Top Gear - Series 15 Episode 6 Closer

The team tours a shutdown TVR manufacturing plant.
Complies with the terms of fair use.

[@Norton1531]

I'm currently part of the demolition team that's taking this building down. Very sad. And no, there's no souvenirs to be had. I was hoping to find something to put on a wall in my house, but it is (was) literally an empty shell. I'd save a TVR owner a brick from the factory wall, but it just looks like any old random brick to be honest.

[@MARCO-rq2ph]

sad man

[@Norton1531]

@@MARCO-rq2ph Yes, very.

[@shriharihudli8596]

This is sad indeed. I really liked TVR cars.

[@TheAirstation86]

Any random item looks like a random misbegotten item to someone who doesn't know where it came from. But a brick from a TVR factory would be a loving memory to someone who owned a car that came from that building. Like a piece of the berlin wall, or a bullet from a Civil War battlefield. The history these supposedly unimportant and forgotten items witnessed should never be forgotten.

[@TailsFan369no2]

Please tell me car parts are being saved

[@jackivison276]

2:59 that note was written my my dad, the covered up word was twat

[@The66680]

Im sure you're dad must of been gutted when they shut down..

[@Hellwyck]

@@The66680 Must've or must have.

[@markjohnson2079]

Top Gear always knocked it out of the park with cinematography and music. Absolutely amazing use of Thomas Newman’s theme from Revolutionary Road at the end…

[@paulgoodrich12]

I have had two Spitfires, a Mark II Jaguar Daimler, an MG Midget, six Minis over the years, I loved them all. They were old when I bought them, and I usually acquired them for little money and an ambitious fix-up budget or mend it when it needed it strategy, often in the night, miles from home, in the pouring rain. It reminds me of when I was a younger man, with a young family, happier days. I drive a reliable Audi Q5 now, all mod cons, everything works. But I'd give it up for just one more day, with that happy family and a wife beside me, in the passenger seat of that old racing green Spit, with the leaky black tonneau top, her hair everywhere and a smile that this old fool would give everything for, for just one more day.

[@netsurferx1]

I will admit: Manly tears were shed when the classic roadsters were shown at the end along with Jeremy's voiceover.

[@Nickthebassist01]

One of the saddest bits of TV I've ever seen. I own an S2. It's a brilliant car.

[@sprthrwwychnnl73]

I teared up the first time I saw it. Those overhead lights flickering on and that music and the cars. And of course Clarkson’s voiceover. Jeremy is as flawed as any of us, but when he’s at his best as a TV presenter, he is pretty much as good as it gets.

[@kieranhurst8543]

How do we tell him?

[@FightingForceSoulless]

This was one of my favorites. I actually shed a tear during this one. The contrast of the humor, and them driving into a sad old dead factory, with the music they've chosen, House of Cards, Thomas Newman, oh my.

[@MasterTaters]

I cried too that's literally why I uploaded this so others could feel it out. Thanks for reminding me..

[@nibrocxke]

Every time I've seen this I've cried.

[@WilliamPeka]

2:20 New TVR Sagaris at the abandoned TVR Factory. Such a good site seeing that car there where it's elder brothers were made.

[@The66680]

Was a sad moment , even though i am from South Africa and never really had TVR on our roads, but i was always fond of them. A hand built car that seemed to have personality. Really hope they make that comeback

[@roshanjay7]

3:20 I reckon you can quite easily bring all of that & more back *better than ever,* assuming *all* of the various stakeholders who are *essential* to making an industry *thrive* actually *work together,* and the People *appreciate* home-grown technology, design, innovation etc, and hopefully reliability as well LOL.

[@dragonbutt]

The end of this film always brings me to tears. Such wonderful things, all a part of history now, though on US TV they use a SUCH sadder song for it. *sobs like a teenage girl at the end of the first twilight movie*

[@brokenhearted1231]

the ending always makes me cry... Just thinking about how cars use to have so much character to them so much style compared to the cars of today cars are really a dying breed in personality... Now all they are becoming is a wind design...

