Top Gear (US) s05e03 Episode Script
80's Power
Now on "Top Gear" There's water rushing in! We go back in time to find the ultimate '80s car.
Uh-oh! Come on, baby, go! And whoever comes out on top gets to push one of the sexiest cars ever made to its very limit.
The 1980s.
Love them or hate them, they're back.
Turns out, some of the music and fashion were actually pretty cool.
But can the same be said about the cars? Insurance companies now consider '80s cars as classics.
It's easy to imagine a Testarossa or Countach among the most iconic automobiles of any decade.
But what about cars on a slightly smaller budget? We were given $5,000 and asked to pick our choice for the ultimate '80s car and told to meet 30 miles outside of L.
A.
at a mall.
Oh, yeah.
We're going back.
This is a 1988 supercharged Toyota MR2.
This lightweight mid-engine sports car is rear-wheel drive, and some still say it was secretly designed by Lotus.
Despite having a modest 1.
6-liter engine with 145 horsepower, it still delivers a respectable 6.
5-second zero-to-60 time thanks to its supercharger.
I was 8 years old when this car came out.
What do 8-year-olds know about cars? Well, they need to look cool and they need to go fast, and this car did both of those.
Whoa! Holy crap! Ho ho.
Where did you find a grand Nash? How great is this? An '86 Buick grand national.
When this beast came out, it was the fastest production car in America.
Did zero to 60 in five seconds flat, crushing its competition with a turbo v-6.
And like Henry Ford used to say, "you can get it in any color you want as long as it's black.
" I know all these, because I love that car.
What I don't understand is how you're gonna start cheating already.
There's no way you paid five grand for that.
I got a guy.
It doesn't matter.
The important thing is I got the car, the best classic '80s car.
That's a working man's supercar.
It's like the white-trash supercar.
Here's the thing.
That is adorable.
I literally can't wait to see what Tanner picks.
If you've got a grand national, what's he in? A jet? No, he's in a truck.
Oh, no, he's not.
When you bought an Iroc, you had to do that leaving the dealership.
What an idiot.
What an absolute moron.
Is that the sound of the '80s I hear? Gentlemen Wow.
1988 Camaro Iroc-z.
Named after the international race of champions, this z was the envy of every 15-year-old boy across the country.
It looked cool, had a big five-liter v-8 in it that put out an underwhelming 175 horsepower, but when you added an upgraded suspension, a lowered ride, t-tops, and arrest-me red paint, you got one of the gnarliest rides in town.
This is '80s on wheels right here.
This is iron maiden, poison, whitesnake all wrapped into one rolling piece of americana with some smoking back tires.
This is Milli Vanilli All flash and no substance.
This is amongst the worst cars you've ever chosen.
Where did you get a grand national? Yeah, he got that at cheaters "r" us.
It's a new car dealership.
To determine who had chosen the ultimate '80s classic, we'd compete in a series of challenges that would take us to the desert and back.
And in the end, the final challenge would be judged by a mystery '80s superstar.
As we took in the scenic beauty of the greater long beach area, we had a chance to reflect on why we fell in love with these cars back in the day.
You hear that? I heard that in the parking lot at the tri-county flea market when I was a kid.
I turned around, and I thought, "what the hell did that guy do to that Monte Carlo?" It was a Buick grand national, and I couldn't believe it.
I'm like, "that's a Buick?" This car, to me, highlights the rarity of the '80s.
Think about it.
The Mets won the series, the Berlin wall came down, and Buick made a car that went from zero to 60 in five seconds and beat Ferraris.
Instant classic.
I got to be honest.
I thought Tanner was gonna show up in a 944.
When he showed up in the Iroc, I thought, "what a moron.
" This is the Yeah, how's it going? Yep.
Getting a thumbs-up.
There's a Led Zeppelin fan.
Yeah, those guys might make a little bit of fun of me, but I picked my car that represents the '80s best, and the Iroc-z is it.
There's something cool about driving this car.
That's what makes this one classic, is it's just raw, brute americana.
Rutledge has picked the MR2.
It's not even a whole car.
It had potential.
If they would've just stuck some real tires and maybe more than 140 horsepower, that little mid-engine rocket could've been awesome.
When they told me to pick the perfect classic '80s car, I knew exactly what to get.
The MR2.
It's simple, it's fun, and it's a little over-the-top Just like '80s were.
The first time I saw an MR2, it was a yellow turbo owned by the chemistry teacher at my middle school who, turns out, had a failed experiment in class once and had a hook for a hand.
So it's possible that he didn't make great choices across the board.
We just called him captain hook.
I don't know what his name was.
Oh, yeah, daddy.
It's a t-top.
Cop on the right.
Slow down.
Guys, was that who I think it was? Nah.
Couldn't be.
That is a police officer with the whitest teeth ever.
We soon arrive at the location for our first challenge, and we arrived in true '80s style.
Car wash.
I could get the car washed.
The cheater.
Don't look at me.
Ah, come on.
You love it.
Ah, this doesn't look good.
Huh.
In our first challenge, we would have to wear these shirts covered with popping candy that explodes when wet.
Then, to test which one of our '80s cars had the best build quality, we'd drive them through a high-pressure car wash.
The car with the least amount of exploded candy wins.
This is dangerous.
You go first.
- What? - Yeah, go ahead.
Why am I gonna go first? Who thinks he should go first? Oh, I do.
You should totally go first.
Urban legend has it that someone once died eating popping candy while drinking soda.
So we were more than happy to let Tanner and his chia-pet vest go first.
Okay, we're gonna close that really tight.
All I know is that when I push this She's got a little play in it.
It's moving.
This side more.
This is awesome.
Ooh.
The power blaster.
"Hi-pressure warm water cleans between cracks, crevices and moldings where cloth and wash mitts do not reach.
" Sounds like what's gonna hose him in the t-top area.
If I was you, I would be a little concerned, too.
You have t-tops, as well, my friend.
Fair enough.
Oh, I can hear the crackling.
Ooh! I already got a pop.
All right, let's do this.
All right, here goes.
Uh It's moving a little bit.
Really? This is the speed that we go through this? This is slow.
Okay.
We're doing pretty good.
How's it going in there? Dry as bone.
Dry as bone in here.
Oh! Oh.
Oh, this is gonna get him.
Oh, the blaster.
Tanner, welcome to the power blaster.
Right here.
Oh, just right on the t-top.
There it is! Oh, and it's coming through! I lost a t-top! Oh, it's loose! It's loose! His t-top popped up! You got to stop the machine.
I lost a t-top.
How's it coming? Oh, no.
Oh, close it, man! Oh, no.
Close it! Close the t-top! Okay, gentlemen, I survived the longest car wash in history.
Oh, look at that t-top.
This car smells delicious.
How'd it go? It was fine until the t-top came off, and this thing is loose.
Like, whoever owned this thing did not maintain the seals.
Looks like the incredible hulk was driving and he was shedding.
I'll go next.
Okay, clearly this is the best choice.
You know why? I have a roof.
And you know why I have a roof? Because it's a man's car.
All right.
Let's get this over with.
All right, fellas.
You ready? I just want to point out that you're a massive cheater and you spent at least three times what we did, which is also why you're not gonna get wet, and this is a joke test.
So that means you're ready, right? We're ready.
All right.
Let's go.
Here we go.
All right.
First spray of water.
So far, I'm okay.
No leaking.
And I'll be honest with you.
I really thought they were gonna cut the rubber stripping out of my windows.
They didn't do that.
Maybe I misjudged them.
Since Adam, the Minion, clearly overspent on his Buick, we thought it'd only be fair to level the playing field.
