Top Gear builds, launches Space Shuttle car

As if the folks at Top Gear didn't already have the best job in the world, they recently went and completely outdid themselves, building their own Space Shuttle out of a Reliant Robin, roughly the British equivalent of a Pinto or a Gremlin (minus a wheel). As you can see, it all came together quite nicely, complete with an external fuel tank, solid rocket boosters, and a spot-on paint job, although there doesn't seem to have been any room left for passengers, with the whole lot remotely-controlled instead. That proved to have been for the best, however, with the impressive launch followed by a less-than-successful landing, though that was still more than enough to claim the title of the largest rocket flown in the U.K. While it's unclear if they'll ever have another go at it, you can check out the complete rise and fall of this attempt in the video after the break.

[Via Tech E Blog, thanks Grant B]

[Fraser Drew @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:33PM]

I have th full episode, and it was amazing... BUT i can tell you now, I have watched top gears for a fair few years now, and it;s a once-only kind of thing.. never again, not for a long time!!

[ObsessedAudiFan @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:35PM]

You're missing part one of the show, where they introduce the idea and concept!

grrr, incredible show btw.

[Chris @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:40PM]

The Reliant Robin was also Mr. Bean's automotive rival.

[neonstarfish @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:49PM]

Actually Mr Bean's 'rival' (and the van in Only Fools and Horses - which was exactly the same van) was a Reliant Regal Supervan. See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_regal

[threefingeredlord @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:42PM]

Saw this on TV XD.

[nizzy1115 @ Feb 22nd 2007 4:48PM]

Why resubmit this article to digg? It was up there days ago...

[morcheeba @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:02PM]

I loved the episode where they abused a truck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoOkMccPZo
.. its landing was better.

[Jim @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:09PM]

Holy crap that was amazing. I actually think that the "landing" was cooler this way. Just a good thing that they didn't put a monkey in it.

[Josh @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:30PM]

Makes me proud to be British, it really does.

[giedrys @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:40PM]

Hamster is back, this season is better than ever. Starting with Bugatti full speed test and finishing with this insane space shuttle car stuff. Greatest auto show on earth! Period!

[Jeff the Baptist @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:44PM]

The use of the ominous theme music from Thunderball made it even better.

[Joel @ Feb 22nd 2007 5:55PM]

No news on what they did in America though...

[Mark @ Feb 22nd 2007 6:25PM]

Joel:

They ate roadkill, got attacked by locals and got threatened with lawsuits.

[Rich Uchytil @ Feb 22nd 2007 6:28PM]

AWESOME!!

[yumyum @ Feb 22nd 2007 6:44PM]

Nut cases!! Brilliant show.
Makes me wonder though...how on earth do they get the funds to pull that off.

[samloud @ Feb 28th 2007 1:43PM]

"...Makes me wonder though...how on earth do they get the funds to pull that off..."

You probably won't believe this, but it's funded out of the BBC budget. I know you have nothing like this in the US, so let me explain:
If you have a telly in the UK, you have to have a TV licence. It costs about $300/year. The money from this is given to the BBC, who use it to make BBC TV, BBC Radio, BBC events (concerts etc), BBC World Service, BBC Films etc.
This means the BBC is under virtually no pressure to be commercial, only pressure to be good. And you don't have to watch adverts. I

[Juaquin @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:15PM]

Holy crap that was awesome.

"It was only one bolt that let us down". Tell that to NASA about the O-rings.

[ninja @ Feb 22nd 2007 7:52PM]

Saw that episode on TV that was some crazy s***! When it took of it was like watching NASA launch a Shuttle, but then it looked like a cruise missile when it started to fall to earth and made this huge exploshion! AWESOME Top Gear Rulez

[branden @ Feb 22nd 2007 8:59PM]

So fake.

[PeteC @ Feb 23rd 2007 8:57AM]

You're a fricking idiot.

[lunacy @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:25PM]

Awesome video, but honestly, "video after the break"? Why does every blogger think this is the best phrase in the world?

[Whitster @ Feb 22nd 2007 10:55PM]

Without a doubt one of the funniest and best moments on TV ever. Just like somebody else said, it makes me proud to be British.