[@brokenhearted1231]

+swagiejones 325 economy and gas milage and the fact people don't care about a car with a soul but more less how many miles to the gallon it does

[@Catalina._]

Benjamin Smith Old lightweight cars like eg6 civics actually have better mpg than a prius...

[@rifleshooterchannel208]

Benjamin Smith Yep. I’m an American who has only seen these cars in games and it’s depressing as hell to see this.

[@adamberlinetta2571]

I love the Spitfire, Healey 3000, jaguar e-type and the sunbeam. Great cars.

[@aaronfrankie16]

TVR is coming back, and they're coming back with a roar. Kudos to Les Edgar for taking his time, planning the rebirth or TVR and doing it slowly and we'll. They are gonna work with Cosworth and.......(drumroll) Gordon Murray! (McLaren F1's creator) for their next model. Just can't wait.

[@unknownbluebird7026]

+Aaron Frankie Do you think they will remain affordable though?

[@aaronfrankie16]

+Unknown Bluebird In all honesty, I completely have no idea on that one. I wish they are still affordable though. Let's hope for the best.

[@slideways8022]

Such positive thinking four years ago, I’m starting to loose the optimism

[@aaronfrankie16]

@@slideways8022 Haha I know man.... when I saw your reply, I couldn't believe it was 4-5 years ago.. I think if you follow and check out Shmee's channel, there's a couple of videos where he has met Les and asked about his TVR and all It is quite a long waiting list but some TVRs are on the road already 😎

[@SNORKYMEDIA]

@@aaronfrankie16 no production cars yet ( they havent finished the factory yet due to EU BS holding things back)

[@Nickthebassist01]

This actually made me cry. TVR are, and always have been, my favourite cars. I now own one, an S2 like James has. It's a brilliant car. It makes me very sad to think that TVR are no more, due to people buying boring, mundane, mass produced 'sports' cars, instead of buying something built in their homeland.

[@MARCO-rq2ph]

Big Company cars

[@lukeholland7147]

Do you still have it?

[@kieranhurst8543]

Another who totally missed the satire of this episode, they don't like these cars they're being very sarcastic and all of the challenges were rigged in their favour because these cars were shit. People buy cars built in their own homeland as long as they are good and reliable.

[@bigsmoke2608]

2:41 sums the whole situation for all three up perfectly

[@StrikeRaptor1000]

3:54 That Marcos Mantis is simply gorgeous. Its too bad they never it it or in fact many of those 2 seat sports cars here in the States. I drive a Pontiac Fiero Formula. (another car that was slaughter for stupid reasons) Heres to keeping great classics alive.

[@charliemoy2995]

My tvr is great never broken down just an absolutely brilliant car. Tvr are coming back though epic. Mines a 1999. 5.0 chimaera.

[@hamster639]

I worked at Longbridge for the Chinese MG company and the car assembly building was just like this, very quiet when we stopped SKD producion. The paint shop especially was spooky, all you would hear was alarms going off at times, bangs and the seagulls on the roof. Its sad how British manufacturing has disappeared.

[@b0lliks]

very sad to watch the death of what was once a great british icon.

[@kieranhurst8543]

😂😂a great British icon of half arsing the job and unreliability

[@joelthorne7434]

Thanks for sharing. Very poignant, especially Jeremy weeping.

[@pasionautomotriz5222]

I feel angry and sad for that poor TVR, I hate to see closed car factories, why they put in sale the cars or at least parts for actual owners, hate to see abandoned sports cars that could be driven

[@kieranhurst8543]

Abandoned probably because they were completely broken, which let's be honest was the fate of all these cars

[@chippyarcher]

Tht was an emotional moment 4 me watchin t.v, ive always been fascinated by british sports cars my uncle has a tvr cerbera and we have a lotus 7 styled kit car i absolutely luv them and seeing wht it was like in the factory of my favourite cars i almost felt like cryin and then when the lights switched on tht was very emotional seeing all these amazing sports cars in the tvr factory tht r beautiful, i really wanna do sumot about it but i know im only a 14 year old kid who is quite poor so i cant

[@LarryStranger]

when clarkson makes that face...

