ADAM: Now on Top Gear...
-Hang on! Oh! -Oh!
ADAM: It's an all-terrain battle on America's toughest racetracks...
-That's it. -RUTLEDGE: Oh.
ADAM: ...to find the ultimate weekend race car.
-Oh. -TANNER: This is a big one.
ADAM: And the winner gets to drive the most extreme off-road supercar
through the Highlands of Scotland.
(THEME MUSIC PLAYING)
TANNER: Let's face it, work can be dull.
That's why over 130,000 Americans spice up their weekends
by taking their daily drivers onto a racetrack,
or a rally course, or even a mud bog.
But is there a daily driver that is versatile enough to handle all of these?
Top Gear challenged us to find that car for under $5,000
and turn up at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
The weekend starts here.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
This is the 1999 Mazda Miata.
I chose this car because of its bare-bones, no-frills performance.
At only 2,400 pounds, this baby is lightweight enough
that even with just 140 horsepower,
it's enough to get me to the finish line first.
There's a reason there's a million of these babies on the street
and believe me, it wants to win,
if you just let it.
TANNER: It definitely can beat that.
-Really? A wagon? -Not just any wagon,
the 2002 Subaru WRX.
RUTLEDGE: My Suby featured a turbo-charged two-liter boxer engine,
all-wheel-drive and a five-speed manual transmission.
And with room for five passengers and their stuff,
it's 227 horsepower of rally-fighting awesomeness.
So, it's not only the perfect weekend racer,
it's the perfect daily driver.
It could be the most perfect car ever made.
(SCOFFS) Were you an I.T. guy in another life?
Right, we're here to race.
Look at this thing. It's a go-kart.
You could probably pick this up if you wanted to.
This is a man purse on wheels.
-That goes fast. -Ish.
RUTLEDGE: Adam, apparently, didn't get the memo.
Wh... I mean, what could you possibly do with that?
TANNER: Where is he going? RUTLEDGE: Oh, gosh, I don't know.
Oh, oh, oh, he's going so fast.
-Really? -Ha-ha!
This is daily driver.
This is not a daily driver.
Of course it is.
This is a race car you can use as a daily driver.
Gentlemen, behold, the 1969 Volkswagen Baja Bug.
ADAM: My Bug has a 1.5-liter motor,
four-speed manual transmission,
weighing in at a feather-light 1,800 pounds,
add to that a three-inch lift, legendary German engineering,
two deck stripes and you have the perfect weekend racer.
This is quite possibly the most off-road capable
rear-wheel-drive vehicle there is.
Until you come to a hill. Because it has how much horsepower?
-Ooh. -Okay, it has approximately...
-90 horsepower. -No.
-That's way high. -ADAM: I said approximately.
-Approximately is, like, 50. -50!
-It's approximately. -50 horsepower!
It only weighs 1,800 pounds.
Lawnmowers have 50 horsepower.
You have to have something that's good at everything.
This is hardly good at anything.
All right, what are we doing with these things?
RUTLEDGE: Let's see.
"To prove who has chosen the best all-round weekend race car,
"you will compete in various styles of racing.
"In this first challenge,
"to see which of your car has the best aptitude on asphalt,
"you will each do a hot lap around the track.
"Fastest time wins."
That's what I'm talking about.
TANNER: Rut was up first.
One lap from a standstill. You ready?
-Even the windows are slow. Did you see that? -(LAUGHING)
Here's what I've got in my favor,
this thing's all-wheel-drive, 227 horsepower.
It's the fastest car here, we know that.
On the downside, this five-speed transmission,
a lot of people make the joke that it might actually be made of glass.
So, I have to be really smooth when I shift it,
'cause if you eat through a gear in this thing,
then I'm gonna be toast.
-Okay, Rut, you ready? -Wagon attack.
In three, two, one, go get the groceries.
All right, here we go. Oh, down to second. There it is. Okay.
-(TIRES SCREECH) -Oh, I got a little tire rub going on.
Oh. (BLEEP) Whoa.
He's finding his way around the track,
going faster than I thought he would.
RUTLEDGE: Up to fourth gear.
Here it is.
Come on, baby. Oh, rotate.
Oh, I struck a lot of speed there.
Come on, baby. Come on!
-TANNER: Okay. -Is it good?
