
The new GT3 RS has been proclaimed by most car magazines to be the best road/race car Porsche has ever produced. Jeremy Twatson doesn't like it? Who is he again?
Love your color combo, btw.
09-19-2010, 01:55 AM
#3
Ronan, thanks for posting! Looks like you qualify to be the next Stig!
Clarkson is an entertainer, and to be entertaining he can't do or say what is expected. He thrives on controversy. There is no doubt that he holds the RS in high regard, and appreciates the engineering feat that it is. But Clarkson also doesn't care for things like "best road-legal track car there is". It would be too easy, and rather boring to watch/read about, for him to say "the GT3 is fantastic, and the RS is simply sublime". Instead we get "I love the GT3" and the audience is thinking "did Clarkson just admit to liking a Porsche?" and while we're all thinking of the RS as an even more hardcore version of the GT3 (and thus better) he flips it right back around.
I watch Clarkson solely for the entertainment value - the performance of the RS (as Stan pointed out) speaks louder than any words!
Clarkson is an entertainer, and to be entertaining he can't do or say what is expected. He thrives on controversy. There is no doubt that he holds the RS in high regard, and appreciates the engineering feat that it is. But Clarkson also doesn't care for things like "best road-legal track car there is". It would be too easy, and rather boring to watch/read about, for him to say "the GT3 is fantastic, and the RS is simply sublime". Instead we get "I love the GT3" and the audience is thinking "did Clarkson just admit to liking a Porsche?" and while we're all thinking of the RS as an even more hardcore version of the GT3 (and thus better) he flips it right back around.
I watch Clarkson solely for the entertainment value - the performance of the RS (as Stan pointed out) speaks louder than any words!
09-19-2010, 02:13 AM
#4
I got to quickly speak to Clarkson on the LFA episode, the only car he really seemed to rave about was the V12 Vantage & the LFA (yeah yeah Zook - I know what u think about this car)
Yes Clarkson is an 'entertainer', but the power he welds with the general public in their car purchasing decisions is scary!!
Yes Clarkson is an 'entertainer', but the power he welds with the general public in their car purchasing decisions is scary!!
09-19-2010, 04:25 AM
#5
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 2,457
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, no wait. Is that bloody bloke responsible for you not driving a "proper" car. Hi is, isnt he. Admit it, you have his picture in the bathroom too.
Dont worry. At least its not a Matrix.
09-19-2010, 05:04 AM
#6
Three Wheelin'
I like your car.
Its OK, Clarkson is a 928/951 guy, not really a 911 guy, so he
was biased to start with.
What everyone wants to know is did you check the box for the
lithium-ion battery?
Its OK, Clarkson is a 928/951 guy, not really a 911 guy, so he
was biased to start with.
What everyone wants to know is did you check the box for the
lithium-ion battery?
09-19-2010, 06:22 AM
#7
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
The battery?.....not a a chance. I can get that much weight loss cheaper on a four week diet, and still have a battery that actually works all the time. The Li battery is really only for track use.
Trending Topics
09-19-2010, 09:23 AM
#8
Three Wheelin'
09-19-2010, 10:29 AM
#9
James May wrote a good piece some months ago about buying a regular F430 vs the Scuderia. His argument is that when you buy a Ferrari, it should not just look like one, but smell like one (leather etc) and feel like one, modestly comfortable etc. and drive like an excellent road car. In that case, if I was buying a F430, I would have to agree and buy a regular model. Less is less.
The GT3 may be different somehow. Maybe to get the feel of a real Porsche, less is more.
(side note - I think both companies rip off their customers with rediculous option charges and surcharges for some models.)
The GT3 may be different somehow. Maybe to get the feel of a real Porsche, less is more.
(side note - I think both companies rip off their customers with rediculous option charges and surcharges for some models.)
09-19-2010, 10:32 AM
#10
Rennlist Member
Thread Starter
side note - I think both companies rip off their customers with rediculous option charges and surcharges for some models.)
No question..some of the numbers are staggering. I paid $1300 for a thicker steering wheel on the RS.2 which probably cost $10 more that the regular one.
No question..some of the numbers are staggering. I paid $1300 for a thicker steering wheel on the RS.2 which probably cost $10 more that the regular one.
09-19-2010, 11:56 AM
#11
Drifting
^I wish Porsche would put in thicker steering wheel from the start like BMWs. I broke down and got the padded one as well and what a difference it makes.
09-21-2010, 10:15 PM
#12
Rennlist Member
Great article. Thanks Ronan.
09-22-2010, 11:58 AM
#15
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Clarkson is spot on. It's just that people are too damn sensitive.
Sure he lambasted the RS vs the GT3. And he is right in his own way. I still would take an RS over the GT3. But this is precisely because I would ask him: "Can I be the next Stig?". It's a fantasy of course but I am the kind of person the RS is aimed at.
It is silly to buy an RS and drive it primarily on the street. If plan to drive your 911 on the street often but want a great track car get a GT3. Does anyone here disagree with that?
On the RS you can't even use the Bluetooth system as the interior is so loud when driving that you can't hear the phone at all. It's just not that good on the road.
And he is right about race car drivers as presenters. The 5th Gear guys (and chick) are all amazing drivers but I fall asleep watching that show.
He makes fun of Porsches, but so what? He likes to poke fun at BMWs and I still have one. I loved it when they put a device (cockometer) to see which car is driven by a bigger **** (Audi, Merc, BMW). Of course the M3 blew up their machine. Completely agree and I drive one.
People like to complain about Clarkson but never directly refute the points he makes. If you disagree with something then bring it up and it would be fun have a chat about something specific.
Sure he lambasted the RS vs the GT3. And he is right in his own way. I still would take an RS over the GT3. But this is precisely because I would ask him: "Can I be the next Stig?". It's a fantasy of course but I am the kind of person the RS is aimed at.
It is silly to buy an RS and drive it primarily on the street. If plan to drive your 911 on the street often but want a great track car get a GT3. Does anyone here disagree with that?
On the RS you can't even use the Bluetooth system as the interior is so loud when driving that you can't hear the phone at all. It's just not that good on the road.
And he is right about race car drivers as presenters. The 5th Gear guys (and chick) are all amazing drivers but I fall asleep watching that show.
He makes fun of Porsches, but so what? He likes to poke fun at BMWs and I still have one. I loved it when they put a device (cockometer) to see which car is driven by a bigger **** (Audi, Merc, BMW). Of course the M3 blew up their machine. Completely agree and I drive one.
People like to complain about Clarkson but never directly refute the points he makes. If you disagree with something then bring it up and it would be fun have a chat about something specific.