James May and Richard Hammond race an aeroplane in a Porsche
Richard Hammond and James May have reinvented one of Top Gear‘s most famous on-screen challenges with a unique cross-country race. In a new 20-minute video, filmed for Hammond’s DriveTribe channel, the duo pitch a high-performance Porsche against a small aircraft.
A clever twist is that both the plane and car – a Porsche Taycan Turbo GT – are fully electric, putting a modern spin on a classic Top Gear adventure.
In a 2005 episode of Top Gear, qualified pilot James May flew a Cessna aircraft from Italy to the UK, competing against a Bugatti Veyron driven by Jeremy Clarkson.
The goal was to deliver a truffle from Alba, Italy, to a specific restaurant in London. And while we won’t reveal the outcome here, the race ended with a remarkably close finish.
Reinventing the glory days
“We’ve had a frankly brilliant idea,” said Richard Hammond in the film. “We thought, we miss races”. “It’s been a while since we did an absurd race,” added May, “and the winner gets as many James Gin and tonics as they like.”
For the challenge, Hammond drove the flagship Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, which has set numerous lap records – including at the Nurburgring – since being launched last year.
With a power output of 1,108hp, the Taycan Turbo GT delivers true hypercar performance, accelerating from 0-62mph in a neck-straining 2.3 seconds. Ease off the throttle and it can also achieve a range of 421 miles.
This made Hammond a formidable competitor for James May, who was piloting a Pipistrel Velis Electro aircraft.
A silent battle of wits and speed
The duo took on a 100-mile race, starting from Henstridge airfield on the Dorset and Somerset border, then finishing at Dunsfold Aerodrome.
As the home of the famous Top Gear test track, Dunsfold holds special memories for Hammond and May. The ‘Porsche vs. plane’ challenge marked the first time the pair had returned to the Surrey airfield in a decade.
Without spoiling the result of the challenge, both car and plane arrived at Dunsfold within minutes of each other – in classic Top Gear style.
After finishing, Hammond noted that his Porsche EV could probably have gone much quicker. “In the Taycan, you’re stuck behind everything because it’s unbelievably fast.”
John Redfern writes for Motoring Research