Top Gear: Season 4, Episode 9 - ProjectFreeTV

4 - 9: Best Convertible

On a thrill-seeking Top Gear, Richard and James went on a convertible testing excursion to the top of Scotland, while we answered the question on everyone's lips: can you parachute into a moving car? 'Roadsters' are a properly British thing - sporty little two-seaters for zipping around country roads. They're as much a part of this country as ugly, fuel-guzzling SUVs are part of America. So what makes a good roadster? Richard took the Mazda MX5, Toyota MR2 and Fiat Barchetta out. Big surprise, the Japanese had done it again. He was thrown out of the SAS for misuse of Her Majesty's explosives. He found the hitherto Lost City of Ubar, and walked unsupported across the Antarctic. Sir Ranulph Fiennes was our star in a reasonably priced car. Feeling slightly ambitious after our chat with Sir Ranulph, we decided it was time to have a crack at the dare-devil game ourselves. We took a light aircraft, a man, another man, a car and a parachute, put them all together - and what did we get? That's right, an attempt to land a parachutist into a Mercedes travelling at 50mph. Roadsters aren't for everyone. So what do the women and hairdressers get? That's right, the cabriolet. These tend to be slightly more practical, but quite a lot more expensive. But they offer room not only for a hairdryer, but creature comforts such as curling tongs, eight bottles of shampoo and five types of conditioner. So, who better than 'The Shirt' and 'The Hair' to test convertibles from Audi, Mercedes, Vauxhall and Mini up in the wilds of Scotland.