I don't know.
Holy cow. Whoo!
TANNER: We'll give you a minute to get on out of that.
ADAM: Here you go. Come on. Uh-oh.
Wow, did you guys see that? I was flying.
ADAM: Okay.
You're not even impressed a little bit? That was awesome.
I'll be honest with you, we're impressed.
-No, not even a little bit. -No.
What was my time?
-137.6. -Did the all-wheel-drive help you?
Uh... Mmm.
Give me a minute, gentlemen.
I'll show you how this is done.
Yeah, you'll show me what slow looks like.
ADAM: Okay, my Bug wasn't built for asphalt,
but I had a trick up my sleeve.
TANNER: Oh, my God.
RUTLEDGE: What did he do?
(TIRES SCREECH)
TANNER: Are those racing slicks?
Ha! Look at that.
What do you mean "Look at that?" You can't put racing slicks on.
Why not? Everyone that races their cars
changes their tires on the weekend.
This is the weekend.
TANNER: What Adam didn't know is that he'd now made it dangerous.
Here's the thing, 'cause a lot of people don't realize
when you put sticky tires on something that's raised up,
it flips easier.
Right to left isn't good in this thing.
Right to left usually means you're on your roof.
So, I'm gonna have to be careful.
You know, this racetrack is where they filmed the movie Herbie.
-Herbie: Fully Loaded. I loved that. -Yeah.
Lindsay Lohan's last great movie.
Before she got awesome.
-Before she got awesome? What are you talking about? -(LAUGHING)
TANNER: All right, you're ready?
RUTLEDGE: Here we go in three, two, one, go!
Here we go.
-That's it. Second gear. -Hey, is he gonna flip in the first corner?
Come on, baby.
TANNER: No, but he downshift in fourth, which was considerate.
Okay, here's one of the things I gotta be careful of,
-flipping over. -(TIRES SCREECH)
The problem is basically turning.
And the straights are presenting a problem, too.
Now, pick up some speed.
Pick up some speed. Pick up some speed.
ADAM: Clearly, I wasn't gonna win this the long way around.
So, I decided to flatten out the corners a bit.
Ha-ha! Cutting a few corners.
Oh. (SHUDDERING)
There he is.
ADAM: Come on, come on, come on. You got it.
Here we go.
Stop the clock! (LAUGHS)
Unbelievable.
TANNER: He still could flip it.
ADAM: Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do,
and then hope it's enough.
ADAM: Ooh! Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.
(LAUGHING)
Ha-ha!
-Ha-ha. -Ha-ha?
I hope you learned something.
(LAUGHS)
Did you make all of the turns?
It seemed like you kind of made your own path there in places.
I played to the strength of the Bug.
-202. -Ha?
-(LAUGHING) -202.
With an asterisk for still alive.
What? Yeah, it's fine.
Just that it tends to roll over a little bit.
I'm... You know what? These things do have a problem with rolling over.
-The outside tire tucks in. -They go over real easy.
This place should be called Miata Raceway.
I'm gonna show you why.
-That was good. -Thank you.
Maybe we should move that so he can get his murse up here.
(LAUGHING)
ADAM: Tanner's a race car driver,
and we were at a racetrack.
Something needed to be done.
I mean, this is no problem. You could beat us with your hand tied behind your back.
Well, that's neither here nor there, is it, gentlemen?
No, it's here.
-No, you're not handcuffing me. -Yes, I am.
-Found these in your bag. -You know what? It doesn't matter.
That's a little too tight.
If anything goes wrong, your safe word is teddy bear.
-Teddy bear? How's that? -ADAM: I heard you. It's good.
TANNER: Freakin' teddy bear.
See? I can hear you. There's nothing to worry about.
RUTLEDGE: All right, you ready? TANNER: Yeah, I'm ready.
Here we go, powder puff. In three, two, one, go.
Oh, my gosh. She is a bit slippery.
Gosh, this is creepy.
Oh, forget it. I'm not even braking.
Whoa. Oh, I don't like this.
-TANNER: Oh, crap! Whoa. -(TIRES SCREECH)
ADAM: Coming up, Tanner gets dirty.
TANNER: Oh, oh, oh!
ADAM: And later, one of us gets to drive the ultimate all-terrain vehicle.
