The fourth season of Top Gear began airing on History from September 3, 2013 until November 26, 2013. Adam Ferrera, Tanner Foust, Rutledge Wood and The Stig returned as hosts, with ten weekly episodes being broadcast.
Top Gear | |
---|---|
Season 4 | |
No. of episodes | 10 |
Release | |
Original network | History Channel |
Original release | September 3 November 26, 2013 | –
Season chronology | |
Production
editFerrara announced on April 30, 2013 that filming for a fourth season had officially begun,[1] and this series later premiered on September 3, 2013.[2]
Episodes
editNo. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date | US viewers (millions) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
43 | 1 | "Coast to Coast" | September 3, 2013 | 2.01[3] | |
The hosts decide to take three expensive supercars on a 3,000 mile road trip across the United States from Lower Manhattan in New York, to Venice Beach in Los Angeles. The loser would have to pay for the entire gasoline bill for all three cars. Rutledge chose a $280,000 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale, Tanner decided on a $320,000 McLaren MP4-12C Spider. Adam drove a $152,000 SRT Viper.
Reward: Tanner's picture of a lookalike does not qualify as a celebrity in his car, as does Rutledge's picture of Laurence Fishburne's gate. Adam is declared the final winner with two wins and Tanner is stuck with paying a gas bill of over $2000. | |||||
44 | 2 | "Alaskan Adventure" | September 10, 2013 | 1.45[4] | |
The guys construct homemade convertibles tough enough to survive in America's 49th state and road test them in a series of challenges as they drive from Anchorage to Homer. Rutledge buys a 1999 Jeep Cherokee Classic which he cuts the roof into three sections in order to be removed, Tanner chooses a 1999 Chevrolet Express which he turns into a Soft-Top Convertible and Adam for the first (and possibly only) time takes a 1999 Toyota Tacoma Xtra Cab which he turns into a Targa Top.
When they arrive at the campsite to prove Tanner's Design is poorly made, Adam and Rut put tuna in the roof which attracts a Grizzly Bear. To get back at Adam for showing off Tanner and Rut increase the pressure of his roof firing the Roof off and when they leave bashing the Tacoma.
| |||||
45 | 3 | "Off Road Racing" | September 17, 2013 | 1.54[5] | |
Tanner takes Adam and Rut to try out extreme off road racing in rally cars, which involves driving at high speeds through the woods on narrow dirt roads with hairpin turns. Despite Tanner's experience, Rut and Adam challenge him to a race. While they take lessons to prepare, Tanner hones his skills at a nearby rally race. When they all meet up again, their friendly competition turns out to be way more epic than Tanner expected. Winner: Adam | |||||
46 | 4 | "America's Biggest Cars" | September 24, 2013 | 1.88[6] | |
America is known for making big cars and the '60s and '70s saw some of the biggest. But which one of these behemoths is the best? To find out, the Top Gear guys select their favorite and compete in a series of challenges as they travel along the Mississippi. Adam selects a 1970 Buick Electra 225 which he's loved since he was a kid, Tanner selects a 1974 Lincoln Continental Mark IV which is over 19 ft long and Rutledge selects a 1976 modified Chevrolet Caprice Classic. Upon driving to their first challenge both Tanner and Adam's cars have soft, floaty suspension, Tanner actually describes how "They don't build luxury cars like they used to", whereas Rutledge's modified Caprice rides so harshly due to his 24 inch tires.
While waiting for the next challenge at a riverbed Adam and Tanner find Rut arriving with 14-inch tires on his Caprice. Tanner calls Rut a freaking idiot as he has just made his Caprice worse than it was.