Hey, can you reach in there and open the door? Damn it! He locked it.
Children.
I work with children.
You got to admit, that's a good-looking car.
It's pretty good-looking.
That's annoying as can be, though.
Yeah.
Lemony.
Well, looks like a really nice, expensive car.
Ooh.
Ooh, I hear popping.
Yeah, I'm sweating 'cause it's very warm in there.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Bone-dry.
You honestly didn't get wet at all? - No.
I swear, a piece of your car just ripped off.
Everything looks fine to me.
That is strange.
You guys! Pop away, buddy! Okay, real mature.
Yeah.
Ah! Okay.
You sound like a symphony.
I feel bad.
What was that about, being "real mature"? Is there anything wrong with my car? Don't.
I'm not.
We're done.
That was Rutledge's idea.
That was Rutledge's idea! Come here.
Oh, yeah! There you go.
All this water, I'm gonna run to the bathroom before I go.
You guys are a mess.
Yeah, why don't you go to the bathroom, Rut? Bring it in.
No, don't bring it in.
It wasn't even my idea.
That was Rut's idea to do that.
- Really? - Yeah.
It was time for revenge.
The candy was just a distraction so he wouldn't notice that we loosened his t-tops.
Can you see? Yeah, I can see shapes.
Oh, really? I'm not totally blind.
Y'all threw stuff in the car.
You guys, this is an '88.
It's a classic.
You got to do the challenge.
They could be as childish as they like, but I have a Japanese car.
And in the '80s, the Japanese reinvented automotive quality.
This thing should be airtight.
Okay, fellas.
You ready to see some real build quality? Yeah, all right.
Let's go.
Fire up the wash.
This is it, MR2.
Don't fail me now, okay? Oh, a little soap, a little water.
No pro Oh, g-oh, go okay, yeah.
There's water rushing in! Coming up, just how fast can Rut go? Come on! Get 100! You can do it! And later, heavy-metal sumo wrestling.
Go! We were competing to see who had picked the ultimate '80s classic.
In our first challenge, we would have to drive through a supercharged car wash wearing shirts made of popping candy.
So far, Tanner had lost his top Oh, no! And I was bone-dry.
Since we had adjusted Rut's t-tops, the big man was in for a surprise.
Oh, a little soap, a little water.
No pro Oh, g-oh, go okay, yeah.
Thers water coming I There's water rushing in! Where's that coming from?! Oh, gosh! Oh, there's water everywhere! What did you guys do to my car?! It wasn't us.
It was the Japanese.
Oh, this water is so cold.
Distract him.
"How's it going? How's it going?" Rut, how you doing? I think it's in my pants.
It's what? Is everything all right? Oh, gosh! Oh, it's like gunshots going off! Oh! Oh, oh I've lost a t-top.
The t-top completely Oh Rut, what happened to your t-top? Oh, my gosh! Oh! Oh, there it goes! Oh, there's water everywhere! Holy crap! Oh, my God! Oh, it's so cold! I hate you guys! What happened? Oh, good.
The blaster.
Thank goodness.
It just keeps getting worse for me.
Oh, I'm alive.
Oh, praise the lord.
I feel better.
That was beautiful.
T-top.
Rut, I-I saved you from this.
This corner could've hit you right in the head.
You took it off.
I think you sat up too high and your head just popped it out, and I just pulled it out.
Here, let's put it back.
You're welcome.
You are so wet right now.
There we go.
Perfect.
Good as new.
You took the t-top off? No.
What happened was it fell off, and before it hit the ground, he ran in and saved it.
You should thank us.
With his goggles fogged and his spirit dampened, Rut had failed, and my Buick had won easily.
So we set a course for our next challenge 45 Miles away in the California desert.
Is that No.
It can't be.
We left Suburbia in our rearview mirrors and made our way into the desert.
Wow.
Little bit of wind noise in the MR2 after the car wash.
As we neared our next challenge, we reflected on what made our cars classics.
A lot of people would look at this car and think it's not a classic.
But by the year, they're incorrect.
25 years and older, it's a classic car.
But what makes this a classic car might not be the looks, but it's definitely how it makes you feel.
It's a mid-engine sports car that's affordable.
Doesn't driving these cars just take you back? You know what it is about this one? One it's the rumble of kind of a v-8 with an exhaust that clearly has many holes in it.
But no traction control.
Doesn't even have A.
B.
S.
I mean, it's sort of old-school.
I like it.
Yeah, no horsepower, either.
That is true.
Adam, when you're riding inside that grand national and you look around, doesn't it make you laugh that, like, that's what a nice Buick looked like in the '80s? One of the reasons I like the grand national is it went against the trend of the '80s.
Like, if the '80s was, like, the show-me decade "If you got it, flaunt it," you know This was just a black car that was fast, an outlaw car.
This car was Johnny cash.
They may have been old-school, but the '80s were the beginning of the future.
The biggest change that happened in cars was the use of fuel injection.
That's right.
We ditched carburetors.
In came the throttle body and the computer.
The ecu in a car became a real thing, because it was all about trying to make a little power and save some fuel mileage.
This is the place, guys.
How could you tell? Was it the flags? Or the tree? We're in the middle of nowhere.
What are we doing here? Dumping a dead witness? Our next challenge would test which of our '80s cars had best kept its factory-new performance.
We'd each have a mile to get our cars to their top speed.
Closest to the original number wins.
Oh, the cheater's laughing, huh? The top speed on this was only 124 miles an hour.
That was electronically limited.
I'm pretty sure I can hit this.
Still a cheater.
What about you? - Really? - Yeah.
Guess what.
The MR2 130.
You're never gonna get that.
- You know what? I'll go first.
- Done.
I'll be hauling this candy right down there.
Those guys messed with me at the car wash, and now it's their turn to eat crow, 'cause this little MR2 is gonna fly.
How's it going, Rut? I'm ready to do 130 miles an hour.
That's how I'm doing.
What car are you gonna be driving to go 130? Oh, that's real funny.
Well, don't blink when I go by, 'cause this thing's gonna be like a bolt of lightning.
3, 2, 1.
Go! Come on, baby.
Pull, pull, pull.
All right, that's 7,000 rpms, first gear, 40 miles an hour.
That's 50.
Oh, it's getting loud.
75.
Oh, it's moving around the road now.
95! Oh, she's smoking.
Come on! Get 100! You can do it! Adam learns the true meaning of "cheaters never win.
" Oh, it's smoking.
Uh-oh.
We were on a mission to find out who had picked the ultimate '80s classic car with a budget of under $5,000.
Adam was in the lead, having won the first challenge at the car wash, and now we were competing to see which car could get closest to its original top speed.
Rutledge needed to hit 130, but things were looking a bit shaky.
Oh, it's moving around the road now.
Come on! Keep pulling! Come on! Get 100! Get 100! You can do it! Whoa! I don't know where that bush came from, but he whacked it.
Yeah.
Gah! Oh, it smells like candy and gasoline.
Look how it leans to the side.
You know you see those old cars where they're just kind of leaned over to where the driver is Ah.
That's not good.
That's good right there.
You're burning a little oil out of there, my friend.
Did you guys see that?! See it? We smelt it the whole way down.
You know, I think it's just a little bit of carbon buildup for whoever was driving probably real slow before.
Yeah.
I mean, you got to admit, when I went by at 130, you were like, "wow.
" I can't believe he did it.
" No.
No.
No? Okay.
Last time I looked down, it was 100, but 30 Miles an hour off the mark.
Ouch.
For a 26-year-old car, you got to admit, that's pretty solid.
You know what? That's terrible then and it's terrible now.
That means, in order to win, I just need to go 85 miles an hour.
