Top Gear (US) s05e08 Episode Script
Need for Speed
Foust: Now on "Top Gear" It's all about speed on the roads of Germany 281! Wunderbar! As we make our way to the crown jewel of going fast.
Whoa! Oh! [Bleep.]
[majestic music plays.]
Germany, home to the fastest roads on the planet, Beethoven, David Hasselhoff fans, and the largest, most treacherous racetrack in the world The Nuerburgring.
It's over 12 miles of blindingly quick and twisty tarmac, known to racing drivers as "the green hell.
" It's open to the public, and driving it is on every speed freak's bucket list.
And we were heading there.
We were told to choose something fast from Germany's biggest auto manufacturer, Volkswagen, and meet up in Wolfsburg at their headquarters.
I had chosen the newest and fastest model of an icon.
This is the 2015 Golf R.
It's 300 horsepower of all-wheel-drive fury.
In Europe, it's called a "hot hatch" 'cause it's a really fast hatchback.
[Engine revs.]
Small and nimble enough to handle the tiny roads in Europe that are really built for horses, and it's fast enough to keep up with the supercars on the autobahn.
And, as far as V.
W.
s go, it's about the quickest thing you can buy.
What?! No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Eh? Th you guys are not gonna be faster than me.
Yeah, we are.
No! Y it's a it's about bringing a Volkswagen here.
You can't bring the yellow thing and that.
May I remind you, Ferdinand Porsche designed the beetle for Volkswagen.
They've really been in it together the whole time.
And now that they're owned by the same people, that means it works.
That's why I brought the 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera 4s.
That's right, 400 all-wheel-drive horsepower, 3.
8 liter horizontally opposed six-cylinder, seven-speed PDK transmission.
That thing was born and bred on the autobahn.
Easy for you to say.
But seriously, that's, like, a supercar, practically.
Yeah.
Not quite as monstrous as Say it.
Tan, say it your skittle with a bull on the front.
Skittle with a bull on the front? V.
W.
bought Lamborghini in 1998, hence the 2014 Huracán.
Ferrara: 602 horsepower This car has a top speed of 202 miles an hour.
Zero to 60 in three seconds.
All-wheel drive, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
It's the replacement for the Gallardo, and it's named after a Mayan God.
202 miles an hour? [Laughing.]
Yeah.
You're gonna die.
Whatever.
Let's hit the road.
Nuerburgring, here we come.
I can't wait.
I bet you called it a "hot hatch," didn't you? I did call it a "hot hatch," 'cause it is.
[Laughs.]
Foust: Our high-speed journey to the Nuerburgring would take us halfway across Germany, through breathtaking landscape, medieval towns, and some of the fastest roads in existence the autobahn.
Wood: If you were gonna try to dream up the best guys' trip ever, going to the Nuerburgring Number one.
Ferrara: Racing around the greatest racetrack in the world begs for the fastest car, which is what I had.
This is the perfect car for this road trip.
The autobahn has no speed limit.
This is a 200-mile-an-hour car.
Need I say more? [Laughs.]
Foust: I mean, this is an amazing get-up-and-go car.
It's just not a top-speed car like those things.
But [Engine revs.]
I'll make up for it with just plain stupidity.
Wood: This is the perfect road-trip car in Germany because it's fast and it's comfortable, and that Lamborghini is just fast, whereas the golf, it's just really comfortable.
Racing around the Nuerburgring was what we were here to do, but we wanted to enjoy the journey and experience German culture, as well as adding a little of our own, so when we came across an empty runway, we knew what we had to do.
Drag race! [Laughs.]
Foust: Okay, gentlemen, fine.
Why don't we go get on the runway and go beat up on the Golf R? Golf R, and the "r" stands for "regret.
" Follow me, boys! Rut and I were determined to take advantage of Tanner's disadvantage and enjoy every minute of the little fellow's misery.
Look at that Porsche.
It's really beautiful in its simplicity.
[Engine revs.]
Such a contrast to that bright, yellow darth vader machine.
[Laughs.]
Look at him.
Look at Tanner just looking over here in disgust.
He knows I am going to crush him.
I mean, who shows up with a Lamborghini? Good lord.
Well, Adam does.
Okay, Golf R is ready.
Are the cheaters ready? Hold on.
Let me engage launch control.
Exhaust is opened up.
Let's hear it.
[Engine revs.]
3.
8 liters of fury.
[Engine revs.]
Suck on that, buddy.
Whatever.
Let's do this.
We're going on "go.
" I'm gonna go on "one.
" [Engine revs.]
In three.
Two.
[Engines revving.]
One! Go! [Chuckles.]
He jumped the start.
[Laughs.]
And it's not gonna help him! Oh, that Golf R is fast! Oh, the shifting is good.
Adam can't quite get it in gear! And there it is 602 horsepower! Oh, my gosh, that Lambo is so fast! Auf wiedersehen! No! It's so fast! Bravo! Bravo! [Opera music plays.]
And I win.
Come on, baby.
Get in front of the golf! Go, go, go, go, go, go! Rut's gonna do it now! Oh, I got it! [Foust sighs.]
This is gonna be A long trip.
You jumped the start and still lost.
Yeah, yeah.
Let's get off the airport before an airplane comes.
Wood: Back on the road, we took every opportunity to rub our horsepower in Tanner's face.
Hey, buddy.
You want to race? You want to go? [Laughs.]
Oh, this is it! Tanner can't go fast.
What a breath of fresh air.
[Sighs.]
And it would only get worse for Tanner as we approached the autobahn.
I can't believe we're about to get on the autobahn.
Ferrara: We should stop and get out and just take a look before we dive in.
Absolutely.
Tanner, we're getting off at ausfahrt.
What is this city of Ausfahrt like, by the way? Is it big? It stinks.
[Laughs.]
Foust: That actually means "exit" in Germany.
So, all of the exits are gonna say that.
It's not the name of the town.
Oh, I kept thinking we were passing the same one over and over.
[Chuckles.]
Eh? There it is.
There it is.
[Dramatic music plays.]
Ferrara: There it was The autobahn, in all its glory.
Hundreds of miles of speed-limit-less bliss where you can drop the hammer without fear of police intervention.
And we brought the perfect cars for the job.
Well, at least two of us did.
Feels like Christmas morning, doesn't it? I mean, this is where it gets real, gentlemen.
You see that little white There's a little white sign there with a little black "x" through it.
That means unrestricted, fast as you want to go, completely legal.
Well, I mean, fast as we want to go, and then you'll also be there.
Yeah.
You think I'm not gonna be able to go fast 'cause I got a Golf R.
Not at all.
I know you're not gonna go fast because you have a Golf R.
Fine.
Every exit's a couple kilometers apart.
Let's go three exits.
Whoever goes the fastest, wins.
- One at a time? - Yeah.
I don't want you guys blocking the road for me with your fancy, little yellow whatever.
[Laughs.]
Okay.
That should be your concern.
Absolutely.
All right, I'll go down there and wait for you.
You got it.
Don't take too long, okay? Okay.
Like he's gonna go faster than us.
One thing about the autobahn is it's not just a free-for-all.
There's traffic, and there are some people who just, believe it or not, don't want to go that fast.
I don't get it, either.
It's weird.
It's like, you legally can go as fast as you want.
Why don't you go? I mean, what am I worried about? He's got the slowest car here.
I know.
You really should be worried about me Dying.
Ln that.
Yep.
Not dying.
It's gonna fiery mess, just, "aah, I can't stop!" Just stop it.
[Imitates explosion.]
Come on, baby! [Engine revving.]
Wood: Ooh, he's getting up to speed quick.
He drives the same way when he's home.
All the way over to the left side.
That's a good sign.
I haven't lifted my foot off the floor yet.
There's 200 kilometers an hour already.
Holy crap! Whoo! 240! 245! Now only one kilometer left! And I'm running into some traffic.