[Yan @ Feb 23rd 2007 12:05AM]

That was one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. It would have been neat to see it separate and land, but that crash was pretty spectacular. It was funny watching the rocket reach its peak, then kinda keel over and you see the expression on their faces (Hammon and the other guy). It just screamed "oh yeah! oh... oh... oh... oh f#!k..."

[Kev50027 @ Feb 23rd 2007 12:56AM]

I'm a HUGE fan of this show and wow.. this took me by alarm. I didn't think it would even get off the ground, but it not only got off, it flew! This show has set so many firsts, biggest, largest records that I think they deserve their own chapter in the Guinness Book of World Records.

This stunt was amazing, and just shows you how awesome Top Gear is. If you like cars at all, this is your favorite show.

[LordAlu @ Feb 23rd 2007 3:33AM]

I saw this when it aired on Sunday and it was great to watch - especially the looks on Hammond and May's faces when it takes off! Although I have to say, the previouse episode was even better... an hour long film of them in Florida buying a car for less than $1000 and driving it for four days to New Orleans. There was some funny shit during that episode, especially when they were attacked by "hicks"...

[Mendeleev135 @ Feb 23rd 2007 4:34AM]

hahaha, bloody awesome. i also wonder sometimes how much money that show does actually have .... cause i'm sure all that gear isnt the sort of car boot stuff most people would want to use. i didnt see the show but i saw an advert for it and it made me proud to know my country spawned such crazy fools xD

10/10 for effort, 12/10 for comedy!

[paulb @ Feb 23rd 2007 6:04AM]

Top Gear has become the modern version of "the Goodies" to some extent, the car reviews take up less and less of the program each week and it's more and more about 3 middle aged men messing about. It's great family viewing, the only programme apart from Doctor Who that I can sit and watch with my family and be entertained.

As for the shuttle launch, I personally think it was all genuine until the landing - there simply wouldnt be enough fuel in the tank for a fireball. I suspect it hit the marshes with a thud and they decided to spice it up with some petrol later on. It doesn't matter at all, it's all meant to be entertainment.

My favourite episodes have to be the cavanning, the rocket-powered mini of the ski jump and the home-built amphibious car. Not to mention the Ann Hathaway's Cottage Mercedes, trip to America...

Great, great entertainment, it really doesn't matter how genuine any of it is.

[eoin2000 @ Feb 23rd 2007 10:38AM]

"As for the shuttle launch, I personally think it was all genuine until the landing - there simply wouldnt be enough fuel in the tank for a fireball"

The car had booster rockets that the guy flying it remotely could use to give it an extra boost if needed. They were'nt used, hence the explosion when it 'landed'. What you saw was genuine.

[paul_b @ Feb 25th 2007 4:53AM]

One of the actual rocketeers was on Digg and said that the explosion and landing didn't necessarily happen at the same time. It did look an awful lot like petrol going off, not that I could tell the difference between that and solid rocket fuel exploding.

[ekrabs @ Feb 23rd 2007 11:04AM]

That is, by far, THE coolest Top Gear video I've ever seen! And that's saying quite a bit because they have done a lot of other cool things!

[ganza @ Feb 23rd 2007 1:24PM]

It really was a most glorious moment. Sad it didn't quite come off but awesome nonetheless.

[derv @ Feb 26th 2007 2:27AM]

without doubt one the best moments on telly ever! Absolutely bloody fantastic. Everytime I watch it I p$ss myself stupid. The brass door hinges used on the Reliants wing flaps should also get a special mention. Brilliant!

[Rocketben @ Mar 12th 2007 1:35PM]

The explosion wasn't real.

The explosion was a British Army 1000lb bomb being tested later on the same military firing range (Otturburn) and very cleverly cut in to time with the impact.

The motors used (a mix of AP/AL/HTPB solids and AL/HTPB/Nox hybrids) can't explode on impact.... they could 'burst' but you'd barely notice.

The actual 'squish' as it just crumpled when it hit a soft field was obviously not enough for them... they obviously wanted more bang.

As for Top Gear's budget.... a friend in the TV industry and I had a chat about it the other day and we recon somewhere around £0.6m to £0.8m per episode for this series. Possibly a little more.

I hasten to add, I didn't have anything to do with the project, just have a little inside info on it from friends who were.

Ben

http://www.rocket-fx.com