Or, if you want to go off of a ratio and take a percentage of your total fastest speed to the current speed, that means I need to go 87.
4 miles an hour.
What? Suck it.
Someone clearly gave you those numbers.
I've seen you do math before.
All that means is he's going next.
All right.
170 horsepower with this much weight is Not impressive.
He is miserable right now.
Did you give him a phone book to sit on so he can see over the wheel? Yeah.
All right.
Hey, you ready, Tanner? Yeah, I'm ready here.
3, 2, 1.
Just go as fast as you can.
Is that tire smoke, or did he blow up already? And that's 60.
The actual speedometer's sort of bouncing around a little bit.
That's 70.
I'm full throttle.
And grabbing fourth gear at 80.
It's getting pretty loud.
That's 100.
That's 105.
And That's 110.
Did he know does he know this is where we stop? That's 114! Come on, baby! Go! Hey, when you hit the border, come back.
115.
Slowing down.
I think I saw 116, actually.
There he comes.
Yeah, that's right.
What? You seem happy.
Original top speed 115.
Today, 116.
116? Whoo! You got to get your top speed before you hit the flag.
What? What do you mean? It ends at the flag? Yes.
That's why we have the flag.
You're a racecar driver.
You don't know that? Okay, so at the flags, I was going at least 110.
Yeah.
Very impressive.
I got to go.
Tanner hit 96% of his car's original top speed.
I need 119 to beat him.
Okay, here's the thing.
I have plenty of power.
So I'm not worried about acceleration.
What I am worried about is Pretty much everything else, 'cause the brakes are terrible.
And just coming down here, the car was all over the place.
So I have no idea how it's gonna behave at speed.
You realize the big problem is he has has the fast car.
Oh, my gosh.
How close do you think the closest hospital is? Hello, ladies.
Adam, we're talking.
We really enjoyed doing the show with you.
Very funny.
Very funny.
You ready to beat Tanner? Yes, I am.
All right.
Let her rip.
Here we go.
We're off.
Oh.
Little wheel spin.
Turbo's kicking in.
Oh, she's starting already at 80.
There it goes.
All over the place.
Oh, this feel's so uncomfortable.
Oh, it's smoking.
90.
Look at it just billowing out.
100.
Easy, baby.
Oh, man.
Oh, my gosh.
He is pushing it too hard.
Whoa! Uh-oh.
Oh.
Oh, that's not good.
We were on our way to a rendezvous with a mystery '80s celebrity who would give us our final challenge as we competed for the ultimate '80s classic.
All right, let her rip.
In the middle of the challenge to see which car could come closest to its original speed, Adam was well on his way 90.
Until Uh-oh.
Oh.
Oh, that's not good.
I don't think it was running.
Oh, smoke.
I think he blew it up.
Leave it up to Adam.
He killed the grand national.
Iroc wins.
Forget that you won.
I think it means he blew up a grand national.
I think that's a federal offense.
Uh, gentleman, there's been a slight explosion.
All right.
Hey, let's go.
Let's go.
What happened? Do you think it's on fire? Hold on.
Don't open.
Do you want to pop the hood? Let's go.
Let's just be brave.
- You got any water? - It's not on fire.
There you go.
What? Look at the turbo on that thing.
- That thing is so aftermarket.
- Okay, okay, okay.
So it's got some aftermarket pieces on it.
There's a lot of oil covering everything.
Yeah, it's not good.
Dude, do you see that? That's an alcohol-injection system.
That is not cool.
You're right.
It's not cool.
You know what it is? It's Anyway, I'm hungry.
You want to get some lunch? Yeah, let's do it.
I could eat.
Hey.
Nice job.
You're good.
You said it was fine.
You're good.
Oh, really? Very funny! Guys? With Adam seemingly out of the race, my victory left me in the lead and one step closer to driving the f12.
We set our sights on the next challenge 50 miles away and left Adam in the dust.
Can you believe that Adam cheats, gets the fast car, and then somehow blows it up.
Karma's a Are you talking about Carmen, that girl you used to date? Carmen? As we traveled through the desert, we found our way to our next challenge at a place where I felt immediately at home Willow Springs racetrack.
It's about time.
Whoo! We finally get on a track.
Adam is gonna be sad he misses And he didn't get to see how good the MR2 was out there.
Whatever.
What are we doing here? For our next challenge, we would compete on a road course, but with a twist.
Each one of these '80s characters would perform an iconic activity designed to take two minutes.
Whoever completed as many laps as possible before their passengers finished their '80s task would be the winner.
We had to choose between competitive eating, winding a cassette tape, and solving a rubik's cube.
I will take the young lady with the tape.
All right, fine.
I'm not getting chocodiles in my car.
Sorry, buddy.
I'm gonna take the rubik's cube.
Let's do it.
You're gonna lose.
Do you get carsick easily? Nah.
I'm good.
Now, how long's it take you to solve that thing? Usually? Blindfolded? Yeah.
Well, there's a memorization and solving phase.
Wait, you know every move that you're gonna do already? Yeah.
You ready to lose, Tanner? - I have a technical problem here.
- What's that? He literally has memorized every single move on this already.
Well, that sounds like you chose poorly.
I'm gonna tell you how this is gonna go.
We're gonna start Now.
All right.
Start winding.
Blindfold on.
Blindfold on.
Oh, and he's off the track already.
How are you doing that? Slow down.
You don't need to go quite so fast.
Take your time.
It was pretty obvious this guy was gonna beat two minutes, and I was damned if I was gonna let Tiffany and Rutledge beat me in a matchbox car.
Meanwhile, Rut was doing his best to slow her down with his secret weapon Talking.
Hey, I don't know about you.
What's your favorite song ever? Like, I like that one that says, "stop!" You know that one? Whoa.
I'll slow down if you do.
I'm just gonna give you a little warning.
We're almost there.
Oh.
Really? I was desperately trying to make it as uncomfortable as possible for my passenger That's amazing.
What?! You got it already? Yeah.
No! But my rubik's cube guy was too good.
Let me see that.
So I had to resort to good old-fashioned sabotage.
Oh, no! I'm so sorry.
I'm getting close.
I'm getting close.
Oh, come on.
Don't rush into things.
Take your time.
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy! We finished the lap.
Just finished.
What? Yeah.
My guy, too.
You know that's a lie.
Let me see that.
You're kidding.
Wow.
Like, he had every single move memorized.
I had to throw it in the backseat just to slow him down.
So where did you really finish? I mean it was close to It was actually really close to right here.
Top of the hill.
But she probably finished that by the third turn.
Right here as we were pulling up.
Are you sure it was right here? Right here.
It's a 60.
It's not a 30 here.
This is a big mixtape.
'80s mix.
I made it for you.
Listen to that first song.
It's called "I won.
You lost.
What's next?" It's a remix.
The MR2 was finally victorious, which tied us up at one apiece.
And as we made our way out of the desert and back to the city for our last challenge, we couldn't help but wonder who our mystery celebrity judge would be.
There's a lot of great celebrities from the '80s, for the record.
Could be jon bon jovi.
It could alf "Alien life form.
" That's what that stood for.
I don't know if you knew that.
Whoever our celebrity was, they held the keys to the Ferrari f12, and only one of us would get to drive it.
I would so love to drive a normally aspirated v-12 730-horsepower Ferrari.
Come on.
I'm all over that.
You know, with Adam out, that means now I've got a 50% shot at driving that Ferrari.
I'll take those odds.
Rut, this looks like it.
Oh, no way.
Look what the cat dragged in.
Where did you come from? I'm back.
How's the Buick? It's fixed.
What? Lsh.
What does that mean? It runs.
