I’ve been loving Top Gear this season and episode 4 is no exception. In episode 4 we saw Paddy and Freddie taking a trip across Borneo in two rare cars whilst back in the UK Chris test drove the world’s most luxurious SUV, the Rolls Royce Cullinan. There was also a moving political statement made during the film which is definitely something the Top Gear of old wouldn’t have done.
The Cullinan review was quite surprising. As you would expect for a Rolls there is no expense spared. The £250k plus SUV has all the luxury Rolls Royce are famous for, plus decent off road ability, a perfect ride and a powerful engine. For Chris, however, this is where the good ends. He was disgusted with the looks of the car and ended up abandoning it and heading off into the sunset on a pushbike instead.
The main film of the show was the trek across Borneo by Paddy and Freddie. They were given the task of buying the rarest, cheapest cars they could find for their journey across the jungle landscape of Borneo. Paddy chose a Matra Bagheera S whereas Freddie opted for an Austin Estate. Neither are cars that might spring to mind when planning an offroad journey across the dense jungle!
Their journey began with them getting stuck immediately but after that hiccup, they were off. They drove over mud tracks and terrible terrain which often required the help of locals to get them out of the rough. After driving late into the night they were met on the road by a team of Gurkhas.
Their cars were moved into the middle of the jungle during the night and the boys, with the aid of the Gurkhas, had to fight their way through the jungle to reach their cars. They then have to drive their cars through the jungle to Brunei where they planned to sell their rare cars to the Sultan of Brunei.
Before the second part of the film was shown, the boys said that they were unsure if they should broadcast it or not. The reason being the recent announcement by Brunei that it would punish those convicted of homosexuality with death. They decided that the film should be shown in spite of this to honour the Gurkhas.
Paddy and Freddie took very different routes through the jungle and without the help of the Gurka teams they’d likely still be stuck there now. The Gurkhas made trekking through the jungle and somehow getting two old cars through it look like a walk in the park. I’m glad that they showed the film as it’s a fitting tribute to the skills of the Gurkhas.
The celebrity guest this week was Bob Mortimer who to me is a comedy legend. He came across as genuinely sincere, humble, funny and pretty slow too! Bob has been my favourite guest on the show so far.
To finish the show the Matra and the Austin were brought into the studio having undergone a paint job. The cars sported the rainbow colours of the pride movement and this was clearly intended as a stick in the eye for the ruler of Brunei.
Overall another enjoyable show with great banter between the guys. They also showed a level of maturity and sensitivity that we would never have seen in the Jeremy Clarkson era.