TANNER: We were competing to see which daily driver
was the most versatile weekend race car.
Adam had proven his Baja Bug could cut corners.
Come on, come on, come on.
Now it was my turn to beat them both on the racetrack.
And I was gonna do it one-handed.
Oh, forget it. I'm not even braking.
All I had to do was beat Rut's time of a minute 37.
Oh, the back tires are pretty greasy.
Whoa.
I'm gonna bite my arm off.
It's just flat-out the whole way.
Go, go, go.
RUTLEDGE: Man, that thing zips, doesn't it?
ADAM: Oh, he's too quick.
Go third gear. I don't wanna shift. I can't shift.
Damn these chains!
Go! Come on!
Here he comes.
(TIRES SCREECHING)
(LAUGHING)
I hate him.
TANNER: What's my time?
-Tell him. -I don't wanna say it out loud.
-133. -Yes!
-RUTLEDGE: You suck.
-TANNER: Get me out of this thing. -Just... You know what?
-Just follow us. It's yours. -ADAM: Yeah. Let's go.
Hey, guys.
-Hey! -RUTLEDGE: 18 years of racing,
I don't know what you're so happy about.
-Hey! -You almost got beat by me.
ADAM: Being beaten by Tanner in pink handcuffs was just annoying.
Our next challenge was 30 miles away at Lake Elsinore,
and hopefully, better suited for my Bug.
ADAM: Okay, so the Bug didn't do that good on the road course.
It's not made for that. It's made for off-road.
Hopefully, our next challenge will be off-road,
and I'll show these guys why this was a great choice.
There are three things always kept in a Baja Bug,
a fifth of Wild Turkey, a machete and a mullet.
See, I think these cars are perfect, 'cause we only had five grand to spin.
You know, when I was racing my STI,
that car was really expensive,
so if I wrecked it, I was screwed.
But with this, a $5,000 car, I mean, it's not
the most expensive thing in the world.
You could save up your money and get another car pretty quickly.
ADAM: We arrived at the Pomona Fairplex...
Oh, yeah.
ADAM: ...host to car shows, horse racing,
and luckily for me, a whole lot of mud.
(LAUGHS) Watch the Bug come alive.
Oh, God.
RUTLEDGE: Now, now, we're in Subaru country.
No, you have... Welcome you to Bug world, my friend.
What are you guys talking about? This is Miata country.
ADAM: You kidding? This is where you're gonna die.
You're gonna go into that mud
and it's gonna fill up that car.
We'll never gonna see you again. I'm gonna win.
RUTLEDGE: Ooh, what are we doing?
"Weekend races don't all take place on tarmac."
No, they don't.
"And in many parts of America, people use their daily drivers to compete
"in races on or in mud.
"To see which of you has the best all-round race car,
"you'll compete in a classic mud bog race."
First of all, what's classic about a mud bog race? Second of all,
that's like a hopped-up non-daily driver.
This is perfect. This is where it's gonna shine.
With 50 horsepower. You know what's gonna shine?
The all-wheel-drive turbo as I plow through that. I'm going first.
Go right ahead, with no ground clearance.
(SCOFFS)
ADAM: Rut could scuff all he wanted,
but this was thick quicksand-like mud,
80 yards long and deeper than Tanner Foust.
So, I'm guessing, right about there
is where the nose is gonna submarine and he's gonna go in.
Are you boys ready to watch this Subaru carve through a little mud?
Yeah, you ready to bring it?
I'm so ready.
All-wheel-drive, turbo power is about to come at you fast.
No ground clearance, you're gonna sink.
Oh, this is it.
Come on, Subaru.
You know what to do. Let's go! Here we go!
Dig, baby. Dig.
Dig in.
Go, go, go. Don't stop. Don't stop.
TANNER: He's really going for it.
I don't think he's gonna make it.
-Is he? -(RUTLEDGE LAUGHING)
ADAM: Oh, he's gonna make it!
He's gonna make it!
You sons of (BLEEP).
TANNER: It looks a lot better.
-ADAM: Now it does. Yeah, I agree. -Did you see that?
-Yeah, we were standing right here. -Uh-huh.
I know what you're thinking.
"Wow! That was impressive!"
And I agree!
Nine seconds, by the way, is what it took, in case you were wondering. Pretty slow.
You guys don't have a prayer.