Did you tow it here? It's not the point.
Point is, we're here.
You see what's waiting over your shoulder? Wow.
That'd be the f12.
And did you see the sign out front? No.
Whose place is this? Well, well, well.
Winner takes all.
No! We were on a mission to find out who had chosen the ultimate '80s classic for under $5,000.
The winner would get to drive a Ferrari f12.
We were all tied up, and we were about to finally learn who our mystery celebrity was.
Well, well, well.
Look what we got over here.
Lou Ferrigno! Hey, Lou.
How are you? Adam.
Nice to meet you.
How are ya? Great to meet you.
What's happening? Yeah.
How you doing? Good.
Doing okay? Yeah, I'm doing awesome.
I watched "The hulk" so much as a kid, like, you what You're my hero.
This is amazing.
That's awesome.
Now, I know that we have a bunch of classic '80s cars.
I mean, what do you look for in a car? What I want to see is muscle Ha.
- Power - Yes.
Passion Yes.
Character.
And the winner gets to drive this, the big baby out there.
A 6.
3-liter v-12, 211-mile-per-hour Ferrari f12 Berlinetta.
All right.
Who wants to go first? I will.
Yeah.
I'll go.
Fine.
I'll take the winner.
Get going.
So, I said I'd go first, but first in what? Turned out that Lou had thought of a little competition to test our '80s cars' muscle.
All right, Lou, let me get this straight.
So the first car to be pushed out of the circle is the loser.
Basically, this is car sumo wrestling.
Exactly.
I got to be honest with you.
I'm just gonna freaking hammer down.
As soon as I hear "go," I'm pushing him through that wall.
You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you're about to try something that you know probably won't work? That's the feeling I have right now.
All right, fellas.
You ready? Yeah.
Ready.
3, 2 Oh, no.
Oh, no.
She's slipping! Ow! Ow! Ow! That's how we do it.
That's how we do it.
Right? I didn't even have a shot.
Did we go? How was it? You was great.
That's how we sumo car push, or whatever this is.
I didn't even get the clutch out, man.
That's what I'm talking about.
You cheated.
You went on "one.
" Get rid of that car.
Give me one more chance.
Okay, I'll give you one more shot.
Thank you.
This was it.
On paper, the grand national was the obvious winner.
But since Adam hurt the Buick, i knew the MR2 still had a shot.
Here's the thing.
Even though the grand national is hurting, I still have plenty of power, and I have drag radials on the back of this thing.
I'm gonna push him all the way back to the '80s, where, hopefully, he'll choose a better car.
Gentlemen, you ready? Let's do this.
In 3, 2, 1.
Go! I got him! I got him! Isn't that adorable? I think I'll start the car now.
He just started it.
Oh! Okay.
Okay.
Well, that didn't work.
Hey, Rutledge, your car's smoking.
Thank you.
I noticed.
This time, David got squashed by Goliath.
Better than I expected.
Did you really push me back while both of my tires were spinning.
I mean, you got some smoke out of those little 14-inch whatevers.
Okay, I get it.
I lose.
And now I'm gonna beat you.
It was down to v-8 vs.
Turbo-6.
The winner would get the keys to the Ferrari.
This is crazy.
I do want to tell you Adam's a cheater.
Really? Yeah, we only had 5,000 bucks to buy a car, and that's like a $15,000 car.
So just, whatever happens, just know now he cheated.
That son of a gun.
I know.
I feel the same way.
Okay.
I'd say good luck, but I wouldn't mean it.
So, whatever.
Are you guys ready? Ready.
Here it is.
Oh, Tanner's buckling up.
Here it is in 3, 2, 1.
Go.
No! Come on, baby! No, no, no, no! No! Yes! No! Yes! Oh, he's out.
He's out.
He's out.
- Did I lose? - No! What?! Adam, congratulations.
Thank you, Lou.
- Guess what.
- What? You lost.
Coming up, the winner tests out one of the fastest street-legal Ferraris ever made.
We were in a winner-takes-all sumo challenge to see who would pick the ultimate '80s classic car and would win the keys to the spectacular Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
- No! - Yes! Adam had pushed my Iroc clear out of the circle, ensuring his victory.
Or had he? Adam, congratulations.
Thank you, Lou.
Guess what.
What? You lost.
What? No, no.
You cheated.
You lost.
Congratulations for second place.
You won, baby.
Yeah! You won.
Have at it.
Good for you.
See you guys later.
I'm out.
Driving the Ferrari.
Thanks, Lou! You're the best! You cheated, and you broke Lou's heart.
Good luck.
Yeah.
To be fair, the Buick is a very cool car.
And the MR2 is a sporty little thing that's influenced modern-day mini sports cars.
So the '80s truly had delivered some ultimate classics.
But if you had the budget, it delivered much, much more The supercar.
Every young boy had a poster of the iconic Ferrari testarossa on his wall.
And now, 30 years later, my little Iroc had won me the keys to its ultra-modern, ultra-powerful descendant, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
Packed with a beastly 730-horsepower v-12 engine, it's one of the fastest street-legal Ferraris ever made.
It's fast! It's loud! It is pretty glorious.
I'm not gonna lie.
In Italian, "Berlinetta" means "little sedan.
" But does this look like a Civic to you? This Berlinetta hits a top speed of 211 miles per hour, placing it in an elite class of supercars.
Now, 730 horsepower from a normally aspirated engine is almost as much as a formula-one car, and this one has a warranty.
Ferrari has the most rabidly loyal customers on earth and will sell every car it makes, no matter what price tag they put on it, which means the engineers can afford to dream big.
Remember, these aren't German engineers that have bad haircuts and collect mechanical pencils.
These are Italian engineers.
They smoke at work, they have a collection of red mankinis in their dresser, and they drink at lunch.
It just oozes of "sophisticat-zioné.
" That's Italian for "Goodness.
" And all that goodness just makes you want to be bad.
Ferrari's created such an overwhelming desire to do something unsafe.
It just makes you want to go fast.
It makes you want to experience more and more and more.
And before you know it, they have to start putting in these safety systems to save you from yourself.
Without traction control, without stability control, you would drive yourself off a cliff in seven seconds.
But has Ferrari gone too far? And when does it become invasive, intrusive into the actual experience of driving a car? You don't buy a $400,000 Ferrari to play it safe.
You buy a supercar because you want to feel the blood rushing through your veins, your heart pumping in your chest.
You want to feel like a racecar driver.
But can you unlock the devil inside and really have fun with it? I needed to get it on a racetrack to find out.
So I headed to sonoma raceway in northern California Turned off all the electronics, and went in search of its true character.
That was a drift in fifth gear! Whoo-hoo! The drift just carried through the shift, which is in Sane.
What I discovered was pure evil, but I needed to take it one step further.
I wanted to put it up against something even more extreme.
Enter the 700-plus horsepower Camaro with rear-wheel drive, front engine, short wheelbase, and a suspension designed for grip.
The Camaro is the perfect drift machine.
And, to me, drifting is the ultimate expression of man and machine in soulful harmony.
The man behind the wheel of that Camaro is Conrad Grunewald.
He's one of the top drivers in the "Formula Drift" series.
I figure that if Conrad does his dance around the track and I can follow in his footsteps, well, I'd say this Ferrari has some soul.
All right, Conrad.
Oh shoo I almost spun out! I mean, this really is the closest thing to a drift car, on paper, that you can buy.
Under the hood of this F12, in my opinion, is the best production engine ever built.
This car dances from corner to corner.
It begs you just to go faster and faster.
This is a "choose your own adventure," "how much speed can you handle?" Machine.
Soul means different things for different people.
For me it's traction control off, it's the world beneath my right foot.