250! There's somebody on the right! Don't pull out! Don't pull out! [Tires screech.]
Holy [Bleep.]
Ferrara: We were in Germany on a high-speed pilgrimage to race around the world's greatest track The Nuerburgring.
Although we were told to pick Volkswagens, Rut and I had brought Volkswagen-owned cars that dwarfed the power of Tanner's Golf R.
Now we were speed-testing on the autobahn, and Tanner was pushing his car to the absolute limit.
245! And I'm running into some traffic.
250! There's somebody on the right! Don't pull out! Don't pull out! [Tires screech.]
Holy [Bleep.]
That takes us back down to70.
Seriously? Guess that's the end of my run.
Okay, guys, I made it.
I walked out on the bridge.
Who's next? [Engine revs.]
Ferrara: I clearly have the fastest car here.
Top speed 202 miles an hour, which, in kilometers, is I don't know.
It's fast.
So, I think if I don't hit anything, I'll be fine.
Auf wiedersehen.
Dunkin' donuts.
Tanner had hit a top speed of 150 miles an hour.
That's 250 in Euros.
My Lambo does that pulling out of the driveway.
[Engine revving.]
Oh.
Oh, look at that.
Oh, my God, is this thing fast! Ooh, that thing's fast.
Holy [Bleep.]
! 220! 230! 250! 260! 270! 281! [Laughs.]
Wunderbar! [Laughs.]
I see you coming.
It's that exit, right under the bridge.
[Laughs.]
You're standing a little taller.
Or are you shorter? You're shorter.
That was fun.
How'd you do? How'd you do? Well pretty fast.
How'd you do? Pretty fast.
What was your number? 281.
That's 175 miles an hour.
You're an idiot.
Was it fun? [Laughing.]
Yeah.
That sucks.
I mean, that's good for you.
Yeah.
All right, Rut.
We're both here.
Come on down.
Wood: Adam had hit 175 miles per hour.
My Porsche could do 185, but I'd have to get this thing pretty much up to its top speed.
This is it.
This is what car dreams are made of, right here.
Oh, there's a car.
There's a car.
Come on.
Come on.
Is that a dodge? Get over, guy.
Oh, you're kidding.
Come on! I'm in a 911! You got to move over! I don't see him.
Come on, guys.
Move over.
Move over.
Thank you.
Finally, some open road.
Time to wind this sucker up.
Auf wiedersehen.
Oh, big truck.
Big truck.
Oh, my gosh! There he is.
Rut, slow down! This is the exit! That's the exit, right there! You're just you just went right through the exit! Why didn't you guys say something? I'm just going as fast as I can.
How fast did you go? Like 230.
230? We'll catch you.
Foust: Rut hit 230, which was a measly 143 miles an hour, so at least I'd beaten one of those two cheaters.
Wood: Oh, there you guys are.
That was crazy.
That was insane.
If you really went 280, then you are insane.
280, my friend.
That was scary.
I was doing great, and then a bunch of people It's like they just never saw me jumped right in front.
Had to almost lock on the brakes.
That's a definite advantage of having a yellow and a red car.
Yep.
And you missed your ausfahrt.
Ferrara: After a little time had passed, we decided to slow down a bit and take in some of the sights.
Wood: Whoa, look at this.
Foust: Wow.
That is beautiful.
But beauty wasn't what we came here for.
Gentlemen, up for a little race? What did you have in mind? All right, you see that church steeple? Yes.
First one to the church steeple, wins.
Aren't these towns really tight and small Hard to get through? Is my name Wolfgang? How the hell do I know? Okay, so, let me get this straight.
We're gonna go down into the really old town, and we're going to race to the church steeple.
First one there wins.
Got it.
Oh, you little [Classical music plays.]
As we headed through the medieval gates Wow, these streets are tight through here.
We soon realized navigating the ancient streets was gonna be a challenge.
Look at this.
They got to do something about the cobblestones.
It's not really made for a Lamborghini.
Foust: Luckily for me, my golf, being a family car, had just the thing to deal with the bumps.
Gonna put it in comfort mode for these bumps here.
It's a little better, actually.
Adam's low-slung Lambo also had a trick up its sleeve.
I got to lift my nose.
The whole front axle can go up more than an inch for greater clearance.
And I'm never gonna make that turn, so plan "b.
" Ferrara: Plan "b" was to follow a local.
Okay.
Well, he's going down there.
This must be a road.
Ha ha! There we go.
And it seemed like my plan was gonna work.
[Bell tolls.]
There are the stables! [Laughs.]
Uh-oh.
Oh.
This is getting tight.
Okay.
Easy.
Oh, man.
Easy.
[Gasps.]
Coming up, Rut gets lost in translation.
Wood: Ibenstrabe? Ebenstrabe? I can't read the signs.
Ferrara: And later, our childhood dreams come true.
Wow, is this friggin' fast! [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Foust: We were speeding along Germany's famed autobahn on our way to the ultimate racetrack The Nuerburgring.
To keep things interesting, we decided to race to the center of a medieval town.
But Adam had got himself into a tight situation.
Yeah.
I'm stuck.
Ferrara: And to add insult to injury Oh! [Wood laughs.]
Oh, the Lambo's stuck! That looks good there.
Ferrara: Yeah.
Okay.
Sorry.
Guten sorry.
Foust: Good thing I have a golf.
It would suck to be in one of those supercars.
Wood: Wait a second.
No.
This looks familiar.
Wood: Following Tanner in his not-so-supercar was proving to be a bad idea.
So I decided to go my own way using the road.
Tanner, however Foust: Okay, I have found my way onto a sidewalk.
That's not good.
Hello, ladies.
This looks like a roundabout, but I think this is a fountain.
As Tanner took in the sights of the square, I was getting closer.
[Laughs.]
[In German accent.]
Hello.
It's from the United States.
Until [Normal voice.]
What did that sign mean? Oh, nope.
Nope.
That's not that's not right.
[Car horn honking.]
Oh, oh, oh! Um, uh, sprechen sie backwards? Yeah, there it is.
Thank you.
That's it.
But despite all the one-way streets and our complete ignorance of the German language Ibenstrabe? Ebenstrabe? I can't read the sign.
The church bells were getting louder.
[Bells tolling.]
Foust: I just saw the top of the steeple.
It's this way.
Wood: There's the church! Ooh, man! There's the church! Ha ha! And there's Rut.
Oh, there you are.
I left you plenty of parking here in the loser's area.
Just anywhere you like.
Thank you very much.
Ah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
[Sighs.]
Say, is the nose of your car up like that so you can look down on everyone, or how does that work? Ferrara: I may have lost to Rut, but I enjoyed beating race boy Again.
Hey.
[Laughs.]
Coming in third.
Look at him all depressed.
It's a good feeling.
[Laughs.]
Oh, hey! You made it! There you go.
[Car door closes.]
How did you both get here? He got here first.
He just followed his heart.
Yeah.
You hungry? I could eat.
All right, follow me.
Let's go.
I know a shortcut.
Great.
No, no, no.
Set it in the GPS.
Foust: So, Adam had won two challenges, and Rut had followed his heart to a victory.
And now we were going to follow his stomach.
Wood: You ordered me 15 sausages? You know we can't drink beer and then get in the car.
Yes.
That's why this is non-alcoholic beer.
So people that don't want the buzz Just that bloated, pissy feeling.
You think you could drive like this in the states? Like, people pay real attention on the autobahn.
I didn't see a single soccer mom in the left-hand Lane.
Like, this, I finally felt like I understood what the interstate system was supposed to be for.
Cheers to that with some non-alcoholic bubble.
Ferrara: After some inappropriate conversation about German sausages, we started thinking about our bucket list again.
You know all this little stuff means nothing.
When we get to the Nuerburgring, that's where men separate from the boys.
I mean, that's something I've wanted to do for as long as I could drive a car.
You ready? I'm done.
Let's roll.
Excellent.
