RSS_Auto_Poster
Well-known member
Written by Top Gear
Delivering the Huracan back homeAll good things have to come to an end, and when our time with the Huracan was up in July, we begrudgingly started to discuss plans for its return. With it quickly established that EW 002EZ would be heading directly to St"Agata, Rowan and I offered to play delivery drivers (well, you would, wouldn"t you?).At 6pm on a Sunday evening, we met at the Channel Tunnel. There were very few rules for this roadtrip, in fact, there was really only one pack light. Rowan had clearly forgotten this as he arrived carrying every piece of photographic equipment he owned, and some he"d rented. After some sweary moments, we somehow managed to fit it all in and congratulated the Huracan on its new-found practicality.After a quick stop for fuel and the ubiquitous overnight roadtrip fuel of energy drinks and beef jerky, we slipped through the tunnel and out into a beautiful warm evening with the sun setting over our shoulders and the Huracan digesting miles with greater ease then we were digesting the jerky.A quick detour to Reims allowed Rowan the opportunity to unpack the whole car for a couple of shots at the ghostly deserted grandstand and allowed me to grumble about how it was never all going to fit in again. It did.As we continued to head south, it quickly became clear we were covering distance as such a rate (all within the legal limits, Officer) that we would arrive at the factory at a very unsociable hour. Some quick research showed we were "fairly close" to the Viale Gran San Bernardo the road made famous in the opening sequence of the Italian Job. Some hours later we were there, Days Like These" playing on a constant loop, the Huracan cruising up the fabled pass as the sun rose. Sounds like a cliche, probably is a massive cliche, but as perfect car moments go I"m struggling to think of a better one this year.As Rowan jumped out to take the stunning images which he delivers on a monthly basis, I took time to breathe in the unbelievable privilege of driving that car on that road at that time of the day.With the scenic route done, we headed south to Milan and got brought straight back to reality by the morning rush hour. We cleared Milan, gave the Huracan one last blast down the A1 and found ourselves at St"Agata.As the bug-splattered Huracan sat ticking cool in the Italian sun, I was genuinely struggling to hand over the keys. I would have happily turned round and done it all again. But Rowan had passed out and we had to catch our flight. That" tracking shot at Speed Week 2015An attack helicopter is hovering 25ft above several million pounds" worth of this year"s greatest performance cars. The wash from its rotor is literally beating the wind out of the lungs of the crew in the Caterham with every beat, and the noise reverberating around the RedBull Ring"s grandstand has drowned out everything else to the extent that it"s impossible to communicate via the radios. Bruno Senna is sat at the spearhead of the formation and is starring at me, waiting for the instruction to go.I drop my hand and start this year"s most insane formation lap. As the hypercars bleed past and the helicopter gains altitude to ensure it clears the start line light gantry, for once, I"m lost for words. The next two laps are something of a blur as I watch Blacky Schwarz keep in impossibly tight, low-level formation with the rest of the TopGear crew as they lap the circuit. I remember repeatedly questioning quite how we"d described this on the risk assessment, but above all I remember thinking that there are times in this job you will remember for the rest of your life and this one has gone straight onto that list.Thank you, Projekt Speilberg, you were immense. Thank you Bruno. Thank you Blacky for not causing me to have to reacquaint myself with "that" risk assessment. And thank you to the TG crew, you are quite simply the best in the business.Being on set with BondSpending eight hours on the edge of the Tiber on a cold, wet night in March isn"t most people"s idea of the best way of seeing Rome. But then, 5 March wasn"t any normal night. As most Romans were settling down to their dinner, the 400-man SPECTRE crew descended on the Eternal City"s streets to film the step jump sequence.After a brief spell in The Edge tracking vehicle watching stuntmen Mark Higgins and Martin Ivanov thrash the DB10 and C-X75 down Via deli Scialoja, the team reset for the main event.During the pause in proceedings, I took the opportunity of walking the route with Higgins and, still to this day, remain staggered at the bravery required to just "send it" down five flights of steps. It really is a journey into the unknown, as the first take proved.The violence of the impact as the DB10 and C-X75 cleared the first set of steps, and bottomed out as they leapt over the second set, made me wince. As the Aston was flicked into the air, Higgins instinctively put on the slightest turn of left-hand lock in mid-air, landed with a crash and buried the throttle before heading to the next obstacle. As the DB launched off the next flight of steps, the C-X75 scrabbled to catch up, snapped sideways with the force of the impact and slumped to a stop with its back axle in Tiber.As the dust settled, I struggled to process the macabre automotive violence of what I had just witnessed.That night, the team ran the steps repeatedly, and the bravery of the drivers and the commitment of the team remains etched in my mind to this day. On screen, that night translated to about seven seconds in the limelight, which gives you some idea of what it takes to be Bond.