If that's not soul, then I don't know what is.
Uh-oh! Come on, baby, go! And whoever comes out on top gets to push one of the sexiest cars ever made to its very limit.
The 1980s.
Love them or hate them, they're back.
Turns out, some of the music and fashion were actually pretty cool.
But can the same be said about the cars? Insurance companies now consider '80s cars as classics.
It's easy to imagine a Testarossa or Countach among the most iconic automobiles of any decade.
But what about cars on a slightly smaller budget? We were given $5,000 and asked to pick our choice for the ultimate '80s car and told to meet 30 miles outside of L.
A.
at a mall.
Oh, yeah.
We're going back.
This is a 1988 supercharged Toyota MR2.
This lightweight mid-engine sports car is rear-wheel drive, and some still say it was secretly designed by Lotus.
Despite having a modest 1.
6-liter engine with 145 horsepower, it still delivers a respectable 6.
5-second zero-to-60 time thanks to its supercharger.
I was 8 years old when this car came out.
What do 8-year-olds know about cars? Well, they need to look cool and they need to go fast, and this car did both of those.
Whoa! Holy crap! Ho ho.
Where did you find a grand Nash? How great is this? An '86 Buick grand national.
When this beast came out, it was the fastest production car in America.
Did zero to 60 in five seconds flat, crushing its competition with a turbo v-6.
And like Henry Ford used to say, "you can get it in any color you want as long as it's black.
" I know all these, because I love that car.
What I don't understand is how you're gonna start cheating already.
There's no way you paid five grand for that.
I got a guy.
It doesn't matter.
The important thing is I got the car, the best classic '80s car.
That's a working man's supercar.
It's like the white-trash supercar.
Here's the thing.
That is adorable.
I literally can't wait to see what Tanner picks.
If you've got a grand national, what's he in? A jet? No, he's in a truck.
Oh, no, he's not.
When you bought an Iroc, you had to do that leaving the dealership.
What an idiot.
What an absolute moron.
Is that the sound of the '80s I hear? Gentlemen Wow.
1988 Camaro Iroc-z.
Named after the international race of champions, this z was the envy of every 15-year-old boy across the country.
It looked cool, had a big five-liter v-8 in it that put out an underwhelming 175 horsepower, but when you added an upgraded suspension, a lowered ride, t-tops, and arrest-me red paint, you got one of the gnarliest rides in town.
This is '80s on wheels right here.
This is iron maiden, poison, whitesnake all wrapped into one rolling piece of americana with some smoking back tires.
This is Milli Vanilli All flash and no substance.
This is amongst the worst cars you've ever chosen.
Where did you get a grand national? Yeah, he got that at cheaters "r" us.
It's a new car dealership.
To determine who had chosen the ultimate '80s classic, we'd compete in a series of challenges that would take us to the desert and back.
And in the end, the final challenge would be judged by a mystery '80s superstar.
As we took in the scenic beauty of the greater long beach area, we had a chance to reflect on why we fell in love with these cars back in the day.
You hear that? I heard that in the parking lot at the tri-county flea market when I was a kid.
I turned around, and I thought, "what the hell did that guy do to that Monte Carlo?" It was a Buick grand national, and I couldn't believe it.
I'm like, "that's a Buick?" This car, to me, highlights the rarity of the '80s.
Think about it.
The Mets won the series, the Berlin wall came down, and Buick made a car that went from zero to 60 in five seconds and beat Ferraris.
Instant classic.
I got to be honest.
I thought Tanner was gonna show up in a 944.
When he showed up in the Iroc, I thought, "what a moron.
" This is the Yeah, how's it going? Yep.
Getting a thumbs-up.
There's a Led Zeppelin fan.
Yeah, those guys might make a little bit of fun of me, but I picked my car that represents the '80s best, and the Iroc-z is it.
There's something cool about driving this car.
That's what makes this one classic, is it's just raw, brute americana.
Rutledge has picked the MR2.
It's not even a whole car.
It had potential.
If they would've just stuck some real tires and maybe more than 140 horsepower, that little mid-engine rocket could've been awesome.
When they told me to pick the perfect classic '80s car, I knew exactly what to get.
The MR2.
It's simple, it's fun, and it's a little over-the-top Just like '80s were.
The first time I saw an MR2, it was a yellow turbo owned by the chemistry teacher at my middle school who, turns out, had a failed experiment in class once and had a hook for a hand.
So it's possible that he didn't make great choices across the board.
We just called him captain hook.
I don't know what his name was.
Oh, yeah, daddy.
It's a t-top.
Cop on the right.
Slow down.
Guys, was that who I think it was? Nah.
Couldn't be.
That is a police officer with the whitest teeth ever.
We soon arrive at the location for our first challenge, and we arrived in true '80s style.
Car wash.
I could get the car washed.
The cheater.
Don't look at me.
Ah, come on.
You love it.
Ah, this doesn't look good.
Huh.
In our first challenge, we would have to wear these shirts covered with popping candy that explodes when wet.
Then, to test which one of our '80s cars had the best build quality, we'd drive them through a high-pressure car wash.
The car with the least amount of exploded candy wins.
This is dangerous.
You go first.
- What? - Yeah, go ahead.
Why am I gonna go first? Who thinks he should go first? Oh, I do.
You should totally go first.
Urban legend has it that someone once died eating popping candy while drinking soda.
So we were more than happy to let Tanner and his chia-pet vest go first.
Okay, we're gonna close that really tight.
All I know is that when I push this She's got a little play in it.
It's moving.
This side more.
This is awesome.
Ooh.
The power blaster.
"Hi-pressure warm water cleans between cracks, crevices and moldings where cloth and wash mitts do not reach.
" Sounds like what's gonna hose him in the t-top area.
If I was you, I would be a little concerned, too.
You have t-tops, as well, my friend.
Fair enough.
Oh, I can hear the crackling.
Ooh! I already got a pop.
All right, let's do this.
All right, here goes.
Uh It's moving a little bit.
Really? This is the speed that we go through this? This is slow.
Okay.
We're doing pretty good.
How's it going in there? Dry as bone.
Dry as bone in here.
Oh! Oh.
Oh, this is gonna get him.
Oh, the blaster.
Tanner, welcome to the power blaster.
Right here.
Oh, just right on the t-top.
There it is! Oh, and it's coming through! I lost a t-top! Oh, it's loose! It's loose! His t-top popped up! You got to stop the machine.
I lost a t-top.
How's it coming? Oh, no.
Oh, close it, man! Oh, no.
Close it! Close the t-top! Okay, gentlemen, I survived the longest car wash in history.
Oh, look at that t-top.
This car smells delicious.
How'd it go? It was fine until the t-top came off, and this thing is loose.
Like, whoever owned this thing did not maintain the seals.
Looks like the incredible hulk was driving and he was shedding.
I'll go next.
Okay, clearly this is the best choice.
You know why? I have a roof.
And you know why I have a roof? Because it's a man's car.
All right.
Let's get this over with.
All right, fellas.
You ready? I just want to point out that you're a massive cheater and you spent at least three times what we did, which is also why you're not gonna get wet, and this is a joke test.
So that means you're ready, right? We're ready.
All right.
Let's go.
Here we go.
All right.
First spray of water.
So far, I'm okay.
No leaking.
And I'll be honest with you.
I really thought they were gonna cut the rubber stripping out of my windows.
They didn't do that.
Maybe I misjudged them.
Since Adam, the Minion, clearly overspent on his Buick, we thought it'd only be fair to level the playing field.
Hey, can you reach in there and open the door? Damn it! He locked it.
Children.
I work with children.
You got to admit, that's a good-looking car.