It is so deep in there.
This thing just kept digging and clawing and digging and clawing,
and then boom, I was out.
-Who thinks Tanner should go next? -Oh, I do.
ADAM: (ON WALKIE-TALKIE) You ready, Tanner?
Yeah, remember you don't start that time till I hit the green flags.
I'm a count you down.
Three, two, one, go!
I have a plan.
Why is he backing up?
I'm gonna tighten the belts.
It's gonna get real here in a second.
Oh, big surprise, he's cheating.
-(SIGHS) -No cheating. You're a race car driver.
(TANNER SCATTING)
(SCATTING CONTINUES)
-(LAUGHING) -TANNER: Oh, oh, oh!
RUTLEDGE: Coming up, off-road comes a-knocking.
And later, the hills are alive with the sound of Bowler.
RUTLEDGE: We were testing daily drivers
to see which would make the most versatile weekend race car.
Not surprisingly, Tanner beat us on the track.
Whoo-hoo!
RUTLEDGE: But his Miata was about to meet its greatest nemesis,
the mud bog.
And he had my Subaru's nine second time to beat.
(TANNER SCATTING)
TANNER: Oh, oh, oh!
Whoa!
Go, go!
-Go, go, go! -Abandon ship!
(TANNER BLOWS AIR FORCEFULLY)
Come on, you dirty little...
There it is. Stick a fork in it.
-And done! -TANNER: Come on!
Oh, wait a minute. He's still moving.
Go, go, go, go, go, go.
Yeah! (WHOOPING)
Whoa.
Whoo-hoo! That's what I'm talking about.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, here it comes.
Like it was built for mud bogging.
Best all-round weekend race car right here!
Perfect! I mean, it's like... Look at that thing. It's even a better color now.
To be honest, I didn't think you were gonna make it. I thought you were gonna sink.
And I'm a little upset you didn't, but you made it.
You started in June, it's now August,
-so it took you about a month. -What was the time?
Forty one seconds, you still lost.
You know what? Now it's your chance to beat Tanner. It's gonna feel good.
You won't beat me, but you'll get a chance to beat Tanner.
And you're gonna learn how to deal with disappointment.
ADAM: This is it. The Bug was made for this.
I have ground clearance, I have good tires,
I have no power and no torque,
and I'm in a 45-year-old car,
but other than that, this is my event!
As soon as the front tires make it into the mud,
it's gonna yank the steering wheel out of his hands.
That's when it's gonna be Armageddon inside that little Bug.
Ass and elbows everywhere. It's gonna be like he's swatting bees in there.
-Let's do this! -All right, let her rip.
ADAM: Here we go. Hammer down. Get in there, Bug.
Get some, baby. That's it.
Yeah. I can't see a thing!
Keep digging. Keep digging.
Don't stall. Don't stall. Stop the clock!
RUTLEDGE: It shut off.
ADAM: It stalled, but I won.
-RUTLEDGE: You're not through. -Finish line.
-No, you have to get through. -No, finish line.
-No, you have to get through. -Finish line.
TANNER: Technically, when he breaks the beam.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, come on! I just washed this shirt.
Okay, since I don't have a horse in this race,
I will say he broke the beam on the finish.
Technically, that's a finish. He's six seconds.
Six seconds.
-That is a miracle. -Yeah. What's next?
I don't know, but I could probably use a push.
It's not in the bumper.
RUTLEDGE: I thought you said you need a push?
ADAM: With Tanner's dirty little Miata and my Bug tied at one apiece,
we headed to our next location.
For the most part, our cars were holding up.
ADAM: The mud bog, it won.
The idle's still a little touchy,
so it does kind of stall now and again,
but I'm very happy with it, so far.
Adam, the fact that your Bug looks more at home covered in mud than clean
proves it's not a daily driver.
ADAM: How do you figure that? What if you live in a flooded area?
Where are you gonna put the kids? Where are you gonna put groceries?
How are you gonna do any of the things you need to do on a daily basis?
I can fit a bag of groceries. I can fit a child in the back.
They're small. It's fine.
TANNER: The road got dustier,
taking us to an off-road course that I knew well.
The Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park.
Had I realized we'd end up here...
ALL: Oh!
TANNER: ...I would have changed the socks on my Miata.
That is sick!