You're not having another non-alcoholic beer? No.
God, it's terrible.
Come on.
Let's roll.
Terrible.
Wood: This is incredible.
This is I mean, this is bucket list right here.
Wood: Things just couldn't get any better.
Man, do I love my job.
Well, couldn't get better for me and Adam, that is.
The problem with being in a golf is that this thing is fast, but people see it in the rearview mirror and they see a Volkswagen golf, and they just don't respect it and they don't get out of the way soon enough.
Adam in his skittle-yellow Lamborghini over there, he's half a mile away from them, and they're pulling over, peeing themselves because a Lambo's gonna come screaming by.
Foust: To add to my frustration, I hadn't won a single challenge yet, and I didn't want to arrive at the Nuerburgring empty-handed.
So I had an idea for a challenge where I couldn't be beat.
All this straight-line stuff isn't really giving us an idea of how these things are gonna handle the Nuerburgring.
So, what do you want to do? I think we go to, like, an abandoned parking lot or something, set up a little handling test, get a feel for them, you know? I'm in.
Let's do it.
Ferrara: Lead on.
Here we go.
[Sighs.]
This work? Yeah, I think so.
What'd you have in mind? Okay, here's the deal.
I figured we'd make a little bit of a slalom.
Yeah.
All the way down this parking lot.
Get a little u-turn at the back, run back, get a chance to feel, you know, the zigs and zags before we get on the racetrack.
Yeah.
Fastest time wins.
I like it.
Right? Sounds good.
You got something to slalom around? [Laughs.]
Of course.
Beer.
Picked these up.
That's great.
[Upbeat music plays.]
Okay, he definitely does have the advantage on this one.
Well, sure, but, I mean, these are just tiny kegs.
If he hits one, it's gonna mess up the car.
True.
But he's got a tiny car, and he's a tiny driver.
Tiny car, tiny driver, tiny kegs.
Everything's in proportion.
Like tiny world.
Hey, you ready, tiny? Ready here.
In three Two One Go! That's a quick, little car.
Foust: Finally I had a chance to show off just how nimble the Golf R was.
The variable rack is good.
Ooh.
Ooh, he almost hit the bushes.
Oh, you got to go slow for the u-turn.
Yep.
Quick.
Go.
There he comes quickly.
And he's heading for us.
Nimble, little [Bleep.]
.
That was aggressive.
Huh?! [Laughs.]
Yeah, 14.
7.
Not bad.
That seems okay.
Yeah, that was moving.
Who's next? 610 horsepower, getting down to the ground, all-wheel drive.
Sounds like it would be good, but for something this tight Mnh-mnh.
It's just gonna push, isn't it? It's taking that big bull and shoving it into a tiny, little bird cage.
Okay, Adam.
You ready? Yeah.
In three [Engine revs.]
Two One Go! That's it.
Get in there.
Get in there.
Ooh! Ooh! [Bleep.]
.
Did you see how close that one was? There's where we make up time Right here.
Go, girl.
Go.
Okay, okay.
Run for your life.
[Engine revs.]
[Laughs.]
15.
68.
So, Adam had failed to beat me.
One cheater down, one to go.
Come on.
You can beat a golf, right? He's just a little V.
W.
.
Ferrara: All right, Rut, you ready? Ready.
Three Two [Sighs.]
One Go! Oh, he almost hit the beer can right there.
Oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh, this is it.
Look at this slalom.
Ooh, there's a hedge.
There's beer.
There's a hedge.
Come on, baby.
[Engine revs.]
Here he comes.
Watch out, watch out.
Whoo! Foust: Coming up, we finally make it to the most dangerous circuit in the world.
And there's a golf! Look at that! [Tires screech.]
And later, Adam takes the Lamborghini to new heights.
Holy Am I really going that fast?! Ferrara: We were on our way to the ultimate stop on our bucket list The Nuerburgring.
With over 147 turns, Tanner arranged one last handling challenge.
And it looked as though he might actually win it.
But not if Rut could help it.
Come on, baby.
Whoo! That good, huh? Damn it.
I beat you! I knew it! I knew I could do it! Stupid Porsche.
[Laughs.]
Wood: Even with a tailor-designed challenge, Tanner couldn't seem to win.
And it meant that Adam and I were tied at two apiece.
So it was back to the autobahn for the final leg of our journey with a nice, long stretch of open road to enjoy.
For once, we're on an interstate where people driving slow actually drive in the right-hand Lane.
What a novel idea.
Ferrara: Back in the states, that's just a suggestion.
It's a thing of beauty.
In fact, it's hard to even imagine roads like this existing in the U.
S.
This is unreal.
Right now, I'm doing like 130 miles an hour, and I'm just getting passed by a family.
Oh.
Sprechen sie deutsch.
Hey, Tanner, how far from the Nuerburgring are we now? Uh, maybe 20 minutes, but I think this is our last stretch of autobahn, because then it's all small roads.
Are you saying we should race to the Nuerburgring? Ferrara: I'm saying see if you guys can keep up with this yellow Lamborghini that's going past you! Oh! Oh, is that it? You want to play? Come on.
First one to the exit wins! I love Germany! Ha ha! I mean, it's rock-solid.
I'm going 100-freakin'-55 miles an hour, and it is rock-solid.
But they're going faster.
Wood: Hey, this is the exit.
This is the exit.
Ferrara: [Laughs.]
I notice you guys are behind me! Just wait till we get to Nuerburgring.
It's all I got to say.
That might be the happiest I've ever been on a public road.
[Laughs.]
Ferrara: As we said goodbye to the autobahn and turned on to the country road that would lead us to the ring, we were just kilometers away from the stuff that car dreams are made of.
Wood: Nuerburgring oh! Oh, this is so amazing! I can almost cry tears of joy right now.
I mean, this is it.
This is a day I've been waiting for since I could drive.
Ferrara: Look.
Tanner's a racecar driver.
He gets to do stuff like this all the time.
But a guy like me gets to drive the Nuerburgring in a brand-new Lamborghini.
[Laughs.]
Life is good.
Foust: It's a special place.
It's a place where you search your soul, find your own limits.
And it's one reason why cars that are born from this dirt, German cars, tend to feel so good at high speed.
Foust: Now, this golf r is nicely balanced and adequately powerful, but I was 0 for 4 in challenges.
And we were headed to the greatest racetrack in the world.
Hey, listen, guys, I'm gonna stop here.
I think I got another golf that has slightly better tires.
What's that? What's that? Surprise for later? Hmm? What's that? I mean, obviously you guys are in sports cars.
Whatever.
I got some good tires waiting.
What? Why don't you just change the tires? Why do you got to change cars? It's a special matched set with the car.
Whatever.
Anyway, these are cool buildings here, aren't they? Ferrara: Whatever Tanner had up his sleeve, we'd find out soon enough, because we had arrived.
[Operatic singing "ode to joy".]
Foust: With blind corners and long straights, it's one of the most challenging and scary racetracks on earth.
It has over 140 turns and extreme elevation changes.
The Nuerburgring is more than a circuit.
It's the ultimate testing ground for car manufacturers and a place where anyone can live out their automotive fantasy if they have the courage.
And we were about to get it to ourselves, but just for one lap.
Oh my goodness.
Wow.
This is it.
The Nuerburgring.
We're here.
I can't [Laughs.]
I can't believe we're doing this.
This is literally the most dangerous asphalt in the world.
Ha ha! And there's a golf! Look at that! [Tires screech.]
There was a golf.
Okay.
Awesome.
I'm so glad I have the perfect car for this track.
I think you're gonna be surprised.
The golf platform is pretty formidable.
It's formidable.
Do you see any Lamborghinis? I only need to see one, and that's the one I'm in.
I mean, you realize the 911 was essentially born here.
Porsche.
Porsche.
I'm gonna win.
This is gonna be awesome.
That was a suzuki! [Laughs.]
Expert.
