Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip 2 2014

This time Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond ditch France and steer straight for the Italian coastline, kicking off in Venice and plotting a sun-soaked finish in Capri. The journey is a study in contrasts right from the start: Hammond selects the brand-new V10 5.2L Lamborghini Aventador, while Clarkson goes with the McLaren 650S, a twin-turbo 3.8L V8 that promises blistering pace. Surprisingly, neither of the cars ends up choosing a Ferrari 458, a model James May already owns.

On the road toward Bologna, Clarkson drops a fact about horsepower and torque: the McLaren pumps out 641 BHP and 500 Nm, sprinting from 0 to 60 in about 2.9 seconds. The mechanics of the pace are curious here—though the four tires are electronically linked, not mechanically connected, a bump on one wheel won’t ripple through the others, making the McLaren feel almost cloud-like in its glide. The Lambo, by contrast, flaunts a body built from a fusion of carbon fiber and aluminum, pairing a sportscar feel with a chassis that’s easy to fix. Its gearbox borrows from the Audi R8, widely regarded as one of the finest, and the steering feedback remains a highlight of the drive.

In Bologna, the hometown of Lamborghini, the mood tilts toward the McLaren—Hammond notes that the locals seem to lean McLaren, while he himself still longs for that Italian spaghetti Bolognaise that proves elusive on the trip. The sat-navs prove unreliable for both cars, but the McLaren’s more nimble handling and short wheelbase help it weave through the narrow city streets, while the broader Lamborghini struggles with the tight urban turns.

Next up is Mugello, a place Jeremy calls the prettiest race track in the world. They switch to track-ready machines here: Clarkson opts for a BMW M4 while Hammond chooses a Jaguar F-Type with a 540 BHP V8. Hammond is blunt about the Jaguar’s interior being dull and its price tag (around £95,000) feeling steep for a car that’s meant to slide rather than stun. Yet he’s drawn to that sliding potential all the same. Clarkson, meanwhile, argues the M4 is over-styled and underpowered, praising, though not without caveats, the M4’s purported precision—though he notes the M3’s 0–1000m performance outshines it. The debate is interrupted when the producers propose a quick race—the Stig The Stig is to drive a Fiat 500 Abarth hatchback and the others must overtake him. After numerous laps, Hammond spins and crashes the Jaguar, and Clarkson powers past the Stig, leaving the mysterious figure furious and kicking the hangar chairs in protest.

With the hybrids on the agenda, the next leg sees Clarkson switching to the McLaren P1, a hybrid beast boasting a combined 904 BHP from its electric motor and V8 engine. Hammond then nudges the plan toward rallying Ferraris: Jeremy is given the Ferrari 355, a car with a Pontiac heritage for its base lineage and a modest V6 engine at 140 BHP. Hammond counters with the Ferrari Testarossa, a 2.5L V4 with a claimed 92 BHP. The two Ferraris stumble into trouble—the 355 breaks down, is repaired, and then moments later Clarkson attempts a dramatic ram on the Testarossa, a plan that backfires and ends with Clarkson crashing his own car. The rally devolves into chaos, and the day closes on a crash-filled note.

To navigate Siena’s famously narrow streets, Hammond reaches for the Mini Cooper S and Clarkson for the Audi S1. Neither car adapts well to the claustrophobic byways—the Mini’s elongation drags it away from its compact badge, while the Audi’s 2L turbo and 4-wheel drive still feels overmatched in the tight lanes. After testing, they abandon both for safer ground, the streets proving too tight to wrangle either machine.

The next morning brings a longer haul toward Rome, with Hammond choosing the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray and Clarkson selecting the Alfa Romeo 4C. The Corvette’s 6.2L V8 delivers 460 BHP, with a top speed around 190 mph, while the Alfa Romeo 4C brings a carbon-fiber frame, a featherweight 900 kg, and a 1.7L turbocharged engine at 237 BHP. On a track outside Rome, the Stingray posts a time of about 2:01.6, slightly faster than the 2:03.4 run logged by the 4C. Yet in the capital’s labyrinth of fuel-efficient city traffic, the Corvette looks almost misplaced among the hatchbacks and commuters.

The penultimate leg lands them on a two-car battle: Hammond puts faith in the Mercedes AMG A-Class with a 2L turbo and 4WD, while Clarkson counters with a Golf R, likewise armed with a 2L turbo and 4WD. The Mercedes packs about 355 BHP, a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, and a 0–60 time around 4.3 seconds, topping out near 168 mph, costing around £48,000. The Golf R sits a notch below in power, around 297 BHP, but both cars symbolize a blend of power and practicality as they close in on the coast.

For the final stretch to Capri, the plan embraces nostalgia and practicality in equal measure. They flirt with 1962 and 1963 Alfa Romeo Spider models, but ultimately abandon the classic roadsters in favor of speed boats to ferry them to Capri. Once ashore, they switch to Ford Capris, a 2.8 L and a 3 L, and push toward the town center—only to be stopped and jailed by the local police, a fitting end to a voyage that mashed together speed, rivalry, and farcical misadventure across the Italian landscape.