It's pretty good-looking.
That's annoying as can be, though.
Yeah.
Lemony.
Well, looks like a really nice, expensive car.
Ooh.
Ooh, I hear popping.
Yeah, I'm sweating 'cause it's very warm in there.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Bone-dry.
You honestly didn't get wet at all? - No.
I swear, a piece of your car just ripped off.
Everything looks fine to me.
That is strange.
You guys! Pop away, buddy! Okay, real mature.
Yeah.
Ah! Okay.
You sound like a symphony.
I feel bad.
What was that about, being "real mature"? Is there anything wrong with my car? Don't.
I'm not.
We're done.
That was Rutledge's idea.
That was Rutledge's idea! Come here.
Oh, yeah! There you go.
All this water, I'm gonna run to the bathroom before I go.
You guys are a mess.
Yeah, why don't you go to the bathroom, Rut? Bring it in.
No, don't bring it in.
It wasn't even my idea.
That was Rut's idea to do that.
- Really? - Yeah.
It was time for revenge.
The candy was just a distraction so he wouldn't notice that we loosened his t-tops.
Can you see? Yeah, I can see shapes.
Oh, really? I'm not totally blind.
Y'all threw stuff in the car.
You guys, this is an '88.
It's a classic.
You got to do the challenge.
They could be as childish as they like, but I have a Japanese car.
And in the '80s, the Japanese reinvented automotive quality.
This thing should be airtight.
Okay, fellas.
You ready to see some real build quality? Yeah, all right.
Let's go.
Fire up the wash.
This is it, MR2.
Don't fail me now, okay? Oh, a little soap, a little water.
No pro Oh, g-oh, go okay, yeah.
There's water rushing in! Coming up, just how fast can Rut go? Come on! Get 100! You can do it! And later, heavy-metal sumo wrestling.
Go! We were competing to see who had picked the ultimate '80s classic.
In our first challenge, we would have to drive through a supercharged car wash wearing shirts made of popping candy.
So far, Tanner had lost his top Oh, no! And I was bone-dry.
Since we had adjusted Rut's t-tops, the big man was in for a surprise.
Oh, a little soap, a little water.
No pro Oh, g-oh, go okay, yeah.
Thers water coming I There's water rushing in! Where's that coming from?! Oh, gosh! Oh, there's water everywhere! What did you guys do to my car?! It wasn't us.
It was the Japanese.
Oh, this water is so cold.
Distract him.
"How's it going? How's it going?" Rut, how you doing? I think it's in my pants.
It's what? Is everything all right? Oh, gosh! Oh, it's like gunshots going off! Oh! Oh, oh I've lost a t-top.
The t-top completely Oh Rut, what happened to your t-top? Oh, my gosh! Oh! Oh, there it goes! Oh, there's water everywhere! Holy crap! Oh, my God! Oh, it's so cold! I hate you guys! What happened? Oh, good.
The blaster.
Thank goodness.
It just keeps getting worse for me.
Oh, I'm alive.
Oh, praise the lord.
I feel better.
That was beautiful.
T-top.
Rut, I-I saved you from this.
This corner could've hit you right in the head.
You took it off.
I think you sat up too high and your head just popped it out, and I just pulled it out.
Here, let's put it back.
You're welcome.
You are so wet right now.
There we go.
Perfect.
Good as new.
You took the t-top off? No.
What happened was it fell off, and before it hit the ground, he ran in and saved it.
You should thank us.
With his goggles fogged and his spirit dampened, Rut had failed, and my Buick had won easily.
So we set a course for our next challenge 45 Miles away in the California desert.
Is that No.
It can't be.
We left Suburbia in our rearview mirrors and made our way into the desert.
Wow.
Little bit of wind noise in the MR2 after the car wash.
As we neared our next challenge, we reflected on what made our cars classics.
A lot of people would look at this car and think it's not a classic.
But by the year, they're incorrect.
25 years and older, it's a classic car.
But what makes this a classic car might not be the looks, but it's definitely how it makes you feel.
It's a mid-engine sports car that's affordable.
Doesn't driving these cars just take you back? You know what it is about this one? One it's the rumble of kind of a v-8 with an exhaust that clearly has many holes in it.
But no traction control.
Doesn't even have A.
B.
S.
I mean, it's sort of old-school.
I like it.
Yeah, no horsepower, either.
That is true.
Adam, when you're riding inside that grand national and you look around, doesn't it make you laugh that, like, that's what a nice Buick looked like in the '80s? One of the reasons I like the grand national is it went against the trend of the '80s.
Like, if the '80s was, like, the show-me decade "If you got it, flaunt it," you know This was just a black car that was fast, an outlaw car.
This car was Johnny cash.
They may have been old-school, but the '80s were the beginning of the future.
The biggest change that happened in cars was the use of fuel injection.
That's right.
We ditched carburetors.
In came the throttle body and the computer.
The ecu in a car became a real thing, because it was all about trying to make a little power and save some fuel mileage.
This is the place, guys.
How could you tell? Was it the flags? Or the tree? We're in the middle of nowhere.
What are we doing here? Dumping a dead witness? Our next challenge would test which of our '80s cars had best kept its factory-new performance.
We'd each have a mile to get our cars to their top speed.
Closest to the original number wins.
Oh, the cheater's laughing, huh? The top speed on this was only 124 miles an hour.
That was electronically limited.
I'm pretty sure I can hit this.
Still a cheater.
What about you? - Really? - Yeah.
Guess what.
The MR2 130.
You're never gonna get that.
- You know what? I'll go first.
- Done.
I'll be hauling this candy right down there.
Those guys messed with me at the car wash, and now it's their turn to eat crow, 'cause this little MR2 is gonna fly.
How's it going, Rut? I'm ready to do 130 miles an hour.
That's how I'm doing.
What car are you gonna be driving to go 130? Oh, that's real funny.
Well, don't blink when I go by, 'cause this thing's gonna be like a bolt of lightning.
3, 2, 1.
Go! Come on, baby.
Pull, pull, pull.
All right, that's 7,000 rpms, first gear, 40 miles an hour.
That's 50.
Oh, it's getting loud.
75.
Oh, it's moving around the road now.
95! Oh, she's smoking.
Come on! Get 100! You can do it! Adam learns the true meaning of "cheaters never win.
" Oh, it's smoking.
Uh-oh.
We were on a mission to find out who had picked the ultimate '80s classic car with a budget of under $5,000.
Adam was in the lead, having won the first challenge at the car wash, and now we were competing to see which car could get closest to its original top speed.
Rutledge needed to hit 130, but things were looking a bit shaky.
Oh, it's moving around the road now.
Come on! Keep pulling! Come on! Get 100! Get 100! You can do it! Whoa! I don't know where that bush came from, but he whacked it.
Yeah.
Gah! Oh, it smells like candy and gasoline.
Look how it leans to the side.
You know you see those old cars where they're just kind of leaned over to where the driver is Ah.
That's not good.
That's good right there.
You're burning a little oil out of there, my friend.
Did you guys see that?! See it? We smelt it the whole way down.
You know, I think it's just a little bit of carbon buildup for whoever was driving probably real slow before.
Yeah.
I mean, you got to admit, when I went by at 130, you were like, "wow.
" I can't believe he did it.
" No.
No.
No? Okay.
Last time I looked down, it was 100, but 30 Miles an hour off the mark.
Ouch.
For a 26-year-old car, you got to admit, that's pretty solid.
You know what? That's terrible then and it's terrible now.
That means, in order to win, I just need to go 85 miles an hour.
Or, if you want to go off of a ratio and take a percentage of your total fastest speed to the current speed, that means I need to go 87.