Ferrara: So, Rut and I went to pull our cars around to the staging area while Tanner went to find his new tires Which, for some reason, was attached to a new car.
Wood: What is that? A very fast, new car.
Coming up, Tanner's new car has a brush with the barriers.
That's what I'm talking about! And Rut finally gets his moment.
Wood: Oh sh Ferrara: We were on a pilgrimage to the Nuerburgring.
We had sped down the autobahn and had now arrived at the world-famous track, where we could go even faster.
Tanner had swapped out his golf r for something a little quicker.
Wood: What is that? What are you doing? [Engine revs.]
That's not [Engine shuts off.]
It's a golf! It's not your golf! This is the golf r I'm running on the Nuerburgring.
Hell yes.
You can't you're cheating! Oh! What? Yes! I'm cheating? You drove a Lamborghini and a Porsche for a Volkswagen show.
And they're both made by Volkswagen! They're like cousins barely.
Since my car was purpose built for this track and I hadn't won any challenges, I reluctantly conceded.
Are you happy now? But to be honest, all I wanted to do was get this golf24 racecar onto the track.
So I suggested that I go first, set a benchmark time, and let tweedledee and tweedledum Duke it out for the win.
Wood: Okay.
That sounds fair.
Ferrara: Go on.
Get out of here.
Hey, can you take a picture of me in this thing? This is awesome.
No.
No? Just go already.
All right, fine.
Ferrara: In your little white suit.
With 150 more horsepower than the golf r and 550 pounds lighter, this was a beast.
And, in fact This is the actual racecar from the 24 hours of Nuerburgring.
It has a huge amount of down force and cold tires, and that means in the low-speed corners, I have to take extra care 'cause it will spin it out and crash it into a wall.
The higher-speed corners, I can go ahead and push it a little bit.
[Engine turns over.]
Oh, my gosh.
This is most definitely on the bucket list.
My goal was to set a time that would embarrass those guys so bad, they'd never come to Germany again.
Whoa! The acceleration is awesome! [Tires screech.]
The first corner, and the cold tires had almost caught me out.
This lap was gonna need all the concentration I could muster.
Especially as I'd never even driven this car before.
The steering is so precise, and the shifts are so quick! Down the straights and to the fast-flowing corners, the golf24 felt spectacular.
This is a really hard track to drive! There's so many corners to remember, it's so easy to make a mistake! That's what I'm talking about! I was still fighting the cold tires at the exit of every turn.
[Engine revs.]
Up ahead lay the carousel, the most notorious corner on the track.
Finally, with heating the tires, I can really push.
With the lap almost complete, I hit the long back straight and let all of the golf's 450 horses loose.
[Operatic singing.]
This is awesome! Whoo! [Engine revs.]
This is the last corner! Whoo! Crossing the line, the golf24 had done an incredible job with a lap time in the mid 7-minute range.
Not bad considering the cold driver and the cold tires.
Whoo! That was awesome! Looked fast.
Foust: Look.
V.
W.
.
Holy crap, that was fun.
And do you see what's in the middle of the car right there? Dead bugs.
Bugs.
Just above the dead bugs.
A V.
W.
symbol, 'cause that's what we're supposed to pick.
With my time set, it was now down to Rut and Adam.
Rut would go first.
And for everybody's safety, Adam would start a minute later.
Wood: This was it.
For this big kid, a boyhood dream was about to come true.
But could I make it even sweeter and beat Adam? Here we go.
[Engine revs.]
I'm going around the Nuerburgring.
First turn.
Oh, that comes up fast! Come on, baby.
Come on.
Way to take off! Oh, my gosh.
This thing is like a roller coaster.
As I rounded the Adenauer Forst, Adam was ready to unleash the bull.
I'm excited because I get to do this.
I'm scared because, you know, it's me.
[Engine revs.]
First turn.
Exit.
Ferrara: This wasn't as easy as herr Foust made it look.
Oh.
Okay.
But I still had a full lap to catch Rut.
[Engine revs.]
He was in the groove.
I am flying.
I'm doing over 200 kilometers an hour, and this thing is so smooth.
But now I unleash the power of the Huracán and was catapulted down the back stretch.
Wow, is this friggin' fast! Wood: This is so stupid-fast.
What are you doing? [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Wood: We had traveled through Germany on the autobahn and through country towns to the famed Nuerburgring to fulfill our bucket list.
Finally, we had arrived at the most challenging racetrack in the world.
Tanner had set a time, and Adam and I were on the circuit driving the ragged edge to beat each other.
This is so stupid-fast.
What are you doing? [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Whoa! It's official.
I have scared the [Bleep.]
out of myself.
If it were two-wheel drive, I would have looped this sucker around already.
As I push the Porsche beyond my own capabilities, Adam was closing in on me and giving himself some sound advice.
Don't die, Adam.
Don't die.
[Engine revs.]
Oh, too fast on the turn.
Ferrara: By trying to squeeze the most out of the Lambo, I was sloppy in the corners and losing time to Rut.
Wood: Come on, baby.
Come on.
What's over the next hill? Oh, [Bleep.]
.
Wood: I had to out-perform Adam on these twisties before we got to the long straights where the Lambo could outgun me.
To memorize this entire track is insane.
3/4 of the way and I was about to come face-to-face with the carousel.
With its blind entrance, you're told simply to aim for the tallest tree.
All right, here we go.
Carousel.
Ah! That was so awesome! Oh, I just did the carousel.
It's hard to talk.
Oh, too fast.
As Adam wrangled the bull Ferrara: That's sloppy.
I was about to hit warp speed on the Nuerburgring's over-a-mile-long straight.
Wood: All right, here it is.
Back stretch.
Oh, my gosh.
It's moving around a little bit now.
220 kilometers! 230! 240! 245! 250! 260 kilometers on the Nuerburgring! Holy [Bleep.]
! Oh, I got to lift.
I can't see where I'm going.
Oh! Oh! Ferrara: As Rut headed into the final set of turns, I was about to experience the carousel for myself.
But not wanting to pay a $300,000 bill, I took a slightly safer line.
Oh, I got to stay high in the carousel.
That was scary.
I had to stay high 'cause I didn't want to bottom out the car.
I got to make up some time.
Come on.
This is the coolest road I have ever driven on in my life.
It is worth all the flights.
It is worth all the money to get here.
This is insane.
Wood: As I rounded the last corner, my boyhood dream had come true.
I did it! Oh, my gosh! Oh, I just did a lap around the ring, and I'm alive.
Meanwhile, Adam had just hit the long straight Wow! That is fast! Where the Lambo could outgun the Porsche with a much higher top speed.
Run, baby! Run! That's it! Holy [Bleep.]
! Is it Am I really going that fast?! Bring it down! Brake! Ferrara: With just a few corners left, I had no idea if I made up enough time to beat Rut.
Come on, baby.
Get him! I did it! I ran the Nuerburgring, and I'm not dead! Ha ha! [Operatic singing "ode to joy".]
Foust: Look for scratches, dents.
No.
No.
He's alive! It's a miracle! Wait.
Is it really Adam in there? That is unbelievable.
Wow.
[Laughs.]
Wow! Is that crazy? Wow! I cannot believe you made it.
I mean, I'm happy that you made it.
That was crazy.
That was great.
[Tires screech.]
What was my time? You did 9:42.
9:42! That is amazing! Are you kidding? For a first-timer who doesn't know the course.
Pretty good time For a fast minivan.
That's a good time, and you know it.
How was it in the Lambo? That was I had to stay high in the carousel.
I couldn't go down because I figured I'm gonna bottom this thing out.
Man, that was I hit 293 back here on the back stretch.
What? Yeah.
Yeah.
It's about 183 miles an hour.
Good God.
Yes! It didn't help.
No.
Oh! You escaped with your life.
The car appears to be in one piece.
You got a lot to be happy about.
'Cause to be the man, you got to beat the man, and I'm the man.
He's the man.