[@ivorharden]

0:15 everyone wants a XR3 now. It's a shame what happened to TVR though. They made some cool cars over 70 years or so.

[@MasterTaters]

@b0lliks TVR, Pontiac, Buick, Etc. Never die. If it is worth remembering it will never be forgotten, if it is worth having it will always exist.

[@phillyneveryoumind415]

Nice attempt at saying something meaningful and quote worthy.. Shame it came off with an air of douchery and faux importance.

[@MasterTaters]

@@phillyneveryoumind415 So what crawled up your ass and died?

[@Bluefire397]

While I think it's apparent people do want old XR3s and GTIs nowadays they could never be as magical and have the personalities these old sports cars do. TVR especially made some of the coolest cars in history and it's very sad what happened to them all

[@Nickthebassist01]

After just completing a 3000 mile roadtrip in a TVR Chimaera, I was left wondering why a company that made such epic cars ever went bust?

[@frazerguest2864]

Thank the Russian I guess. And I say that as an ex owner of a 350i, a Chimaera and a T350.

[@kieranhurst8543]

Because they were genuinely terrible at the time, poor reliability, awful handling, terrible fuel consumption. I'm sure a modern retrofitted one is probably pretty good and is how it should have been back in the day, but they weren't that way back in the day. Thats why they went

[@romansudnik2236]

​@kieranhurst8543 “Owning a TVR in the past was like owning a bear. I mean it was great, until it pulled your head off, which it would.” Jeremy Clarkson made that incredible statement. In the eyes of a car enthusiast who wants reliability and good fuel consumption in a sports car? These cars where about the way they made you feel, the smile they put on your face. But above all else people loved TVR because yes it had its flaws but it was quintessentially british even with them.

[@ciaranwalsh96]

Rather fitting that this bit starts with them driving into a grey, damp Blackpool - another place that's a shadow of it's former self

[@biponacci]

House of Cards is what makes this so good.

[@Nickthebassist01]

I detail that TVR a couple of times a year now. I knew as soon as I saw the reg it was familiar!

[@iantownsend5480]

I would love if tvr could come back

[@brandonp1038]

thankfully they are

[@ogichi32]

The part that kills me about this scene was more than just the cars, all the people who use to come into those factories and work their hands to ths bone to earn an honest living for their families. Automation destroyed so many lives, robots replaced all these people, all for the sake of money.

[@kieranhurst8543]

Sorry to tell you, it was always about money. Those honest workers bosses were busy cutting corners and pushing out cars they knew were not good all for the sake of money

[@kierenboimufc5940]

Marcos made a excellent racing car the Marcos LM600 and as for TVR the speed 12 gt1 Tuscan 400r

[@MrPtittomtom]

Concernant les RWS Target rifle : J’en ai tiré des milliers et je n’ai jamais eu de gros problème avec mes carabines (CZ 457 Jaguar, Walther Match, Browning BL22 et Toz). C’est mes munitions préférés et “passe partout” Même à 200m elles ne sont pas trop déconnantes.

[@drakevevo3710]

tvr have brought the griffith back, and i think theyre gonna bring back the sagaris. hope is not lost. they held on, it just took a while to get everything sorted again

[@AlfahrezyRF_89]

If only somebody rich and powerful enough to bring tvr back

[@MrHistorian123]

I have never bought a lottery ticket, but I may have to, in the desperate hope that I can win enough money to buy TVR back and get them building cars again. To see the factory where my beautiful Chimaera was made lying empty and desolate is heartbreaking. But there is some life after death; many parts of the factory are now occupied by small firms restoring and improving the remaining cars. And long may they do so; the roads without any TVRs would be like a body with no spark of life.

[@stuartleadbetter8962]

By the way I worked at TVR for 18 years

[@tanyano9]

Where was this..? Is it still there..?

[@unicorntomboy9736]

There is hope. We have new innovative start-up companies like Arrival (which didn't exist when this was filmed) which are getting big investment & tons of orders from huge companies like Amazon.

[@lg5819]

The past of what might of been has gone but the future is unwritten. Just because Britain made a mess of its car industry in the past, not because of the lack of talent but due to mismanagement and failures to invest in new models, doesn’t mean we can’t have a car industry of our own again, utilising modern technologies and learning from our past.

