Fifth Gear Season 12

Season 12

Air date: 2007-09-03

Episodes: 8

Episodes

E1: Episode 1

Shootout: Vicki races the brand new Audi S5 against the BMW 335i. Jason teaches Kyran Bracken how to drive on a track and then lets him have a go in an open-wheeled Formula Palmer Audi race car. Tom drives the new Maserati GranTurismo coupe on some beautiful roads in Italy. Jonny drives the incredibly small, but expensive, 4-door Mitsubishi “i” and then tries to get the same thing for less money by bolting two Smart cars on top of each other which ends in a hilarious result. Tiff heads to the French chateau where the Bugatti Veyron is assembled and gets to drive one on both the streets and the track where he gets it a bit sideways!

Air date: 2007-09-03

E2: Episode 2

Vicki compares the new Peugeot 207 GTi against a classic Peugeot 205 GTi to see if it really does live up to the old car. Jonny road tests the new £350,000, 207mph Mercedes-Benz McLaren SLR Roadster. Tiff and Jason put the Audi R8 and the Porsche 911 Carrera 4S head-to-head. Fifth Gear meets up with Paddy McGuinness once again as he prepares for and takes his motorcycle test. Man looks at what happens when a big, 15 year old Volvo 940 estate crashes into a small, light, 3 year old Renault Modus which has a 5 star Euro NCAP safety rating.

Air date: 2007-09-10

E3: Episode 3

Australian cricket player Shane Warne gets a track driving lesson from Jason. Fifth Gear Shootout: Vicki races the UK spec Honda Civic Type R against the harder core Japanese version. Tom and Jonny put the new Mini Cooper D (diesel) against the petrol version to see which is better. Tiff races the new Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera head-to-head against British superbike racer Leon Haslam on a Ducati 1098.

Air date: 2007-09-17

E4: Episode 4

Vicki finds out if a police driver is as fast as a racing driver by spending a day with a police trainer. Jason takes Sarah Beeny out in a Volvo Globetrotter semi-truck and challenges her to a maneuverability trial. Tiff goes powersliding in the brand new BMW M3. Jonny finds out if some of Britain’s cheapest cars can make it to the top of Britain’s steepest road when fully loaded. Tom gets his hands on the keys to a Phantom Drophead Coupe and offers the car’s services out on a local radio station to good causes.

Air date: 2007-09-24

E5: Episode 5

Shootout: Vicki drives two Audi TTs — one with a manual gearbox, one with the semi-automatic double-clutch S-Tronic system — to see which is quickest around a track. Fifth Gear puts fuel additives to the test to scientifically see if they really do improve engine performance or not. Tom Ford drives the brand new Fiat 500 Tiff takes the £225,000, 224 MPH Gumpert Apollo out on the track. Jason goes offroading in the latest Bowler beast, the Nemesis. Jonny meets up once again with the owner of the world’s fastest street legal car, a Vauxhall Victor named “Red Victor 1″, to see if they can break the quarter mile record.

Air date: 2007-10-01

E6: Episode 6

Vicki takes Sally Boazman, Radio 2’s traffic announcer, out for a day at Bentley’s chauffeur school. Jonny celebrates the 75th anniversary of the Deuce Coupe, the chopped and tuned versions of the 1932 Ford Model B. Fifth Gear crashes the annual gathering of fast cars trying to beat the 0-60 MPH record to see if anyone can beat the current record of 3.07 seconds. Tiff and Jason put the BMW Z4 and Nissan 350Z head to head on the track. Jonny test the new Mini Clubman in Madrid Tom drives an insane Smart Car monster truck which uses Unimog parts.

Air date: 2007-10-08

E7: Episode 7

Shootout: a “General Lee” Dodge Charger vs. a Ford Gran Torino from “Starsky and Hutch”. Jonny and Tom build drift cars from a pair of Bedford Rascal vans which ends in a bad crash. Tiff drives the brand new Subaru Impreza and sees if it lives up to it’s ancestors. Jason drives the Caparo T1, a street legal race car, which ends in the car catching on fire and burning Jason.

Air date: 2007-10-15

E8: Episode 8

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, Tom and Jonny build an armored version of one. Tiff heads to Ferrari’s test track in Modena to see if the new Ferrari 430 Scuderia is faster than a Ferrari Enzo. Fifth Gear Awards including best small car, best family car, best fast car, and best overall car of the year.

Air date: 2007-10-22