Should we go again? Let's do it again.
Whoa! Oh! [Bleep.]
[majestic music plays.]
Germany, home to the fastest roads on the planet, Beethoven, David Hasselhoff fans, and the largest, most treacherous racetrack in the world The Nuerburgring.
It's over 12 miles of blindingly quick and twisty tarmac, known to racing drivers as "the green hell.
" It's open to the public, and driving it is on every speed freak's bucket list.
And we were heading there.
We were told to choose something fast from Germany's biggest auto manufacturer, Volkswagen, and meet up in Wolfsburg at their headquarters.
I had chosen the newest and fastest model of an icon.
This is the 2015 Golf R.
It's 300 horsepower of all-wheel-drive fury.
In Europe, it's called a "hot hatch" 'cause it's a really fast hatchback.
[Engine revs.]
Small and nimble enough to handle the tiny roads in Europe that are really built for horses, and it's fast enough to keep up with the supercars on the autobahn.
And, as far as V.
W.
s go, it's about the quickest thing you can buy.
What?! No.
No, no, no, no, no, no.
Eh? Th you guys are not gonna be faster than me.
Yeah, we are.
No! Y it's a it's about bringing a Volkswagen here.
You can't bring the yellow thing and that.
May I remind you, Ferdinand Porsche designed the beetle for Volkswagen.
They've really been in it together the whole time.
And now that they're owned by the same people, that means it works.
That's why I brought the 2014 Porsche 911 Carrera 4s.
That's right, 400 all-wheel-drive horsepower, 3.
8 liter horizontally opposed six-cylinder, seven-speed PDK transmission.
That thing was born and bred on the autobahn.
Easy for you to say.
But seriously, that's, like, a supercar, practically.
Yeah.
Not quite as monstrous as Say it.
Tan, say it your skittle with a bull on the front.
Skittle with a bull on the front? V.
W.
bought Lamborghini in 1998, hence the 2014 Huracán.
Ferrara: 602 horsepower This car has a top speed of 202 miles an hour.
Zero to 60 in three seconds.
All-wheel drive, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
It's the replacement for the Gallardo, and it's named after a Mayan God.
202 miles an hour? [Laughing.]
Yeah.
You're gonna die.
Whatever.
Let's hit the road.
Nuerburgring, here we come.
I can't wait.
I bet you called it a "hot hatch," didn't you? I did call it a "hot hatch," 'cause it is.
[Laughs.]
Foust: Our high-speed journey to the Nuerburgring would take us halfway across Germany, through breathtaking landscape, medieval towns, and some of the fastest roads in existence the autobahn.
Wood: If you were gonna try to dream up the best guys' trip ever, going to the Nuerburgring Number one.
Ferrara: Racing around the greatest racetrack in the world begs for the fastest car, which is what I had.
This is the perfect car for this road trip.
The autobahn has no speed limit.
This is a 200-mile-an-hour car.
Need I say more? [Laughs.]
Foust: I mean, this is an amazing get-up-and-go car.
It's just not a top-speed car like those things.
But [Engine revs.]
I'll make up for it with just plain stupidity.
Wood: This is the perfect road-trip car in Germany because it's fast and it's comfortable, and that Lamborghini is just fast, whereas the golf, it's just really comfortable.
Racing around the Nuerburgring was what we were here to do, but we wanted to enjoy the journey and experience German culture, as well as adding a little of our own, so when we came across an empty runway, we knew what we had to do.
Drag race! [Laughs.]
Foust: Okay, gentlemen, fine.
Why don't we go get on the runway and go beat up on the Golf R? Golf R, and the "r" stands for "regret.
" Follow me, boys! Rut and I were determined to take advantage of Tanner's disadvantage and enjoy every minute of the little fellow's misery.
Look at that Porsche.
It's really beautiful in its simplicity.
[Engine revs.]
Such a contrast to that bright, yellow darth vader machine.
[Laughs.]
Look at him.
Look at Tanner just looking over here in disgust.
He knows I am going to crush him.
I mean, who shows up with a Lamborghini? Good lord.
Well, Adam does.
Okay, Golf R is ready.
Are the cheaters ready? Hold on.
Let me engage launch control.
Exhaust is opened up.
Let's hear it.
[Engine revs.]
3.
8 liters of fury.
[Engine revs.]
Suck on that, buddy.
Whatever.
Let's do this.
We're going on "go.
" I'm gonna go on "one.
" [Engine revs.]
In three.
Two.
[Engines revving.]
One! Go! [Chuckles.]
He jumped the start.
[Laughs.]
And it's not gonna help him! Oh, that Golf R is fast! Oh, the shifting is good.
Adam can't quite get it in gear! And there it is 602 horsepower! Oh, my gosh, that Lambo is so fast! Auf wiedersehen! No! It's so fast! Bravo! Bravo! [Opera music plays.]
And I win.
Come on, baby.
Get in front of the golf! Go, go, go, go, go, go! Rut's gonna do it now! Oh, I got it! [Foust sighs.]
This is gonna be A long trip.
You jumped the start and still lost.
Yeah, yeah.
Let's get off the airport before an airplane comes.
Wood: Back on the road, we took every opportunity to rub our horsepower in Tanner's face.
Hey, buddy.
You want to race? You want to go? [Laughs.]
Oh, this is it! Tanner can't go fast.
What a breath of fresh air.
[Sighs.]
And it would only get worse for Tanner as we approached the autobahn.
I can't believe we're about to get on the autobahn.
Ferrara: We should stop and get out and just take a look before we dive in.
Absolutely.
Tanner, we're getting off at ausfahrt.
What is this city of Ausfahrt like, by the way? Is it big? It stinks.
[Laughs.]
Foust: That actually means "exit" in Germany.
So, all of the exits are gonna say that.
It's not the name of the town.
Oh, I kept thinking we were passing the same one over and over.
[Chuckles.]
Eh? There it is.
There it is.
[Dramatic music plays.]
Ferrara: There it was The autobahn, in all its glory.
Hundreds of miles of speed-limit-less bliss where you can drop the hammer without fear of police intervention.
And we brought the perfect cars for the job.
Well, at least two of us did.
Feels like Christmas morning, doesn't it? I mean, this is where it gets real, gentlemen.
You see that little white There's a little white sign there with a little black "x" through it.
That means unrestricted, fast as you want to go, completely legal.
Well, I mean, fast as we want to go, and then you'll also be there.
Yeah.
You think I'm not gonna be able to go fast 'cause I got a Golf R.
Not at all.
I know you're not gonna go fast because you have a Golf R.
Fine.
Every exit's a couple kilometers apart.
Let's go three exits.
Whoever goes the fastest, wins.
- One at a time? - Yeah.
I don't want you guys blocking the road for me with your fancy, little yellow whatever.
[Laughs.]
Okay.
That should be your concern.
Absolutely.
All right, I'll go down there and wait for you.
You got it.
Don't take too long, okay? Okay.
Like he's gonna go faster than us.
One thing about the autobahn is it's not just a free-for-all.
There's traffic, and there are some people who just, believe it or not, don't want to go that fast.
I don't get it, either.
It's weird.
It's like, you legally can go as fast as you want.
Why don't you go? I mean, what am I worried about? He's got the slowest car here.
I know.
You really should be worried about me Dying.
Ln that.
Yep.
Not dying.
It's gonna fiery mess, just, "aah, I can't stop!" Just stop it.
[Imitates explosion.]
Come on, baby! [Engine revving.]
Wood: Ooh, he's getting up to speed quick.
He drives the same way when he's home.
All the way over to the left side.
That's a good sign.
I haven't lifted my foot off the floor yet.
There's 200 kilometers an hour already.
Holy crap! Whoo! 240! 245! Now only one kilometer left! And I'm running into some traffic.
250! There's somebody on the right! Don't pull out! Don't pull out! [Tires screech.]
Holy [Bleep.]