Date: 22 Dec 2015
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 815
Delivering the Huracan back homeAll good things have to come to an end, and when our time with the Huracan was up in July, we begrudgingly started to discuss plans for its return. With it quickly established that EW 002EZ would be heading directly to St"Agata, Rowan and I offered to play delivery drivers (well, you would, wouldn"t you?).At 6pm on a Sunday evening, we met at the Channel Tunnel. There were very few rules for this roadtrip, in fact, there was really only one pack light. Rowan had clearly forgotten this as he arrived carrying every piece of photographic equipment he owned, and some he"d rented. After some sweary moments, we somehow managed to fit it all in and congratulated the Huracan on its new-found practicality.After a quick stop for fuel and the ubiquitous overnight roadtrip fuel of energy drinks and beef jerky, we slipped through the tunnel and out into a beautiful warm evening with the sun setting over our shoulders and the Huracan digesting miles with greater ease then we were digesting the jerky.A quick detour to Reims allowed Rowan the opportunity to unpack the whole car for a couple of shots at the ghostly deserted grandstand and allowed me to grumble about how it was never all going to fit in again. It did.As we continued to head south, it quickly became clear we were covering distance as such a rate (all within the legal limits, Officer) that we would arrive at the factory at a very unsociable hour. Some quick research showed we were "fairly close" to the Viale Gran San Bernardo the road made famous in the opening sequence of the Italian Job. Some hours later we were there, Days Like These" playing on a constant loop, the Huracan cruising up the fabled pass as the sun rose. Sounds like a cliche, probably is a massive cliche, but as perfect car moments go I"m struggling to think of a better one this year.As Rowan jumped out to take the stunning images which he delivers on a monthly basis, I took time to breathe in the unbelievable privilege of driving that car on that road at that time of the day.With the scenic route done, we headed south to Milan and got brought straight back to reality by the morning rush hour. We cleared Milan, gave the Huracan one last blast down the A1 and found ourselves at St"Agata.As the bug-splattered Huracan sat ticking cool in the Italian sun, I was genuinely struggling to hand over the keys. I would have happily turned round and done it all again. But Rowan had passed out and we had to catch our flight. That" tracking shot at Speed Week 2015An attack helicopter is hovering 25ft above several million pounds" worth of this year"s greatest performance cars. The wash from its rotor is literally beating the wind out of the lungs of the crew in the Caterham with every beat, and the noise reverberating around the RedBull Ring"s grandstand has drowned out everything else to the extent that it"s impossible to communicate via the radios. Bruno Senna is sat at the spearhead of the formation and is starring at me, waiting for the instruction to go.I drop my hand and start this year"s most insane formation lap. As the hypercars bleed past and the helicopter gains altitude to ensure it clears the start line light gantry, for once, I"m lost for words. The next two laps are something of a blur as I watch Blacky Schwarz keep in impossibly tight, low-level formation with the rest of the TopGear crew as they lap the circuit. I remember repeatedly questioning quite how we"d described this on the risk assessment, but above all I remember thinking that there are times in this job you will remember for the rest of your life and this one has gone straight onto that list.Thank you, Projekt Speilberg, you were immense. Thank you Bruno. Thank you Blacky for not causing me to have to reacquaint myself with "that" risk assessment. And thank you to the TG crew, you are quite simply the best in the business.Being on set with BondSpending eight hours on the edge of the Tiber on a cold, wet night in March isn"t most people"s idea of the best way of seeing Rome. But then, 5 March wasn"t any normal night. As most Romans were settling down to their dinner, the 400-man SPECTRE crew descended on the Eternal City"s streets to film the step jump sequence.After a brief spell in The Edge tracking vehicle watching stuntmen Mark Higgins and Martin Ivanov thrash the DB10 and C-X75 down Via deli Scialoja, the team reset for the main event.During the pause in proceedings, I took the opportunity of walking the route with Higgins and, still to this day, remain staggered at the bravery required to just "send it" down five flights of steps. It really is a journey into the unknown, as the first take proved.The violence of the impact as the DB10 and C-X75 cleared the first set of steps, and bottomed out as they leapt over the second set, made me wince. As the Aston was flicked into the air, Higgins instinctively put on the slightest turn of left-hand lock in mid-air, landed with a crash and buried the throttle before heading to the next obstacle. As the DB launched off the next flight of steps, the C-X75 scrabbled to catch up, snapped sideways with the force of the impact and slumped to a stop with its back axle in Tiber.As the dust settled, I struggled to process the macabre automotive violence of what I had just witnessed.That night, the team ran the steps repeatedly, and the bravery of the drivers and the commitment of the team remains etched in my mind to this day. On screen, that night translated to about seven seconds in the limelight, which gives you some idea of what it takes to be Bond.
Date: 22 Dec 2015
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 815