TANNER: That's gonna hurt.
That's suicide right there.
I raced here two weeks ago.
I had to launch out that thing at 70 miles an hour every lap.
RUTLEDGE: How'd you do?
-I rolled in the corner over there. But still... -(LAUGHING) Yes, you did.
I'm just saying, it's massive, massive jumps.
What are you worried about? You're driving that.
You're gonna wreck way before you hit that jump.
ADAM: All right, gentlemen, pay attention.
"Suspension is important in all types of racing,
"but none more so than off-road truck racing.
"To see which of your race cars can handle this type of race the best,
"you will compete door-to-door on the course behind you.
"First one across the finish line, wins."
RUTLEDGE: That is awesome.
-(LAUGHING) -That is awesome.
All that suspension in that Miata
is right between this vertebrae and that one.
Well, there's not a lot of suspension travel.
I guess 'cause you're short.
I've got one lap, all-wheel-drive, 227 horsepower
and a helmet that's questionably fitting.
That is a recipe for success.
Adam's car is the best suited for this.
I just don't think he's got the power for it.
I'm kind of hoping that these guys start bumping each other,
they both wreck each other,
and I could cruise right past them.
I don't know if that's gonna happen,
but I will be poised to strike.
-You boys ready for this? -Let's do it.
Oh, hell yes!
In three, two, go!
(ENGINE REVVING)
Oh, come on, Tanner! Come on, I'm coming for you!
TANNER: Already got Rutledge off the line.
I'm gonna slow down for this jump, though. Ooh.
Oh, no! (BLEEP)
I've left the ground.
Whoa! (LAUGHING)
I feel like I'm losing suspension bits.
Oh, he is fast!
He's rattling, but at least it's terribly unstable.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, my God! Oh!
Okay, Subaru, there you go.
There it is! Oh!
Oh, now we got a race.
TANNER: No!
Oh!
This is a big one! Oh!
-Oh! -Whoa!
ADAM: We were halfway home and I was tired of following in Tanner's dust.
It was time to make a move.
TANNER: Oh, he's got so much better grip out of the corners.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, he's cutting in front of me.
-TANNER: Oh! -(LAUGHING)
ADAM: (GRUNTS) Bug's coming to get you.
(LAUGHING)
TANNER: I can barely keep up with the all-wheel-drive.
Whoa, oh.
ADAM: Whoa. (LAUGHS)
RUTLEDGE: Oh, I feel my head on the roll cage.
Feel my head everywhere.
Whoa. (LAUGHS)
RUTLEDGE: Tanner's got stuff falling off his car left and right.
Mia, don't flip, don't flip.
Whoa! I'm taking the highline.
RUTLEDGE: The finish line was in sight.
Time to show that wimpy Miata who's boss.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, here's my chance.
Let the door open. Get in there. Get in there.
Oh, he's going in the inside. Oh, no!
ADAM: Coming up...
Coming to get you, buddy.
ADAM: ...we play a game of chicken with gravity.
TANNER: Oh!
ADAM: And the winner gets the keys to an all-terrain supercar.
ADAM: We were competing to find the best,
most versatile weekend race car.
So far, Tanner's Miata had won the asphalt
and my Bug had conquered the mud.
ADAM: Don't stall. Don't stall.
Stop the clock.
Now, Rut was trying to bounce his WRX to victory.
TANNER: I'm taking the highline.
Down shift at the turn.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, here's my chance.
Let the door open. Get in there.
Oh, he's going in the inside. Oh, no!
It's coming down to the wire.
TANNER: No!
RUTLEDGE: (LAUGHING) I got it!
Damn it! They didn't wreck.
Tell me that I didn't just lose that.
RUTLEDGE: Down to the wire!
You just left that inside line, man, you can't.
You know me. I'll take that inside line all day!
Stop! Now the accent comes out.
Station wagon. You guys got beat
-by a station wagon. -With all-wheel-drive and tread.
-My tread's gone from doing donuts. -ADAM: Mmm-hmm.
Proud moment for wagon owners everywhere.
Okay, let's give him his moment.
-And we're done. -Yeah.
RUTLEDGE: Okay. Let's go.
I can't wait to see what's next.
What can't this thing handle?
RUTLEDGE: I'd finally proven
my WRX was a worthy competitor.