Ferrara: We were in Germany on a high-speed pilgrimage to race around the world's greatest track The Nuerburgring.
Although we were told to pick Volkswagens, Rut and I had brought Volkswagen-owned cars that dwarfed the power of Tanner's Golf R.
Now we were speed-testing on the autobahn, and Tanner was pushing his car to the absolute limit.
245! And I'm running into some traffic.
250! There's somebody on the right! Don't pull out! Don't pull out! [Tires screech.]
Holy [Bleep.]
That takes us back down to70.
Seriously? Guess that's the end of my run.
Okay, guys, I made it.
I walked out on the bridge.
Who's next? [Engine revs.]
Ferrara: I clearly have the fastest car here.
Top speed 202 miles an hour, which, in kilometers, is I don't know.
It's fast.
So, I think if I don't hit anything, I'll be fine.
Auf wiedersehen.
Dunkin' donuts.
Tanner had hit a top speed of 150 miles an hour.
That's 250 in Euros.
My Lambo does that pulling out of the driveway.
[Engine revving.]
Oh.
Oh, look at that.
Oh, my God, is this thing fast! Ooh, that thing's fast.
Holy [Bleep.]
! 220! 230! 250! 260! 270! 281! [Laughs.]
Wunderbar! [Laughs.]
I see you coming.
It's that exit, right under the bridge.
[Laughs.]
You're standing a little taller.
Or are you shorter? You're shorter.
That was fun.
How'd you do? How'd you do? Well pretty fast.
How'd you do? Pretty fast.
What was your number? 281.
That's 175 miles an hour.
You're an idiot.
Was it fun? [Laughing.]
Yeah.
That sucks.
I mean, that's good for you.
Yeah.
All right, Rut.
We're both here.
Come on down.
Wood: Adam had hit 175 miles per hour.
My Porsche could do 185, but I'd have to get this thing pretty much up to its top speed.
This is it.
This is what car dreams are made of, right here.
Oh, there's a car.
There's a car.
Come on.
Come on.
Is that a dodge? Get over, guy.
Oh, you're kidding.
Come on! I'm in a 911! You got to move over! I don't see him.
Come on, guys.
Move over.
Move over.
Thank you.
Finally, some open road.
Time to wind this sucker up.
Auf wiedersehen.
Oh, big truck.
Big truck.
Oh, my gosh! There he is.
Rut, slow down! This is the exit! That's the exit, right there! You're just you just went right through the exit! Why didn't you guys say something? I'm just going as fast as I can.
How fast did you go? Like 230.
230? We'll catch you.
Foust: Rut hit 230, which was a measly 143 miles an hour, so at least I'd beaten one of those two cheaters.
Wood: Oh, there you guys are.
That was crazy.
That was insane.
If you really went 280, then you are insane.
280, my friend.
That was scary.
I was doing great, and then a bunch of people It's like they just never saw me jumped right in front.
Had to almost lock on the brakes.
That's a definite advantage of having a yellow and a red car.
Yep.
And you missed your ausfahrt.
Ferrara: After a little time had passed, we decided to slow down a bit and take in some of the sights.
Wood: Whoa, look at this.
Foust: Wow.
That is beautiful.
But beauty wasn't what we came here for.
Gentlemen, up for a little race? What did you have in mind? All right, you see that church steeple? Yes.
First one to the church steeple, wins.
Aren't these towns really tight and small Hard to get through? Is my name Wolfgang? How the hell do I know? Okay, so, let me get this straight.
We're gonna go down into the really old town, and we're going to race to the church steeple.
First one there wins.
Got it.
Oh, you little [Classical music plays.]
As we headed through the medieval gates Wow, these streets are tight through here.
We soon realized navigating the ancient streets was gonna be a challenge.
Look at this.
They got to do something about the cobblestones.
It's not really made for a Lamborghini.
Foust: Luckily for me, my golf, being a family car, had just the thing to deal with the bumps.
Gonna put it in comfort mode for these bumps here.
It's a little better, actually.
Adam's low-slung Lambo also had a trick up its sleeve.
I got to lift my nose.
The whole front axle can go up more than an inch for greater clearance.
And I'm never gonna make that turn, so plan "b.
" Ferrara: Plan "b" was to follow a local.
Okay.
Well, he's going down there.
This must be a road.
Ha ha! There we go.
And it seemed like my plan was gonna work.
[Bell tolls.]
There are the stables! [Laughs.]
Uh-oh.
Oh.
This is getting tight.
Okay.
Easy.
Oh, man.
Easy.
[Gasps.]
Coming up, Rut gets lost in translation.
Wood: Ibenstrabe? Ebenstrabe? I can't read the signs.
Ferrara: And later, our childhood dreams come true.
Wow, is this friggin' fast! [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Foust: We were speeding along Germany's famed autobahn on our way to the ultimate racetrack The Nuerburgring.
To keep things interesting, we decided to race to the center of a medieval town.
But Adam had got himself into a tight situation.
Yeah.
I'm stuck.
Ferrara: And to add insult to injury Oh! [Wood laughs.]
Oh, the Lambo's stuck! That looks good there.
Ferrara: Yeah.
Okay.
Sorry.
Guten sorry.
Foust: Good thing I have a golf.
It would suck to be in one of those supercars.
Wood: Wait a second.
No.
This looks familiar.
Wood: Following Tanner in his not-so-supercar was proving to be a bad idea.
So I decided to go my own way using the road.
Tanner, however Foust: Okay, I have found my way onto a sidewalk.
That's not good.
Hello, ladies.
This looks like a roundabout, but I think this is a fountain.
As Tanner took in the sights of the square, I was getting closer.
[Laughs.]
[In German accent.]
Hello.
It's from the United States.
Until [Normal voice.]
What did that sign mean? Oh, nope.
Nope.
That's not that's not right.
[Car horn honking.]
Oh, oh, oh! Um, uh, sprechen sie backwards? Yeah, there it is.
Thank you.
That's it.
But despite all the one-way streets and our complete ignorance of the German language Ibenstrabe? Ebenstrabe? I can't read the sign.
The church bells were getting louder.
[Bells tolling.]
Foust: I just saw the top of the steeple.
It's this way.
Wood: There's the church! Ooh, man! There's the church! Ha ha! And there's Rut.
Oh, there you are.
I left you plenty of parking here in the loser's area.
Just anywhere you like.
Thank you very much.
Ah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
[Sighs.]
Say, is the nose of your car up like that so you can look down on everyone, or how does that work? Ferrara: I may have lost to Rut, but I enjoyed beating race boy Again.
Hey.
[Laughs.]
Coming in third.
Look at him all depressed.
It's a good feeling.
[Laughs.]
Oh, hey! You made it! There you go.
[Car door closes.]
How did you both get here? He got here first.
He just followed his heart.
Yeah.
You hungry? I could eat.
All right, follow me.
Let's go.
I know a shortcut.
Great.
No, no, no.
Set it in the GPS.
Foust: So, Adam had won two challenges, and Rut had followed his heart to a victory.
And now we were going to follow his stomach.
Wood: You ordered me 15 sausages? You know we can't drink beer and then get in the car.
Yes.
That's why this is non-alcoholic beer.
So people that don't want the buzz Just that bloated, pissy feeling.
You think you could drive like this in the states? Like, people pay real attention on the autobahn.
I didn't see a single soccer mom in the left-hand Lane.
Like, this, I finally felt like I understood what the interstate system was supposed to be for.
Cheers to that with some non-alcoholic bubble.
Ferrara: After some inappropriate conversation about German sausages, we started thinking about our bucket list again.
You know all this little stuff means nothing.
When we get to the Nuerburgring, that's where men separate from the boys.
I mean, that's something I've wanted to do for as long as I could drive a car.
You ready? I'm done.
Let's roll.
Excellent.
You're not having another non-alcoholic beer? No.
God, it's terrible.
Come on.
Let's roll.
Terrible.