[@aryastark772]

It’s not just about the cars, it’s history. And the once booming industry that disappeared from the U.K. partly due to really stupid decisions. All the history of it is disappearing day by day and has disappeared. All the souls who have walked and life been and gone. The knowledge that some day it will all be gone and us along with it

[@ShanesAutos]

@BiggWilly357 i was think about that too. was that sagris abandoned or did someone own it.?

[@geodome79]

Factory of Dreams

[@Deltic55-mw4bo]

'nobody these days goes, ooh i'd love an old xr3' How times change, eh?

[@skullduggery7917]

Don't be sad that it's over be proud that it happened be proud that our tiny island had so much history in the art of making sports cars. Perhaps one day it might return just never the same again.

[@Omega47]

What is that soundtrack when the cameras pan the TVR factory.

[@Leiwi]

2:28 nice volvo pv544

[@englishmaninfrance661]

I had both a Jensen Healy and 4 TVR'S . TVR is a sad loss

[@ralphk.j7809]

Raidiohead completes this video

[@maninthestreet01]

When this episode of TG is shown on Dave, a completely different piece of music is used for the misty-eyed bit from 3:15 onwards - does anyone know why?

[@slideways8022]

Dave didn’t have the licencing for the track

[@SrAMagistrado]

@SrAMagistrado Nevermind. I found out by going through my Itunes library. It's Radiohead House of Cards.

[@malevolenceXXXensues]

hey imagine working in the tvr factory yourself

[@konstantinoszabelakis1215]

Cars made with passion cars with character are no longer here...

[@MasterTaters]

TVR has been bought and revived by an entrepeneur and things are looking good now.

[@luisfreeman1526]

I agree

[@djdc81]

God that was sad

[@hollandjimenez6592]

Children these days won't even know great cars existed.

[@andrearossi8293]

Ginetta still make cars.

[@MasterTaters]

@chippyarcher Nice essay

[@CynicalBastard511]

Actually I would love a Mk2 Golf GTI 16v.

[@freefightflappie]

Wich song is this from 3.25 min?

[@DrewSavo]

Revolutionary Road - End Title

[@jiggleybits]

Does anyone know what the green convertible glimpsed at 3:25 and 4:01 is?

[@diamond_pacific8093]

5 years too late, but it's an AC Bristol mate

[@steven1407]

That shit was sad

[@RizalBatheki]

3:11 glad all over, crystal palace?

[@MasterTaters]

Revolutionary Road - End Title

[@fatmunch6318]

Why did tvr go out of business but Land Rover is killing it

[@MasterTaters]

Land rover is a household name and status symbol and TVR wasn't.

[@kieranhurst8543]

Land Rover make cars that don't break down five minutes after leaving the showroom

[@tanyano9]

@ 3:08 was that a Volvo 120/122 Amazon..?

[@nopefranks1154]

Bring a trailer. Nobody else wants those TVRs where are the Go Takers at.

[@MasterTaters]

@freefightflappie Thomas Newman-Revolutionary road End Title

[@bapechile]

buick didn't die..

[@Astalavista1233]

3:22 piano song name plz ! any one?

[@MasterTaters]

Revolutionary Road - End Title

[@Astalavista1233]

Ballsack Teebaghard Thanks Man ! what A pure music !

[@deltas4764]

Thank you !

[@SrAMagistrado]

Anyone know the name of the song at the beginning of the video?

[@hollandjimenez6592]

SrAMagistrado house of cards by radiohead

[@Acejason200]

whats the gray car that jeremy is staring at ??

[@RebelRacer99]

TVR Sagaris

[@itisTopSecret5184]

Sagaris

[@billmalec]

Now Top Gear has gone also...

[@MasterTaters]

Yeah :( Wish Clarkson never hit that guy, spiraled from there

[@colin_rose]

3:17- fuck.

