‘Top Gear’ Recap: ‘Season 33, Episode 1’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season thirty-three premiere of ‘Top Gear’. To revisit the thirty-second season finale, click here.
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One common misconception about mankind’s love affair with the motorcar, is that the hardcore fans of cars, are mostly found in a handful of nations. A majority of which reside within Europe, thanks to the rich history of carmakers present there, alongside the United States, since the US of A played its part in making the car a thing of wonder in the 20th Century. But the fact of the matter is, humanity’s love affair with the car is global in nature. To the point where there are nations whose citizens buy up cars as though they are going out of style and that reality is top of mind today, simply because the season thirty-three premiere opted to explore it. All by having Paddy, Freddie and Chris travel to Thailand. 
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A place that is actually, the pickup truck capital of the world. Yes, that’s right. The people of Thailand buy more trucks than the average American, who personify the pickup truck and that’s why our trio of car heroes ventured down that way. To properly understand the country’s love affair with trucks and to truly make that happen, the lads needed to blend in with rides that were popular in Thailand. Such as the Toyota Hilux (Freddie’s ride), the Isuzu D-Max (Paddy’s choice), the BMW E30 (Chris’ selection) and once the lads had their truck of choice… they set out into the countryside to learn and well, what they uncovered about this country’s obsession with the pickup truck was fascinating and engaging, to say the least.

For they came to discover that the folks that live in Thailand, understand the wonder of the truck. Which is why they race the D-Max often, to unleash its potential and quite frankly… they just love cars period, which is why there are places in this beautiful place where cars are just on display and people admire their beauty through and through. But one BIG reason that they are so incredibly popular here, is because they are also the perfect work horse. For they can haul a hefty load into places that most cars won’t go and that is something that Chris and Paddy took part in, without Freddie sadly, because he fell ill. But that really did give these gentlemen fine perspective on how integral the truck is to the nation of Thailand and why the locals love them so. 

But while that was amazing to learn, what would an episode of this show be without a supercar spotlight? And in between that grand exploration of Thailand, Chris Harris had the chance to get behind the wheel of a new supercar that quite frankly took his breath away, the Rimac Nevera. A brand-new electric supercar that at first glance, doesn’t appear to be all that breathtaking. For while it is well built, it has all the familiar aesthetics you’d expect from this type of ride. But under the chassis… is raw power. The kind that propels this ride to over 200 km/h in a matter of seconds. In fact, this car is so freakin’ fast, that it will leave a top-tier Lambo in the dust, even if it gets a head start, and well… this just served as a hint of things to come as the era of the electric draws near.

If anything, this was just… a perfect way to kick off the new season of storytelling. Since it dug deep into our complex relationship with the automobile and how it continues to captivate us despite being around for forever, and it of course, peered into the future and explored how tomorrow’s car will indeed keep that love affair alive. Plus, as always, there was fun and laughs to be found, and epic races and spills and chases. Because this series celebrates everything there is to celebrate about the car, and it will be fascinating to see what other lessons and incredible spotlights await us as season thirty-three of this amazing series continues along. Until next time.

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