Wood: This is incredible.
This is I mean, this is bucket list right here.
Wood: Things just couldn't get any better.
Man, do I love my job.
Well, couldn't get better for me and Adam, that is.
The problem with being in a golf is that this thing is fast, but people see it in the rearview mirror and they see a Volkswagen golf, and they just don't respect it and they don't get out of the way soon enough.
Adam in his skittle-yellow Lamborghini over there, he's half a mile away from them, and they're pulling over, peeing themselves because a Lambo's gonna come screaming by.
Foust: To add to my frustration, I hadn't won a single challenge yet, and I didn't want to arrive at the Nuerburgring empty-handed.
So I had an idea for a challenge where I couldn't be beat.
All this straight-line stuff isn't really giving us an idea of how these things are gonna handle the Nuerburgring.
So, what do you want to do? I think we go to, like, an abandoned parking lot or something, set up a little handling test, get a feel for them, you know? I'm in.
Let's do it.
Ferrara: Lead on.
Here we go.
[Sighs.]
This work? Yeah, I think so.
What'd you have in mind? Okay, here's the deal.
I figured we'd make a little bit of a slalom.
Yeah.
All the way down this parking lot.
Get a little u-turn at the back, run back, get a chance to feel, you know, the zigs and zags before we get on the racetrack.
Yeah.
Fastest time wins.
I like it.
Right? Sounds good.
You got something to slalom around? [Laughs.]
Of course.
Beer.
Picked these up.
That's great.
[Upbeat music plays.]
Okay, he definitely does have the advantage on this one.
Well, sure, but, I mean, these are just tiny kegs.
If he hits one, it's gonna mess up the car.
True.
But he's got a tiny car, and he's a tiny driver.
Tiny car, tiny driver, tiny kegs.
Everything's in proportion.
Like tiny world.
Hey, you ready, tiny? Ready here.
In three Two One Go! That's a quick, little car.
Foust: Finally I had a chance to show off just how nimble the Golf R was.
The variable rack is good.
Ooh.
Ooh, he almost hit the bushes.
Oh, you got to go slow for the u-turn.
Yep.
Quick.
Go.
There he comes quickly.
And he's heading for us.
Nimble, little [Bleep.]
.
That was aggressive.
Huh?! [Laughs.]
Yeah, 14.
7.
Not bad.
That seems okay.
Yeah, that was moving.
Who's next? 610 horsepower, getting down to the ground, all-wheel drive.
Sounds like it would be good, but for something this tight Mnh-mnh.
It's just gonna push, isn't it? It's taking that big bull and shoving it into a tiny, little bird cage.
Okay, Adam.
You ready? Yeah.
In three [Engine revs.]
Two One Go! That's it.
Get in there.
Get in there.
Ooh! Ooh! [Bleep.]
.
Did you see how close that one was? There's where we make up time Right here.
Go, girl.
Go.
Okay, okay.
Run for your life.
[Engine revs.]
[Laughs.]
15.
68.
So, Adam had failed to beat me.
One cheater down, one to go.
Come on.
You can beat a golf, right? He's just a little V.
W.
.
Ferrara: All right, Rut, you ready? Ready.
Three Two [Sighs.]
One Go! Oh, he almost hit the beer can right there.
Oh, oh, oh, oh! Oh, this is it.
Look at this slalom.
Ooh, there's a hedge.
There's beer.
There's a hedge.
Come on, baby.
[Engine revs.]
Here he comes.
Watch out, watch out.
Whoo! Foust: Coming up, we finally make it to the most dangerous circuit in the world.
And there's a golf! Look at that! [Tires screech.]
And later, Adam takes the Lamborghini to new heights.
Holy Am I really going that fast?! Ferrara: We were on our way to the ultimate stop on our bucket list The Nuerburgring.
With over 147 turns, Tanner arranged one last handling challenge.
And it looked as though he might actually win it.
But not if Rut could help it.
Come on, baby.
Whoo! That good, huh? Damn it.
I beat you! I knew it! I knew I could do it! Stupid Porsche.
[Laughs.]
Wood: Even with a tailor-designed challenge, Tanner couldn't seem to win.
And it meant that Adam and I were tied at two apiece.
So it was back to the autobahn for the final leg of our journey with a nice, long stretch of open road to enjoy.
For once, we're on an interstate where people driving slow actually drive in the right-hand Lane.
What a novel idea.
Ferrara: Back in the states, that's just a suggestion.
It's a thing of beauty.
In fact, it's hard to even imagine roads like this existing in the U.
S.
This is unreal.
Right now, I'm doing like 130 miles an hour, and I'm just getting passed by a family.
Oh.
Sprechen sie deutsch.
Hey, Tanner, how far from the Nuerburgring are we now? Uh, maybe 20 minutes, but I think this is our last stretch of autobahn, because then it's all small roads.
Are you saying we should race to the Nuerburgring? Ferrara: I'm saying see if you guys can keep up with this yellow Lamborghini that's going past you! Oh! Oh, is that it? You want to play? Come on.
First one to the exit wins! I love Germany! Ha ha! I mean, it's rock-solid.
I'm going 100-freakin'-55 miles an hour, and it is rock-solid.
But they're going faster.
Wood: Hey, this is the exit.
This is the exit.
Ferrara: [Laughs.]
I notice you guys are behind me! Just wait till we get to Nuerburgring.
It's all I got to say.
That might be the happiest I've ever been on a public road.
[Laughs.]
Ferrara: As we said goodbye to the autobahn and turned on to the country road that would lead us to the ring, we were just kilometers away from the stuff that car dreams are made of.
Wood: Nuerburgring oh! Oh, this is so amazing! I can almost cry tears of joy right now.
I mean, this is it.
This is a day I've been waiting for since I could drive.
Ferrara: Look.
Tanner's a racecar driver.
He gets to do stuff like this all the time.
But a guy like me gets to drive the Nuerburgring in a brand-new Lamborghini.
[Laughs.]
Life is good.
Foust: It's a special place.
It's a place where you search your soul, find your own limits.
And it's one reason why cars that are born from this dirt, German cars, tend to feel so good at high speed.
Foust: Now, this golf r is nicely balanced and adequately powerful, but I was 0 for 4 in challenges.
And we were headed to the greatest racetrack in the world.
Hey, listen, guys, I'm gonna stop here.
I think I got another golf that has slightly better tires.
What's that? What's that? Surprise for later? Hmm? What's that? I mean, obviously you guys are in sports cars.
Whatever.
I got some good tires waiting.
What? Why don't you just change the tires? Why do you got to change cars? It's a special matched set with the car.
Whatever.
Anyway, these are cool buildings here, aren't they? Ferrara: Whatever Tanner had up his sleeve, we'd find out soon enough, because we had arrived.
[Operatic singing "ode to joy".]
Foust: With blind corners and long straights, it's one of the most challenging and scary racetracks on earth.
It has over 140 turns and extreme elevation changes.
The Nuerburgring is more than a circuit.
It's the ultimate testing ground for car manufacturers and a place where anyone can live out their automotive fantasy if they have the courage.
And we were about to get it to ourselves, but just for one lap.
Oh my goodness.
Wow.
This is it.
The Nuerburgring.
We're here.
I can't [Laughs.]
I can't believe we're doing this.
This is literally the most dangerous asphalt in the world.
Ha ha! And there's a golf! Look at that! [Tires screech.]
There was a golf.
Okay.
Awesome.
I'm so glad I have the perfect car for this track.
I think you're gonna be surprised.
The golf platform is pretty formidable.
It's formidable.
Do you see any Lamborghinis? I only need to see one, and that's the one I'm in.
I mean, you realize the 911 was essentially born here.
Porsche.
Porsche.
I'm gonna win.
This is gonna be awesome.
That was a suzuki! [Laughs.]
Expert.
Ferrara: So, Rut and I went to pull our cars around to the staging area while Tanner went to find his new tires Which, for some reason, was attached to a new car.
