HUGH BONNEVILLE
Top Gear|February 2023
The Earl of Grantham and Paddington Bear’s foster father talks childhood Volvos and EV living...
HUGH BONNEVILLE

There was a famous old Volvo 145 in our family when I was young. It was a tank of a thing and my parents used to put a whopping great canvas tent and big foldaway canvas canoe on the roof – with three kids in the back too.

The great joy of it was me discovering the cigarette lighter and realising that it made pretty patterns in the front seat when hot. I thought if I could make the Olympic rings on the red seats then that would look quite nice. I got something of a telling off for that.

Then my dad moved on to another Volvo – he was very much a safe driver as you can detect – after which he had an Opel Rekord. That was very exciting because it had electric front windows, one of which worked. The other one blew the fuses if you tried to use it. That was superseded by a Vauxhall Astra.

Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Top Gear.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra February 2023-utgaven av Top Gear.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA TOP GEARSe alt
HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO
BBC Top Gear UK

HEAD TO HEAD VANTAGE vs 911 TURBO

For as long as we can remember the Porsche 911 has been the default best sports car money can buy. Does the new Aston Vantage represent a changing of the guard?

time-read
7 mins  |
November 2024
BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO
BBC Top Gear UK

BOSS LEVEL:PART TWO

In a world exclusive, three makers of the world's most powerful hypercars are cordially invited... to drive each other's creations

time-read
10+ mins  |
November 2024
THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION
BBC Top Gear UK

THE THEORY 0F EVOLUTION

Ridged bladder seats, an inflating steering wheel and an AI track day coach... has Lotus hit on the supercar's future, or gone mad?

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
Koenigsegg Jesko Attack
BBC Top Gear UK

Koenigsegg Jesko Attack

The Jesko Attack drives like a conventional supercar. Brakes like one, turns like one, grips like one. But it doesn't accelerate like one.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
STIC LAPS are back!
BBC Top Gear UK

STIC LAPS are back!

It's a 1.75-mile figure of eight on an old Canadian Air Force base just south of Guildford. Hardly Monza, or the Mulsanne straight, and never in a million years - you'd think a place that would become one of the most sought after performance benchmarks in the motoring world.

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
URBAN OUTWITTERS
BBC Top Gear UK

URBAN OUTWITTERS

Does the solution to city motoring lie in designs from the past with powertrains from the future? TopGear goes in search of answers... at rush hour

time-read
8 mins  |
November 2024
FUTURE FERRARIS
BBC Top Gear UK

FUTURE FERRARIS

If you thought Ferrar's past was colourful, wait until you see what it's cooking up next. The future's bright, the future's rosso

time-read
6 mins  |
November 2024
DIRTY DOZEN
BBC Top Gear UK

DIRTY DOZEN

Ferrari's new super GT makes no secrets about what's under the bonnet, but can it swallow five countries in just a few hours? Better get on with it...

time-read
9 mins  |
November 2024
MYTH BUSTER
BBC Top Gear UK

MYTH BUSTER

\"ADAPTIVE DAMPERS ALWAYS NEED TO ADAPT\"

time-read
2 mins  |
November 2024
The S2000 from a parallel universe
BBC Top Gear UK

The S2000 from a parallel universe

Meet Evasive Motorsports’ Honda S2000R, the car the Japanese firm should have built itself

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024