Our last challenge was 40 miles away
and would determine who would get the keys
to one of the most powerful weekend racers ever made,
costing a quarter of a million bucks.
But there was a time when if you were creative enough,
you could weekend race without even owning a car.
The ultimate weekend warrior race car back in the day was
Mustang Hertz edition.
You could rent it. It had the right motor,
good suspension, and it was fast.
Bolt in a roll cage and race it.
Pretty soon, Hertz caught on to it.
They just looked for the tear marks in the carpet
to see who'd bolted in the cages.
RUTLEDGE: Look at these cars.
Are we killing these or what?
ADAM: The Bug is still going,
and not stalling quite as much.
I think the Miata is just coming into its own.
So far, each of these cars has won at the thing it's really best at.
I mean, the Miata on the road course,
the Bug in the mud bog,
and the WRX on the off-road course.
Makes you wonder what's next?
ADAM: And driving through an abandoned mining town didn't give us any clues,
but it probably meant we weren't hitting tarmac any time soon.
Then, climbing up and up a giant gravel hill
posed more questions than answers.
Wow, we are on top of the world here.
ADAM: That was a fun climb.
TANNER: It was a fun climb. ADAM: Good girl.
TANNER: What kind of racing are you gonna do up here?
ADAM: I'm guessing downhill.
RUTLEDGE: Let's see what we're doing.
"Weekend racing comes in many different forms and not always with brakes and an engine.
"For your final challenge, you'll compete
"in a soapbox derby-style race down the hill behind you."
What?
RUTLEDGE: "Last one to hit the brakes wins." ADAM: Okay.
Last one to hit the brakes wins,
-so once you touch the brakes, you're out. -Correct.
This is a long hill. Do you guys see how far down it goes?
There are cliffs everywhere and hairpin turns.
ADAM: Playing chicken, fellas.
-So, you're playing chicken with gravity. -Yeah.
Did you ever race a soapbox derby car?
-Hell yeah. Third in the region. -Of course you were.
Yeah, Monterey County.
-19... (MUTTERING) -(LAUGHING)
We're about to have the biggest soapbox derby race of all time.
There's a lot of danger here. We're gonna be carrying a lot of speed down this hill.
It's steep.
And on the sides, it's not forgiving.
It's not just gonna gently cushion you
back to the center of the road, no.
These are giant slabs of marble.
I have good tires, so that's good.
Uh, the bad news is this thing will flip over if you sneeze hard.
So it's pretty much bad news, to be honest with you.
To make sure that we don't hit the brakes,
the horn is now tied into the brakes,
so if you hit the brakes, the horn goes off.
You notice the instructions never said anything about
whoever crosses the line first.
That's just lame.
I mean, you gotta cross the line first to win soapbox derby.
I get it, last one to hit the brakes.
I'm not gonna hit the brakes
and I'm gonna cross the line first, if I can.
TANNER: Gentlemen, you ready?
-Ready. -Hold on.
TANNER: (ON WALKIE-TALKIE) Keep her in neutral the whole time.
On go, drop the handbrake.
-You go it, Rut? -Ready.
Okay, here we go. In three, two, one, go!
TANNER: Get even with Rutledge.
He's pulling ahead. Adam's right there, too.
Okay, see, I expected this,
'cause I'm the lightest one here.
RUTLEDGE: Picking up a little momentum,
and I have to keep my foot on the floor to keep it away from brake pedal.
Damn it! That Subaru is heavy.
RUTLEDGE: Oh. Oh, now we're picking up a little speed.
A little, yup. Hello!
ADAM: Oh, great.
I didn't count on the dust.
Oh, man, this thing is all over the place.
It's 40 miles an hour already, and I can't see!
RUTLEDGE: All right, big turn here.
I'll speed around the corner. I'm gonna take the inside.
Thank, you guys! I'm blind in neutral, rolling down a mountain.
She's sliding. She's sliding.
Oh, rocks!
(HORN HONKING)
Damn it!
-Oh, there's Tanner. -Yes.
I gotta get back in front of him.
There it goes, yeah.
Oh, now we're really cooking with gas.
(STONES PATTERING)
Oh, my gosh. He's shooting rocks over my head.
Rutledge's just sliding today.
RUTLEDGE: Oh, I am flying!