Reward: Tanner gets to drive the new Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray. He is impressed with its straight-line performance, cornering speeds and G and also the Quality of interior showing how America are now moving into Europeans league by ultimately saying how it is the closest thing to a Porsche 911. He then does a race against himself whereby in one car (The Blue Car) the Corvette's Stability control is on and in another (The Red Car) it is off. Despite the Blue car getting off to a faster Start, The red car wins by a Centimetre. He concludes by saying how the Corvette Stingray is a Masterpiece and will finally be an American Car which Europeans might appreciate and respect. | |||||
47 | 5 | "Sturgis" | October 22, 2013 | 1.73[7] | |
The Top Gear hosts embark on a two-wheel road trip through South Dakota to the world's largest automotive event, the annual Sturgis Bike Week. Starting out on scooters and needing to pass challenges to progress to the bigger bikes they'll need to ride to fit in at the rally, the hosts go through hell as they close in on Sturgis. The winner will race a super-charged Ariel Atom against a 200 mph sports bike, while the loser will have to take part in a stunt, courtesy of The History Channel's newest series, American Daredevils. The hardest challenge features the slowest bike race ever, in which the winner loses. Tanner cheats least and wins overall. He takes on the super-bike in the Ariel Atom and loses by half a lap. Adam loses the most challenges, but pays off a stunt driver to take his place in the final explosion. | |||||
48 | 6 | "Can Cars Float?" | October 29, 2013 | 1.58 [8] | |
Is it possible to make a vehicle that's as good on water as it is on land? Rut, Adam and Tanner build their own amphibious vehicle and put them through a series of road tests before embarking on a huge water challenge, attempting to cross one of the Great Lakes. Tanner took a Plymouth Conquest while Rutledge opted for a Mk3 Volkswagen Golf Cabrio. During the show, Adam chooses to transform a Jeep Wrangler (YJ) into an airboat. As this was supposed to be the least likely to sink, they elect to place all their belongings and passports in the Jeep/Boat for the crossing of Lake Ontario to Toronto in Canada. Unfortunately, the Jeep sinks like a stone. Tanner is forced to abandon ship – twice! And Rut gets lost taking the three to Canada. After a whole day adrift, Rut and Adam finally manage to land successfully on the shore of Toronto, but then get arrested because they don't have passports. | |||||
49 | 7 | "Fully Charged" | November 5, 2013 | 1.13[9] | |
Adam, Rut and Tanner drive three of the bestselling electric cars on a journey through Michigan to determine which is best and showcase some surprising features. The unusual tests include a reverse high speed challenge, a race indoors, and a stealth mission. The winner gets to drive the new all-electric Tesla Model S. Tanner chooses a Ford Focus Electric, Rutledge chooses a Nissan Leaf, and Adam chooses a Fiat 500e.
While driving to the next challenge, they contemplate about their cars and topics such as the omission of engine noise. They drive down to a small road for the next challenge.
The trio drive to their next challenge. They discuss problems like range anxiety. They finally reach their next challenge at a Detroit mall.
Because it was late in the day, and their cars were low on charge, the three of them decide to turn in for the night. The next morning, they drive off to their final challenge. Adam describes electric car developments like the first video games. "I remember Pong was the first video game when I was a kid. Then we had Atari. Now look at what we've got. You've got Call of Duty and World of Warcraft. You can play online with a bunch of people from different countries around the world. It's the same thing with electric cars. The technology is gonna keep zooming. It ain't there yet. We're still at Pong." Having stated that, they reach their final challenge in a small suburban cul-de-sac.
Reward: Rutledge gets to test drive the luxury class Tesla Model S Performance Plus. He puts it in a drag race against the Camaro ZL1 and wins. Rutledge praises the car's superior acceleration, cornering, and the interior; which he says was "Like a Spaceship" and "Lifted from the executive bathrooms at Apple headquarters." Rutledge then proceeds to a racetrack and reveals The Stig. He has the Stig lap a Mercedes-Benz S550 around the track. The Mercedes scores a time of 1:15. Stig then laps the Tesla with a time of 1:12, beating the Mercedes by 3 seconds. Rutledge then says,"So, if it's an exciting four-door sedan you want, forget the Germans (Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi). Forget Lincoln and Cadillac. This is the car you want to buy. Now all I need to do is find an outlet." | |||||
50 | 8 | "American Supercars" | November 12, 2013 | N/A | |
Intro: Rutledge drives the 240mph Vector W8 which he describes as a car that gave the Europeans a run for their money. Yet due to financial costs, W8 productions stopped in 1993 and it appeared like the American Supercar was gone. However, now American Supercars are in the midst of a rebirth. To determine which one is the best, the hosts select their favorite and drive to Malibu California. Rutledge chooses a Saleen S7 as he always wanted to drive one, Adam chooses a Rossion Q1 which is an American version of a Noble M400 and Tanner chooses a Lucra LC470 which doesn't have a windshield.
