The second part of the “Top Gear” special BBC America had elected to air in lieu of the remaining episodes of the current Series 22 mostly had Jeremy and Richard running around Italy in various races in a variety of vehicles. “Top Gear: The Perfect Road Trip 2: Italy” had initially appeared in a non-USA-released DVD but BBC America had been forced to punt after presenter Jeremy Clarkson got involved in a much-ballyhooed “fracas” with a producer during the final weeks of filming Series 22 and the BBC chose to suspend Clarkson and postpone the remaining episodes of the series.
Part One of the Italy road trip special aired last week in place of a normal episode and ended with Hammond and Clarkson engaged in a Ferrari kit car rally stage. This week’s special finale began with Clarkson intentionally crashing his Ferrari kit car to end the race on purpose – and then began a series of races between the two in various transportation modes as the pair traveled around Italy’s scenic spots.
The first race was Hammond in a Mini Cooper S against Clarkson in an Audi S1 in a race to the city center in Siena. This was followed by a race to Rome with Hammond in a very American red Corvette Stingray while Clarkson went with the Italian white Alfa Romeo 4C. There was also a racetrack competition between the Corvette and Alfa with the Stig driving each one around the Valleunga Autodromo and the Corvette’s straight-ahead speed advantage defeating the Alfa’s handling superiority by 1.8 seconds. Next came more of a leisurely drive along the Amalfi Coast with Hammond piloting a 1962 Touring Alfa Romeo Spider and Clarkson going with a 1963 Alfa Romeo Giulia Spider.
Finally, a boat race to Capri ended with Clarkson winning and a potential race btween the two on the isle of Capri with a pair of Mercury Capris was ended early with a contrived arrest by the Italian Polizi and the boys sitting in jail.