TANNER: I'm gonna get you, buddy.
He's opening the door.
Come on!
Take it on the... Oh!
Oh! Oh!
TANNER: We were taking our weekend racers on the ultimate soapbox derby.
Whoever won would get to drive an off-road supercar through the hills of Scotland.
(HORN HONKING)
Adam got lost in a cloud of dust.
So now, it was between Rut and I in a game of chicken,
and as I caught up to him, I wanted to make sure he knew who ruled the roost.
Take it on the... Oh!
Oh! Oh!
Oh, you're kidding!
-Ah! -No!
(HORN HONKING)
Damn it! What was that, man?
TANNER: We're in the clear! Unbelievable!
I'm not even gonna have to use the brakes to stop.
Unbelievable!
-(BLOWING AIR FORCEFULLY) -(HORN BLOWING)
The donut at the end was a bad idea.
(HORNS HONKING)
(COUGHING)
Oh, sometimes victory tastes like Southern California desert dirt.
What was that, man?
I had to hit the brakes 'cause I couldn't see anything.
As soon as the dust cleared from you two, there was a giant rock in my way.
This guy didn't use the brakes.
He just bounced right off of me, then I went off road.
Yeah, it was like a video game right there.
Did you see that? That was like pa-ching!
Anyway, good game, guys. Miata.
Best all-round weekend race car.
Ugh.
TANNER: So, who feels like a trip to Scotland?
Oh, yeah, you're not invited. Sorry, just the winner.
Oh, it's... (GRUNTS)
It's chocking up the lungs.
-The victory is deep. -RUTLEDGE: The victory?
Yeah, you don't feel that, do you?
TANNER: This is the Scottish Highlands.
The last real wilderness in the British Isles.
An ancient land where swirling mists and rain obscure towering mountains,
and dark loch waters hide legendary monsters in the deep.
And that is why I'm here, to confront a monster.
No, not Nessie, something much more terrifying.
TANNER: Whoo!
This is the Bowler EXR S.
Oh, my God! My eyes are wide open!
It's what happens when you mix a supercar, a rally car and a Baja truck.
They give birth to a monster.
The Bowler gets its design cues from the Range Rover Sport
and it shares its chassis,
six-speed transmission and its supercharged V8,
but the 550 horsepower on the Bowler goes a lot further,
because it's lost a ton of weight.
Literally, 2,000 pounds.
That means it can go from zero to 60 in 4.2 seconds.
That's as quick as an Aston Martin DB9.
Bowler Motorsports are a hugely successful British off-road racing team
that make ridiculous machines out of a shed somewhere.
The EXR S is their first road-legal car.
And the good news is they're finally making plans to build it in the U.S.A.
The weekend has found its warrior.
You could cruise the mall in Newport Beach or Orange County
and still destroy the desert flatlands of Southern California.
The EXR S is based on the EXR,
a fire-snorting rally raid car
that has tamed such illustrious races
as the Paris-Dakar.
I actually grew up in Scotland,
and some of my first driving experiences were on roads here.
But I could never get out on the open, public road
'cause I was only 10 years old.
Oh, my God, they're awesome.
Well, it certainly is fast, I'll give it that.
I'm doing 115 miles an hour
in the wet.
Doesn't seem safe.
And at a cool 240 grand,
it's not cheap.
So the question is who is this car for?
Is this gonna be your main family car?
No, not if you wanna stay married.
Could it be a great fourth, fifth, sixth car
if you are someone with those kinds of means?
Absolutely.
Because in essence, it's a competition car.
Sure, it's good on road, but really it's made for one thing
and that's going off-road.
So, we decided to race it against something,
"But therein lies the rub,"
as Shakespeare used to say.
There's nothing out there that can do all the things this can do.
Well, nothing with four wheels, anyway.
So we found something on two.
This is Graham Jarvis
on a Husaberg TE 300.
He is one of the most successful riders in the world
at a sport called extreme enduro.
Now, while that sounds like a stamina pill,
it's actually one of the craziest and toughest
off-road motorcycle competitions on Earth.
Right, serving as our race course
will be this beautiful 80,000 acre Scottish Highlands estate.
We'll start here at this loch
and we'll carry down the beach,
find our way through some gravel trails, forest roads,
eventually making our way to the top of that summit in the clouds
where a cell phone tower awaits as our finish line.
