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First Gear MGB TR6 Atom S2000

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Not that I wouldn’t put it past Jeremy to stage the whole thing. But prior to the TR6’s breakdown, am I the only one surprised that the Triumph actually had such a commanding lead over the S2000 out of the gate?
 
Clearly staged IMHO. One of the things I've heard about S2000 (albeit an awesome car) is that they rev high due to lower torque, probably why the TR had an advantage.
 
I would tend to think the s2000 would have totally blown the TR6 away in a real sprint race. But the breakdown was clearly staged.
 
funny...

I wonder if that TR6 was ~really~ winning the drag race, or if that was staged like the finish was.
 
Well,

First off the TR6 used in the 'skit' is a 150hp PI model. Which is a wholly different animal from the castrated versions we received in the states.

Secondly, from personal experience with a 150plus horsepower TR6 vs. an S2000, the better torque and lighter weight of the TR6 does allow a bit of jump off the line over the S2000. By the time the S2000 shifts to second gear however, the contest is all over. Hearing an S2000 scoot by at 8500rpm made it all worth the loss. What a neat sound. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

For the record, I have also surprised a few 5.0l and 4.6l Mustangs and have stayed with an Audi Quattro TT (the 225hp model) up to Interstate speed limits.
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/driving.gif

I'm slightly stunned that none of you MGB owners have squawked about the verbal shellacking that Jeremy aimed at your favored models. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
 
swift6 said:
I'm slightly stunned that none of you MGB owners have squawked about the verbal shellacking that Jeremy aimed at your favored models. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
Click to expand...

Yep - at least he's an equal opportunity shellacker! He usually slams American iron, but he was ruthless with the poor little B's.
 
swift6 said:
I'm slightly stunned that none of you MGB owners have squawked about the verbal shellacking that Jeremy aimed at your favored models. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/jester.gif
Click to expand...
Well first of all it's Jeremy - nuf said. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

But without going into the "detail" - let me just say that I agree with some (albeit a small part) of what he had to say. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
Note that Jeremy picked a rubber-lipper to thrash around the track.

A friend owns an Atom. It is truly a stunning car, but not worth the ~$80K it cost to build it.
 
Yeah, what Bret and Scott said. Clarkson chose (deliberately I suspect) the worst of the Bs to compare to anything modern. From the heavy lean that car had in the turns I'd suspect it to be a '74.5 to '76. The worst handling of all Bs in stock form (raised center of gravity + omission of sway bars during those years). Increased weight, and reduced power... *sigh*

The falling apart of the MGB GT, while humorous, it was obviously staged.

I was surprised to see the B smoking its tires while leaving that turn...



or was that burning oil leaving the exhaust? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/confused.gif


On the whole, I'd rather drive my B any day than buy a Honda.
 
Y'know, I used to like Clarkson. Back when he was a columnist for Performance Car, before the television shows and newspaper columns and all the money to buy expenisve exotic cars. But not so much so anymore.

For many years I've held the impression that Jeremy Clarkson doesn't really like cars all that much. Certainly not as much as he likes hearing his own voice.

-Wm.
 
+1

And I also took into consideration that Clarkson was the one driving the S2k off the line... you would think that someone with access to that many high performance cars would pick up some driving skills at some point.
 
He's well known for being a total muppet when it comes to driving fast. That said, how hard is it to dump the clutch at 6k when it isn't your own car?
 
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