Wood: What is that? A very fast, new car.
Coming up, Tanner's new car has a brush with the barriers.
That's what I'm talking about! And Rut finally gets his moment.
Wood: Oh sh Ferrara: We were on a pilgrimage to the Nuerburgring.
We had sped down the autobahn and had now arrived at the world-famous track, where we could go even faster.
Tanner had swapped out his golf r for something a little quicker.
Wood: What is that? What are you doing? [Engine revs.]
That's not [Engine shuts off.]
It's a golf! It's not your golf! This is the golf r I'm running on the Nuerburgring.
Hell yes.
You can't you're cheating! Oh! What? Yes! I'm cheating? You drove a Lamborghini and a Porsche for a Volkswagen show.
And they're both made by Volkswagen! They're like cousins barely.
Since my car was purpose built for this track and I hadn't won any challenges, I reluctantly conceded.
Are you happy now? But to be honest, all I wanted to do was get this golf24 racecar onto the track.
So I suggested that I go first, set a benchmark time, and let tweedledee and tweedledum Duke it out for the win.
Wood: Okay.
That sounds fair.
Ferrara: Go on.
Get out of here.
Hey, can you take a picture of me in this thing? This is awesome.
No.
No? Just go already.
All right, fine.
Ferrara: In your little white suit.
With 150 more horsepower than the golf r and 550 pounds lighter, this was a beast.
And, in fact This is the actual racecar from the 24 hours of Nuerburgring.
It has a huge amount of down force and cold tires, and that means in the low-speed corners, I have to take extra care 'cause it will spin it out and crash it into a wall.
The higher-speed corners, I can go ahead and push it a little bit.
[Engine turns over.]
Oh, my gosh.
This is most definitely on the bucket list.
My goal was to set a time that would embarrass those guys so bad, they'd never come to Germany again.
Whoa! The acceleration is awesome! [Tires screech.]
The first corner, and the cold tires had almost caught me out.
This lap was gonna need all the concentration I could muster.
Especially as I'd never even driven this car before.
The steering is so precise, and the shifts are so quick! Down the straights and to the fast-flowing corners, the golf24 felt spectacular.
This is a really hard track to drive! There's so many corners to remember, it's so easy to make a mistake! That's what I'm talking about! I was still fighting the cold tires at the exit of every turn.
[Engine revs.]
Up ahead lay the carousel, the most notorious corner on the track.
Finally, with heating the tires, I can really push.
With the lap almost complete, I hit the long back straight and let all of the golf's 450 horses loose.
[Operatic singing.]
This is awesome! Whoo! [Engine revs.]
This is the last corner! Whoo! Crossing the line, the golf24 had done an incredible job with a lap time in the mid 7-minute range.
Not bad considering the cold driver and the cold tires.
Whoo! That was awesome! Looked fast.
Foust: Look.
V.
W.
.
Holy crap, that was fun.
And do you see what's in the middle of the car right there? Dead bugs.
Bugs.
Just above the dead bugs.
A V.
W.
symbol, 'cause that's what we're supposed to pick.
With my time set, it was now down to Rut and Adam.
Rut would go first.
And for everybody's safety, Adam would start a minute later.
Wood: This was it.
For this big kid, a boyhood dream was about to come true.
But could I make it even sweeter and beat Adam? Here we go.
[Engine revs.]
I'm going around the Nuerburgring.
First turn.
Oh, that comes up fast! Come on, baby.
Come on.
Way to take off! Oh, my gosh.
This thing is like a roller coaster.
As I rounded the Adenauer Forst, Adam was ready to unleash the bull.
I'm excited because I get to do this.
I'm scared because, you know, it's me.
[Engine revs.]
First turn.
Exit.
Ferrara: This wasn't as easy as herr Foust made it look.
Oh.
Okay.
But I still had a full lap to catch Rut.
[Engine revs.]
He was in the groove.
I am flying.
I'm doing over 200 kilometers an hour, and this thing is so smooth.
But now I unleash the power of the Huracán and was catapulted down the back stretch.
Wow, is this friggin' fast! Wood: This is so stupid-fast.
What are you doing? [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Wood: We had traveled through Germany on the autobahn and through country towns to the famed Nuerburgring to fulfill our bucket list.
Finally, we had arrived at the most challenging racetrack in the world.
Tanner had set a time, and Adam and I were on the circuit driving the ragged edge to beat each other.
This is so stupid-fast.
What are you doing? [Tires screech.]
Oh, [Bleep.]
! Whoa! It's official.
I have scared the [Bleep.]
out of myself.
If it were two-wheel drive, I would have looped this sucker around already.
As I push the Porsche beyond my own capabilities, Adam was closing in on me and giving himself some sound advice.
Don't die, Adam.
Don't die.
[Engine revs.]
Oh, too fast on the turn.
Ferrara: By trying to squeeze the most out of the Lambo, I was sloppy in the corners and losing time to Rut.
Wood: Come on, baby.
Come on.
What's over the next hill? Oh, [Bleep.]
.
Wood: I had to out-perform Adam on these twisties before we got to the long straights where the Lambo could outgun me.
To memorize this entire track is insane.
3/4 of the way and I was about to come face-to-face with the carousel.
With its blind entrance, you're told simply to aim for the tallest tree.
All right, here we go.
Carousel.
Ah! That was so awesome! Oh, I just did the carousel.
It's hard to talk.
Oh, too fast.
As Adam wrangled the bull Ferrara: That's sloppy.
I was about to hit warp speed on the Nuerburgring's over-a-mile-long straight.
Wood: All right, here it is.
Back stretch.
Oh, my gosh.
It's moving around a little bit now.
220 kilometers! 230! 240! 245! 250! 260 kilometers on the Nuerburgring! Holy [Bleep.]
! Oh, I got to lift.
I can't see where I'm going.
Oh! Oh! Ferrara: As Rut headed into the final set of turns, I was about to experience the carousel for myself.
But not wanting to pay a $300,000 bill, I took a slightly safer line.
Oh, I got to stay high in the carousel.
That was scary.
I had to stay high 'cause I didn't want to bottom out the car.
I got to make up some time.
Come on.
This is the coolest road I have ever driven on in my life.
It is worth all the flights.
It is worth all the money to get here.
This is insane.
Wood: As I rounded the last corner, my boyhood dream had come true.
I did it! Oh, my gosh! Oh, I just did a lap around the ring, and I'm alive.
Meanwhile, Adam had just hit the long straight Wow! That is fast! Where the Lambo could outgun the Porsche with a much higher top speed.
Run, baby! Run! That's it! Holy [Bleep.]
! Is it Am I really going that fast?! Bring it down! Brake! Ferrara: With just a few corners left, I had no idea if I made up enough time to beat Rut.
Come on, baby.
Get him! I did it! I ran the Nuerburgring, and I'm not dead! Ha ha! [Operatic singing "ode to joy".]
Foust: Look for scratches, dents.
No.
No.
He's alive! It's a miracle! Wait.
Is it really Adam in there? That is unbelievable.
Wow.
[Laughs.]
Wow! Is that crazy? Wow! I cannot believe you made it.
I mean, I'm happy that you made it.
That was crazy.
That was great.
[Tires screech.]
What was my time? You did 9:42.
9:42! That is amazing! Are you kidding? For a first-timer who doesn't know the course.
Pretty good time For a fast minivan.
That's a good time, and you know it.
How was it in the Lambo? That was I had to stay high in the carousel.
I couldn't go down because I figured I'm gonna bottom this thing out.
Man, that was I hit 293 back here on the back stretch.
What? Yeah.
Yeah.
It's about 183 miles an hour.
Good God.
Yes! It didn't help.
No.
Oh! You escaped with your life.
The car appears to be in one piece.
You got a lot to be happy about.
'Cause to be the man, you got to beat the man, and I'm the man.
He's the man.
Should we go again? Let's do it again.