4 miles an hour.
What? Suck it.
Someone clearly gave you those numbers.
I've seen you do math before.
All that means is he's going next.
All right.
170 horsepower with this much weight is Not impressive.
He is miserable right now.
Did you give him a phone book to sit on so he can see over the wheel? Yeah.
All right.
Hey, you ready, Tanner? Yeah, I'm ready here.
3, 2, 1.
Just go as fast as you can.
Is that tire smoke, or did he blow up already? And that's 60.
The actual speedometer's sort of bouncing around a little bit.
That's 70.
I'm full throttle.
And grabbing fourth gear at 80.
It's getting pretty loud.
That's 100.
That's 105.
And That's 110.
Did he know does he know this is where we stop? That's 114! Come on, baby! Go! Hey, when you hit the border, come back.
115.
Slowing down.
I think I saw 116, actually.
There he comes.
Yeah, that's right.
What? You seem happy.
Original top speed 115.
Today, 116.
116? Whoo! You got to get your top speed before you hit the flag.
What? What do you mean? It ends at the flag? Yes.
That's why we have the flag.
You're a racecar driver.
You don't know that? Okay, so at the flags, I was going at least 110.
Yeah.
Very impressive.
I got to go.
Tanner hit 96% of his car's original top speed.
I need 119 to beat him.
Okay, here's the thing.
I have plenty of power.
So I'm not worried about acceleration.
What I am worried about is Pretty much everything else, 'cause the brakes are terrible.
And just coming down here, the car was all over the place.
So I have no idea how it's gonna behave at speed.
You realize the big problem is he has has the fast car.
Oh, my gosh.
How close do you think the closest hospital is? Hello, ladies.
Adam, we're talking.
We really enjoyed doing the show with you.
Very funny.
Very funny.
You ready to beat Tanner? Yes, I am.
All right.
Let her rip.
Here we go.
We're off.
Oh.
Little wheel spin.
Turbo's kicking in.
Oh, she's starting already at 80.
There it goes.
All over the place.
Oh, this feel's so uncomfortable.
Oh, it's smoking.
90.
Look at it just billowing out.
100.
Easy, baby.
Oh, man.
Oh, my gosh.
He is pushing it too hard.
Whoa! Uh-oh.
Oh.
Oh, that's not good.
We were on our way to a rendezvous with a mystery '80s celebrity who would give us our final challenge as we competed for the ultimate '80s classic.
All right, let her rip.
In the middle of the challenge to see which car could come closest to its original speed, Adam was well on his way 90.
Until Uh-oh.
Oh.
Oh, that's not good.
I don't think it was running.
Oh, smoke.
I think he blew it up.
Leave it up to Adam.
He killed the grand national.
Iroc wins.
Forget that you won.
I think it means he blew up a grand national.
I think that's a federal offense.
Uh, gentleman, there's been a slight explosion.
All right.
Hey, let's go.
Let's go.
What happened? Do you think it's on fire? Hold on.
Don't open.
Do you want to pop the hood? Let's go.
Let's just be brave.
- You got any water? - It's not on fire.
There you go.
What? Look at the turbo on that thing.
- That thing is so aftermarket.
- Okay, okay, okay.
So it's got some aftermarket pieces on it.
There's a lot of oil covering everything.
Yeah, it's not good.
Dude, do you see that? That's an alcohol-injection system.
That is not cool.
You're right.
It's not cool.
You know what it is? It's Anyway, I'm hungry.
You want to get some lunch? Yeah, let's do it.
I could eat.
Hey.
Nice job.
You're good.
You said it was fine.
You're good.
Oh, really? Very funny! Guys? With Adam seemingly out of the race, my victory left me in the lead and one step closer to driving the f12.
We set our sights on the next challenge 50 miles away and left Adam in the dust.
Can you believe that Adam cheats, gets the fast car, and then somehow blows it up.
Karma's a Are you talking about Carmen, that girl you used to date? Carmen? As we traveled through the desert, we found our way to our next challenge at a place where I felt immediately at home Willow Springs racetrack.
It's about time.
Whoo! We finally get on a track.
Adam is gonna be sad he misses And he didn't get to see how good the MR2 was out there.
Whatever.
What are we doing here? For our next challenge, we would compete on a road course, but with a twist.
Each one of these '80s characters would perform an iconic activity designed to take two minutes.
Whoever completed as many laps as possible before their passengers finished their '80s task would be the winner.
We had to choose between competitive eating, winding a cassette tape, and solving a rubik's cube.
I will take the young lady with the tape.
All right, fine.
I'm not getting chocodiles in my car.
Sorry, buddy.
I'm gonna take the rubik's cube.
Let's do it.
You're gonna lose.
Do you get carsick easily? Nah.
I'm good.
Now, how long's it take you to solve that thing? Usually? Blindfolded? Yeah.
Well, there's a memorization and solving phase.
Wait, you know every move that you're gonna do already? Yeah.
You ready to lose, Tanner? - I have a technical problem here.
- What's that? He literally has memorized every single move on this already.
Well, that sounds like you chose poorly.
I'm gonna tell you how this is gonna go.
We're gonna start Now.
All right.
Start winding.
Blindfold on.
Blindfold on.
Oh, and he's off the track already.
How are you doing that? Slow down.
You don't need to go quite so fast.
Take your time.
It was pretty obvious this guy was gonna beat two minutes, and I was damned if I was gonna let Tiffany and Rutledge beat me in a matchbox car.
Meanwhile, Rut was doing his best to slow her down with his secret weapon Talking.
Hey, I don't know about you.
What's your favorite song ever? Like, I like that one that says, "stop!" You know that one? Whoa.
I'll slow down if you do.
I'm just gonna give you a little warning.
We're almost there.
Oh.
Really? I was desperately trying to make it as uncomfortable as possible for my passenger That's amazing.
What?! You got it already? Yeah.
No! But my rubik's cube guy was too good.
Let me see that.
So I had to resort to good old-fashioned sabotage.
Oh, no! I'm so sorry.
I'm getting close.
I'm getting close.
Oh, come on.
Don't rush into things.
Take your time.
Oh, boy.
Oh, boy! We finished the lap.
Just finished.
What? Yeah.
My guy, too.
You know that's a lie.
Let me see that.
You're kidding.
Wow.
Like, he had every single move memorized.
I had to throw it in the backseat just to slow him down.
So where did you really finish? I mean it was close to It was actually really close to right here.
Top of the hill.
But she probably finished that by the third turn.
Right here as we were pulling up.
Are you sure it was right here? Right here.
It's a 60.
It's not a 30 here.
This is a big mixtape.
'80s mix.
I made it for you.
Listen to that first song.
It's called "I won.
You lost.
What's next?" It's a remix.
The MR2 was finally victorious, which tied us up at one apiece.
And as we made our way out of the desert and back to the city for our last challenge, we couldn't help but wonder who our mystery celebrity judge would be.
There's a lot of great celebrities from the '80s, for the record.
Could be jon bon jovi.
It could alf "Alien life form.
" That's what that stood for.
I don't know if you knew that.
Whoever our celebrity was, they held the keys to the Ferrari f12, and only one of us would get to drive it.
I would so love to drive a normally aspirated v-12 730-horsepower Ferrari.
Come on.
I'm all over that.
You know, with Adam out, that means now I've got a 50% shot at driving that Ferrari.
I'll take those odds.
Rut, this looks like it.
Oh, no way.
Look what the cat dragged in.
Where did you come from? I'm back.
How's the Buick? It's fixed.
What? Lsh.
What does that mean? It runs.
Did you tow it here? It's not the point.
Point is, we're here.
