VIDEO: Top Gear say "Bah, Humbug!" to hypermiling, finds most efficient supercar
With the new series of Top Gear having started recently over in England, the team decided that it was again time to look at fuel economy. A few years back, the show made the round trip from London to Edinburgh and back in an Audi A8 TDI on a single tankful of diesel fuel. Now, with fuel prices above $9 a gallon, they have decided to see which cars provide solid fuel economy numbers. This time around they are working on the premise that even those with lots of money to spend on a car might still want to get better mileage. Sure the premise is thin but we're talking about Jeremy Clarkson here. Rather than the usual Prius vs, everybody else routine, Clarkson and Crew decided it would be better to test some of the fastest cars in the world to see which could go the furthest on a gallon of gasoline. Literally a single gallon of gas. They took a Ferrari 599, Audi R8, Lamborghini Murcielago, Mercedes Benz SLR and an Aston Martin DBS and put in a gallon of fuel each. Then they raced them around the Top Gear track until they were empty. You can watch the video after the jump to see which was the thriftiest with its gas allotment. Be forewarned however, that none made it into double digits.
[Source: YouTube]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joseph 2:44PM (6/30/2008)
Those supercars are put in just about the worst circumstances for fuel economy. First of all, the first couple miles of driving have terrible mpg since the engine hasn't warmed up yet. (If you have ever taken a cold hybrid for a test drive, and were dismayed at the low mpg numbers from your short little drive, you'd know)
Second, of course, those cars were driven hard. It's delightful to see Top Gear put cars to their max.
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dodgeviper88 3:08PM (6/30/2008)
You missed the other half of the segment where they compared a Prius and a M3. WIth the Prius being driven to the max, the M3 surprisingly outlasts the Prius. The best part was that Jeremy Clarkson saying it's how you drive that matters, not what car you drive. I think this speaks to all Americans racing to the stoplight
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armmat 3:45PM (6/30/2008)
Nice to know there are starving people out there with no heat, water, or food while these bozos go around emptying the fuel tanks of stupidly overpriced cars that could have otherwise helped a dozen families live for at least a year.
Good use of resources.
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Matt 4:40PM (6/30/2008)
C'mon people! It's just a show, and a ridiculously funny one at that. It's called Top Gear, not "Moderately Priced and Well Paced Car Show!"
If you are looking to Clarkson and gang for fuel economy tips and reasonably priced cars that get good gas mileagee, you are probably looking in the wrong place. Try Fifth Gear instead.
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Pacman 4:43PM (6/30/2008)
armmat - you are a douche bag.
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Wildgoosechase73 4:54PM (6/30/2008)
People suffer from the lack heat, shelter and food due to poverty, not the lack of fuel, shelter and food available. It is the lack of strong a government and judicial system that prevent the economic activity that allows people to escape poverty.
But let's not get into this debate, can't we just talk about cars?
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Stan-O 6:03PM (6/30/2008)
@2 +1
Somehow I'm not surprised ABG decided to post about the funnier part with 5 super-cars race rather than the news about Prius vs M3 fuel efficiency.
Just shows that current hybrids are nothing more than a marketing trick.
What we need is an electric with the 4 in-wheel motors and ideally, the small diesel generator to give enough juice to go about 100km/h for those longer trips when the batteries are depleted.
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ajprice 6:08PM (6/30/2008)
There was another part to their fuel economy section that followed on from that part, comparing the mpg of a Toyota Prius and BMW M3. They drove the Prius as fast as possible around the TG track, and the M3 cruised behind it keeping up the same speed. Prius 17mpg, m3 19mpg. Victory to the BMW :) .
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PP6fe6i1vaY
"It isn't what you drive, it's how you drive it"
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Sam Abuelsamid 6:42PM (6/30/2008)
I already have a post in the queue with the other video and it will be coming shortly
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armmat 9:12PM (6/30/2008)
Well pacman...at least we now know you're a complete asshole and don't give a rat's about anyone but yourself. Sorry for caring for others...you moron.
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MikeW 11:02PM (6/30/2008)
We don't know if all the cars were cold started, if any?
I highly doubt they were allowed to cold start an engine and floor it! (well this will be the last time they will get cars voluntarily)
So direct injection = good!
The audi has something like 425hp (the exhaust system and intake are superior to the RS4.
Compared with the circa 600 of the Lambo, Ferrari, SLR, and Aston. It isn't really a good comparison, with the R8 being the only sub 200mph car.
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Whopper 2:21PM (7/01/2008)
@10 Same can be said about you 1000 times over armmat, you pompus gasbag. You have expressed yourself many times wishing Ford or GM would go out of business, putting thousands out on the street. In a previous post you stated you are an MSME - bud I don't believe it, unless it was from an on-line university. Your posts are entirely too juvenile to reflect any higher education.
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