The course would be 25 miles.
I'd have to stick to the trail, or risk getting stuck,
but Graham was free to pretty much go as the crow flies.
My work was cut out for me.
Ready? Okay, here we go.
-Fire in the hole. -(ENGINE TURNS OVER)
(ENGINE REVVING)
All right, Graham, here we go.
In three, two, one, go!
TANNER: I was in Scotland to drive the ultimate weekend race car,
the Bowler EXR S.
Fire in the hole.
And to put this competition beast to the test,
I was about to race one of the toughest dirt bikes on the planet.
All right, Graham, here we go.
In three, two, one, go!
And we're off.
Four-wheel-drive helping. Ooh, sucked into the water.
And he pulls ahead.
He's got good grip on the sand,
but mine is better.
Got him. Oh, no, I've got to go around the outside.
Oh! Hope I don't get water in the intake.
Oh, gosh, the windshield wipers aren't good.
Oh, he caught over!
Okay, I'm off the beach, now.
Time to hit the forest.
Oh, no, there he is! He's so quick!
Under the gravel we go.
Oh, he's fast on the dirt.
His power-to-weight ratio is nearly twice as much as mine.
Oh, we are flying.
Oh, my God. We are jumping everywhere.
The road is so narrow.
He's gotta hold me up a little bit on the gravel.
I could go much faster through here.
With two tons of Bowler about to take him out,
Graham decided to take a shortcut.
There he goes! Time to hammer down.
Whoo!
Oh!
That's 100 miles an hour. Whoo-hoo!
Now we're having fun.
And while my Bowler destroyed the gravel roads,
Graham was flying through the woods.
Oh, there he is!
Oh, he's in front of me again.
Whatever I tried, I couldn't lose him.
He was like a Terminator on two wheels.
Up ahead was a locked gate blocking our way.
Oh, he's going up.
But what Graham didn't know...
True story, the manager of this estate
married some friends of my parents,
and they gave me a key.
Let's see if he can find his way around this one.
While I opened the lock,
Graham had jumped into a riverbed and taken the lead again.
One this I will say...
Never leave an open gate in Scotland.
These guys love their sheep, that's for sure.
Graham's river-run had left me looking sheepish,
but we had 14 miles to go.
What the hell is he doing?
The bike was now taking the direct route up the mountain toward the finish,
while my Bowler had to take the long way around by road.
I don't know what kind of shortcut that is,
just climbing straight up the mountain.
If that works,
honestly my only hope is finding pavement.
I'm gonna have to go fast.
Whoa.
There it is. Pavement, finally.
And there's the mountain. This is it.
Ooh. Narrow bridge. Nobody coming.
Looking good. All right.
Put hammer down, baby.
Whoo!
It was now five miles by road to the finish.
Less for the bike, which was already halfway up the mountain.
My only hope was that Graham would be slowed down by the rough terrain.
But for him, this wasn't rough terrain.
This was home.
Whoa.
This is an eye-poppingly narrow road.
I'm going 95 miles an hour.
What an idiot.
I cannot see a damn thing.
I know my turn off the road is here somewhere.
Oh, there it is.
Oh, jeez, I almost missed it.
This was it. A mile of zero visibility,
Scottish hill trail to the finish.
And somewhere out there was a relentless cyborg called Graham.
I can't see anything. I know he's up here somewhere.
Oh, no, there he is.
How did he get there? Damn it.
Oh, no, he's out in front of me.
Oh, he's spitting rocks.
Holy crap, those are huge!
Oh, my God. I'm not gonna lie,
I'm absolutely getting the crap beat out of me.
I'm gaining on him, though.
All right, there he goes.
Come on, baby. Open road, baby.
With 800 yards to go, it was now or never.
I could only pray that the wet rocks would slow Graham down.
Good God! I'm gonna have a chipped tooth
and the worst heartburn ever after this.
Oh, my God, there he is.
Oh, yay!
Oh, my gosh. I can't believe we made it up here.
Bowler has created a monster with this car.
We hadn't just climbed a mountain,
we were on top of the world.
Who care if it costs more than a house?
Who cares that it's a completely impractical daily driver?
It's lightning fast, tough as a tank
and insane monstrous fun.
And I want one.
Now.