[@scoobydude3124]

I always get emotional when see diss used factory’s cars like this are a icon as no manafacture is able to bring this level of nastalger and corrizma spirit of a car that has a soul and it’s own character it’s a such a shame I also think that back years ago 70s or earlier there was a happier way of life people interacted more more social life less stress I feel one day we will loose my personal favourite that’s just keeping heart and soul going in car industry Aston Martin I hope this never happens

[@gouthamkrishnap121]

What's the car at 2:41 ?

[@MasterTaters]

TVR sagaris

[@jamsstar2010]

This whole country is sad

[@chippyarcher]

@MasterTaters looooooooooooooooooooooool

They were actually showing you the end of our western world. An urn?

[@martinwilliams9306]

I was getting more and more annoyed with this typically TG daft report, trashing the cars in every way, That said they pull it back at the very end with the pre round up sequence of Marcos, Ginetta, Triumph, MG , et al. A lost age, worthy of better than the Jezster, Captain Slow and the Hamster's combined antics. And yes I've owned them all, and still own some. Treated well there is nothing to quite compare with the exhaust note of the S2, Elan handling and rarity value of the Jensen, at the price point. We used to make them all, the best practical, affordable, fun and unusual sports cars ....(wait for it...) in the world... Stuff like this more or less ensures that will not likely change anytime soon. So bring on your Veyrons and Zondas, let's get the tail out on the Stelvio or the Nurburgring because after all, everything else is boring... or maybe just that little bit harder to make TV with. Anyway must dash, I've got a caravan to blow up...

[@kieranhurst8543]

How dare they trash crappy cars. Its cuz they are British, if they were trashing American cars you would be loving it you hypocrite

[@nathan600r]

Fucking Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Chevrolet.....

[@kieranhurst8543]

...making better cars

[@MasterTaters]

@kingofkeyboards You realize you are asking me to put out some sort of effort for someone else's sake, right?

[@phillyneveryoumind415]

Nothing but heart and giving on this channel, ya lazy copyright infringing hack.

[@MasterTaters]

@@phillyneveryoumind415 The use of a short length of footage from a larger program falls under fair use, that is why all the clips on youtube of your favorite movies and tv shows exist and are generally not removed.

[@stuartleadbetter8962]

If the Top Gear program and its presenters had perhaps tried harder in sticking up for TVR and british car manufacturing it would still be going now - they where partly to blame for TVR's demise then they get all misty eyed about it a bit two faced to me

[@MasterTaters]

tvr was bankrupt, a tv studio can only afford so much.

[@stuartleadbetter8962]

Hi I'm not saying they should have helped financially but they could have used the program more to encourage people to buy British made sports cars what ever happened to supporting British people supporting fellow british workers??

[@MasterTaters]

@@stuartleadbetter8962 i watched the whole thing, they did talk about how people should keep the other brands afloat.

[@poodle559]

The rot had set into that place way before it's demise, trust me i was there!

[@desmondtalent6721]

What did you work in tvr

[@roadwarrior144]

Someone please please explain to me exactly why British cars, from these times, were crap and unreliable? I mean, setting aside the stereotypes for a moment. Was it because Britain was so devastated after the second world war that they were just financially and technologically exhausted that the engineering talent simply wasn’t there? I cannot believe that it was deliberately poor build quality in the instance of TVR and Lotus, because they were all, presumably, built by enthusiastic people whom all had passion for what they did. Or maybe I’ve completely missed something. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@MasterTaters]

The idea that the british has always had superior engineering ended sometime after industrialization itself. In ww2 they made a bunch of shit tanks and were hardly useful to anyone besides the civilian killing nightly lancaster bombings. What you've missed is that british engineering was never that amazing. They invented the tank in ww1 and by ww2 weren't even remotely ready, also having lost scientific minds didn't help any, you are right. The british themselves will not let go of this 1800s concept even after experiencing so many losses and failures in their own natural industries they have practically become a dependent when it comes to obtaining the things required to maintain such a "great industry" The car culture is however very much real.

[@kieranhurst8543]

Half arsers and grifters ran those firms, they were far more interested in making money than making good cars.

[@jameslatimer1432]

They have turned top gear in to a unbelievable crap silly show hope your proud of your self boys ,I mean girls ,