Top Gear Caterham build
Discussion
Was just watching this on Dave, Clarkson is a total pain in the arse and May basically does it all on his own.
Does anybody know the real story behind this? Somehow I doubt the 3 of them did it in 6 hours or whatever with no outside help to get the car to a roadworthy condition.
I would imagine it then got stripped down completely and rebuilt properly?
Or was the whole thing a complete Jackanory?
Does anybody know the real story behind this? Somehow I doubt the 3 of them did it in 6 hours or whatever with no outside help to get the car to a roadworthy condition.
I would imagine it then got stripped down completely and rebuilt properly?
Or was the whole thing a complete Jackanory?
I dunno. You do get people building Caterhams in a weekend if they have all the bits prepared in a box and the right tools etc. It's going back a bit but my dad's TVR (thought to be the last supplied in kit form) was built in a weekend.
Not sure I'd trust Clarkson et al to do so though.
Not sure I'd trust Clarkson et al to do so though.
I've just watched that and wondering the same thing 
In the past I've seen competitions where teams of pro race team mechanics build one in about that time, but I can't picture May, Clarkson and Hammond managing it in 6 hours. As with most things on Top Gear, I presume it's scripted and staged
In the past I've seen competitions where teams of pro race team mechanics build one in about that time, but I can't picture May, Clarkson and Hammond managing it in 6 hours. As with most things on Top Gear, I presume it's scripted and staged They sure as well cut corners too, just look how much of a pig it was to drive, he couldn't keep it straight.
So yes, I believe they can do it in a day. Not particularly well but stil possible.
They probably would have seen the build plans, had some guidance beforehand so they knew sort of what they were supposed to do, all the tools/parts laid out correctly etc.
Apart from that, no doubt Clarkson and Hammond did their bit then filmed/edited the c0cking around bits for the TV to make it LOOK like May did everything etc.
So yes, I believe they can do it in a day. Not particularly well but stil possible.
They probably would have seen the build plans, had some guidance beforehand so they knew sort of what they were supposed to do, all the tools/parts laid out correctly etc.
Apart from that, no doubt Clarkson and Hammond did their bit then filmed/edited the c0cking around bits for the TV to make it LOOK like May did everything etc.
Dracoro said:
Apart from that, no doubt Clarkson and Hammond did their bit then filmed/edited the c0cking around bits for the TV to make it LOOK like May did everything etc.
I suspect that it's more likely that they f***ed and farted around a bit, then a couple of caterham mechanics put a few more bits on.......I believe they were supplied three cars from Caterham - all prebuilt
then Caterham 'unbuilt' them - in varying levels of lumps.
I.e. - when I built mine - it took me quite a while to do things like suspension etc Whereas the chasis came with these things already done - and all they had to do was bolt them on etc.
the usual TopGear b
ks (i do love it though)
For the record - i spend 3 months really enjoying my build.......
my mate - who comes on here alot and is a professional mechanic and Caterham race team owner - built his first one in 3 days I think. From boxes to finished. That was with no use of the Caterham guide - as that tends to be completely wrong and hinders rather than helps.
I'm sure Caterham chaps themselves once told me its about 12-15 hours from scratch for them.
So three muppets who know nothing about cars, six hours.........eh, no.....didn't happen
then Caterham 'unbuilt' them - in varying levels of lumps.
I.e. - when I built mine - it took me quite a while to do things like suspension etc Whereas the chasis came with these things already done - and all they had to do was bolt them on etc.
the usual TopGear b
ks (i do love it though)For the record - i spend 3 months really enjoying my build.......
my mate - who comes on here alot and is a professional mechanic and Caterham race team owner - built his first one in 3 days I think. From boxes to finished. That was with no use of the Caterham guide - as that tends to be completely wrong and hinders rather than helps.
I'm sure Caterham chaps themselves once told me its about 12-15 hours from scratch for them.
So three muppets who know nothing about cars, six hours.........eh, no.....didn't happen
The races are supposedly seeded in such a way that they build drama but are never fully fixed, i.e if they want to favour one side they may pick a start location or time that means the favoured party can get straight on with their journey while the opposition have to wait, rush or be lucky to get a good start. This is according to the interview on Radio 4 a couple of days ago. So the Caterham may have been pre built then stripped or had more bits in a "modular" setup, and i suspect a full tool kit including all required tools.
I don't believe it could be done in 6 hours. But not all of them are completely useless. Hammond has several kit cars, so I'm lead to believe.
Also, even from the programme you could see lots of it was done. The body was already on for example. That, and as somebody above said, he wasn't built well. It didn't even need to be road legal.
Good episode though. Stig's one made a lovely sound
Also, even from the programme you could see lots of it was done. The body was already on for example. That, and as somebody above said, he wasn't built well. It didn't even need to be road legal.
Good episode though. Stig's one made a lovely sound
XitUp said:
The races make no sense. They always use a supercar as if it's the only thing fast enough to beat the plane/boat/whatever...but the camera van seems to keep up quite well.
It's very scripted.
It's very scripted.
I was always under the impression that the camera bits featuring the car in question were filmed seperatley (on the way back, for example)?
Some interesting insights there guys, thanks!
Yes, we all know it's staged! I was wondering just how staged though. Clearly very, in this case. Shame, it loses something when it's a complete fabrication. In the early episodes before it became clear just how much dramatic licence they took, I thought it was a lot better. I think it was the caravan one where they set fire to it that was the crunch point where I was unable to suspend the disbelief any more 
XitUp said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
Or was the whole thing a complete Jackanory?
It was Top Gear. It's not a factual show and hasn't been for a very long time.djmck30 said:
XitUp said:
The races make no sense. They always use a supercar as if it's the only thing fast enough to beat the plane/boat/whatever...but the camera van seems to keep up quite well.
It's very scripted.
It's very scripted.
I was always under the impression that the camera bits featuring the car in question were filmed seperatley (on the way back, for example)?
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