In the End Despite their victories both Tanner and Adam were disappointed with their Supercars, agreed that the American Supercar is still a concept that needs work and would much rather have the Porsche and the Ferrari to the Lucra and the Rossion. Rutledge however while agreeing that American Supercar is still a concept that needs work fell in love with the Saleen and would rather have it to the Lambo. Tanner points out that he still won. Overall Winner: Tanner Reward Tanner gets to drive the $300,000 622 horsepower Mercedes SLS AMG Black Series. He is very impressed by its brutal acceleration and Top Speed of 196mph. He then challenges himself to do over ten miles of twisting turning road in under ten minutes. It manages to do it and has impressive handling despite it being known as a Muscle. In the end Tanner praises it as an achievement, not just because of its all in one package but also because it also means of what the big automotive giants can do to push the emblem. He then gets back to the American Supercars and says how despite boutique shops doing their best, the proper supercars should be made by the big three, his final quote is "Dodge, Chevy, Ford, come on, we are ready". | |||||
51 | 9 | "Big Bad Trucks" | November 19, 2013 | N/A | |
Is it possible for a truck to be comfortable, easy to drive, and still maintain its toughness? To find out, the guys select their favorite no-expense-spared light duty truck and put them to the test in a series of escalating challenges to determine if they can perform both car and truck duties. They meet up in the San Gabriel Mountains, Rutledge picks a 2014 Toyota Tundra Crewmax 1794 Edition 4x4 due to its off road credentials and rear legroom, Tanner drives a 2014 Ford F150 Super Crew King Ranch 4x4 due to its torquey engine and practical rear end and Adam chooses a 2014 Ram 1500 Sport Cab 4x4 due to its gearbox and V8 Engine. Tanner and Adam criticise Rut for picking a Toyota in an American Truck showdown however Rut points out that the Tundra was built in Texas, Rut and Adam criticise Tanner as his Truck has 6cylinder but Tanner points out that it produces 420 ft lps of torque and Tanner and Rut criticise Adam for picking the smallest truck with the worst rear end by far but Adam points out that the workers drive the F150 and the Tundra and the Boss drives the Ram.
| |||||
52 | 10 | "Fountain of Youth" | November 26, 2013 | N/A | |
Three vehicles with speed and sex appeal are compared by the guys. Adam chooses a red 1993 Chevrolet Corvette. Tanner chooses a yellow 1998 Porsche Boxster. Rutledge chooses a 1933 Ford Model A pickup Rat Rod.
The guys make a few 'nips and tucks' before the final challenge. Adam puts on very wide wheels and tires and puts on deck stripes. Rut puts on flames and stacks and paints the wheels neon green. Tanner puts on the number 69 and a giant aluminum wing made from air conditioning ducting.
In the End Adam tries to claim victory as the Corvette won two challenges whereas the Boxster and the Rat Rod won one each and Tanner tries to claim victory as he says the most important thing in a mid-life crisis is to impress younger women which the Boxster won. Rutledge, however, claims that since both Adam and Tanner have lost their cars and he still has his, he warns them that they can either admit that he won or stay at the drag strip forever. In the end they admit defeat and Adam, Tanner, Rut and Mickey leave the drag strip in the Rat Rod. Overall Winner: Rutledge |
References
edit- ^ "Adam Ferrara on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ Top Gear - BBC Worldwide. "Transmission – BBC Top Gear Americans! Top Gear USA is back! « - BBC Top Gear". topgear.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
- ^ Bibel, Sara. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'The Game' Wins Night, 'Tosh.0', 'Suits', 'Rizzoli & Isles', 'Catfish', 'Face Off' & More". Archived from the original on 2013-09-08.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Rides to First Place + 'Tosh.0', 'Rizzoli & Isles', World Cup Qualifiers, 'Amish Mafia' & More". Archived from the original on 2013-09-15.
- ^ Bibel, Sara. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Wins Night, 'Tosh.0', 'Suits', 'Amish Mafia', 'Face Off' & More". Archived from the original on 2013-09-22.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Wins Night + 'Tosh.0', 'Amish Mafia', 'The Daily Show', 'Brickleberry', 'Ink Master' & More". Archived from the original on 2013-09-27.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Tops Night + 'Pretty Little Liars', 'Snooki & JWOWW', 'Tosh.0', 'Ravenswood' & More". Archived from the original on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ^ Bibel, Sara. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: Basketball Wins Night, 'Sons of Anarchy', 'Tosh.0', 'Face Off', 'Top Gear' & More". Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
- ^ Kondolojy, Amanda. "Tuesday Cable Ratings: 'Sons of Anarchy' Leads Night + 'Moonshiners', 'Tosh.0', 'Real Husbands of Hollywood' & More". Archived from the original on 2013-11-07.
External links
edit- Season 4 at the Internet Movie Database