You see what's waiting over your shoulder? Wow.
That'd be the f12.
And did you see the sign out front? No.
Whose place is this? Well, well, well.
Winner takes all.
No! We were on a mission to find out who had chosen the ultimate '80s classic for under $5,000.
The winner would get to drive a Ferrari f12.
We were all tied up, and we were about to finally learn who our mystery celebrity was.
Well, well, well.
Look what we got over here.
Lou Ferrigno! Hey, Lou.
How are you? Adam.
Nice to meet you.
How are ya? Great to meet you.
What's happening? Yeah.
How you doing? Good.
Doing okay? Yeah, I'm doing awesome.
I watched "The hulk" so much as a kid, like, you what You're my hero.
This is amazing.
That's awesome.
Now, I know that we have a bunch of classic '80s cars.
I mean, what do you look for in a car? What I want to see is muscle Ha.
- Power - Yes.
Passion Yes.
Character.
And the winner gets to drive this, the big baby out there.
A 6.
3-liter v-12, 211-mile-per-hour Ferrari f12 Berlinetta.
All right.
Who wants to go first? I will.
Yeah.
I'll go.
Fine.
I'll take the winner.
Get going.
So, I said I'd go first, but first in what? Turned out that Lou had thought of a little competition to test our '80s cars' muscle.
All right, Lou, let me get this straight.
So the first car to be pushed out of the circle is the loser.
Basically, this is car sumo wrestling.
Exactly.
I got to be honest with you.
I'm just gonna freaking hammer down.
As soon as I hear "go," I'm pushing him through that wall.
You know that feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you're about to try something that you know probably won't work? That's the feeling I have right now.
All right, fellas.
You ready? Yeah.
Ready.
3, 2 Oh, no.
Oh, no.
She's slipping! Ow! Ow! Ow! That's how we do it.
That's how we do it.
Right? I didn't even have a shot.
Did we go? How was it? You was great.
That's how we sumo car push, or whatever this is.
I didn't even get the clutch out, man.
That's what I'm talking about.
You cheated.
You went on "one.
" Get rid of that car.
Give me one more chance.
Okay, I'll give you one more shot.
Thank you.
This was it.
On paper, the grand national was the obvious winner.
But since Adam hurt the Buick, i knew the MR2 still had a shot.
Here's the thing.
Even though the grand national is hurting, I still have plenty of power, and I have drag radials on the back of this thing.
I'm gonna push him all the way back to the '80s, where, hopefully, he'll choose a better car.
Gentlemen, you ready? Let's do this.
In 3, 2, 1.
Go! I got him! I got him! Isn't that adorable? I think I'll start the car now.
He just started it.
Oh! Okay.
Okay.
Well, that didn't work.
Hey, Rutledge, your car's smoking.
Thank you.
I noticed.
This time, David got squashed by Goliath.
Better than I expected.
Did you really push me back while both of my tires were spinning.
I mean, you got some smoke out of those little 14-inch whatevers.
Okay, I get it.
I lose.
And now I'm gonna beat you.
It was down to v-8 vs.
Turbo-6.
The winner would get the keys to the Ferrari.
This is crazy.
I do want to tell you Adam's a cheater.
Really? Yeah, we only had 5,000 bucks to buy a car, and that's like a $15,000 car.
So just, whatever happens, just know now he cheated.
That son of a gun.
I know.
I feel the same way.
Okay.
I'd say good luck, but I wouldn't mean it.
So, whatever.
Are you guys ready? Ready.
Here it is.
Oh, Tanner's buckling up.
Here it is in 3, 2, 1.
Go.
No! Come on, baby! No, no, no, no! No! Yes! No! Yes! Oh, he's out.
He's out.
He's out.
- Did I lose? - No! What?! Adam, congratulations.
Thank you, Lou.
- Guess what.
- What? You lost.
Coming up, the winner tests out one of the fastest street-legal Ferraris ever made.
We were in a winner-takes-all sumo challenge to see who would pick the ultimate '80s classic car and would win the keys to the spectacular Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
- No! - Yes! Adam had pushed my Iroc clear out of the circle, ensuring his victory.
Or had he? Adam, congratulations.
Thank you, Lou.
Guess what.
What? You lost.
What? No, no.
You cheated.
You lost.
Congratulations for second place.
You won, baby.
Yeah! You won.
Have at it.
Good for you.
See you guys later.
I'm out.
Driving the Ferrari.
Thanks, Lou! You're the best! You cheated, and you broke Lou's heart.
Good luck.
Yeah.
To be fair, the Buick is a very cool car.
And the MR2 is a sporty little thing that's influenced modern-day mini sports cars.
So the '80s truly had delivered some ultimate classics.
But if you had the budget, it delivered much, much more The supercar.
Every young boy had a poster of the iconic Ferrari testarossa on his wall.
And now, 30 years later, my little Iroc had won me the keys to its ultra-modern, ultra-powerful descendant, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta.
Packed with a beastly 730-horsepower v-12 engine, it's one of the fastest street-legal Ferraris ever made.
It's fast! It's loud! It is pretty glorious.
I'm not gonna lie.
In Italian, "Berlinetta" means "little sedan.
" But does this look like a Civic to you? This Berlinetta hits a top speed of 211 miles per hour, placing it in an elite class of supercars.
Now, 730 horsepower from a normally aspirated engine is almost as much as a formula-one car, and this one has a warranty.
Ferrari has the most rabidly loyal customers on earth and will sell every car it makes, no matter what price tag they put on it, which means the engineers can afford to dream big.
Remember, these aren't German engineers that have bad haircuts and collect mechanical pencils.
These are Italian engineers.
They smoke at work, they have a collection of red mankinis in their dresser, and they drink at lunch.
It just oozes of "sophisticat-zioné.
" That's Italian for "Goodness.
" And all that goodness just makes you want to be bad.
Ferrari's created such an overwhelming desire to do something unsafe.
It just makes you want to go fast.
It makes you want to experience more and more and more.
And before you know it, they have to start putting in these safety systems to save you from yourself.
Without traction control, without stability control, you would drive yourself off a cliff in seven seconds.
But has Ferrari gone too far? And when does it become invasive, intrusive into the actual experience of driving a car? You don't buy a $400,000 Ferrari to play it safe.
You buy a supercar because you want to feel the blood rushing through your veins, your heart pumping in your chest.
You want to feel like a racecar driver.
But can you unlock the devil inside and really have fun with it? I needed to get it on a racetrack to find out.
So I headed to sonoma raceway in northern California Turned off all the electronics, and went in search of its true character.
That was a drift in fifth gear! Whoo-hoo! The drift just carried through the shift, which is in Sane.
What I discovered was pure evil, but I needed to take it one step further.
I wanted to put it up against something even more extreme.
Enter the 700-plus horsepower Camaro with rear-wheel drive, front engine, short wheelbase, and a suspension designed for grip.
The Camaro is the perfect drift machine.
And, to me, drifting is the ultimate expression of man and machine in soulful harmony.
The man behind the wheel of that Camaro is Conrad Grunewald.
He's one of the top drivers in the "Formula Drift" series.
I figure that if Conrad does his dance around the track and I can follow in his footsteps, well, I'd say this Ferrari has some soul.
All right, Conrad.
Oh shoo I almost spun out! I mean, this really is the closest thing to a drift car, on paper, that you can buy.
Under the hood of this F12, in my opinion, is the best production engine ever built.
This car dances from corner to corner.
It begs you just to go faster and faster.
This is a "choose your own adventure," "how much speed can you handle?" Machine.
Soul means different things for different people.
For me it's traction control off, it's the world beneath my right foot.
If that's not soul, then I don't know what is.