Right, chaps, we have got to get that to jump further than him
in the Top Gear Winter Olympics ski slash car jumping champio...
Hm, a 20-year-old, slightly rusty Leyland Mini.
So, let's work this out. Mini does nought to 60 in what?
-About 14 seconds. -No, hang on, that's not relevant.
You're not going to get any grip off the tyre. All you've got is gravity.
I know. Gravity's a cruel and unpredictable mistress, so...
No, it isn't. It's a constant all over the world.
This is simple arithmetically. It's v = u + at.
We know acceleration due to gravity is, 9.8 metres per second squared,
but that's weight component down a plane because it's on a slope,
so we need to get the mass of the car, the angle of the slope
and then work out the angle of where it jumps off. That will give us v.
It will follow a projection. We should then be able to calculate
the exact point where the car meets the snow.
I think we should go and get a cup of tea and work that out.
-Come on, James. -Hang on.
Is gravity going to be enough to get the car down the ramp and beat the skier?
No.
Right, then we have a huge problem.
We need some more propulsion because we can't use the engine,
because that'll just spin the wheels. Right.
Also, we can't put a driver in it because he'll be killed.
So we'll have to work something out on steering. That can be your job.
-Okay. -There's another problem.
Once it's set off, we've got to stop it. Otherwise it'll just soar over there
and take out Lillehammer. So, I'll work out how to stop it.
-Right, guidance for you... -Stopping.
Braking for you. And then I'll figure out some way of...
-Power. -Power.
Exactly. I do the power. Let's get about our business.
-Right. -I'll take my tea.
Earl Grey in Norway, whoever would've thought it?
Our first job was to mark the point where the skier had landed
so we knew the distance to beat.
Unfortunately, James was no Sir Edmund Hillary.
You've got to spray-paint it.
There you go, I've done it.
You've got to get it across, the whole way.
-No, that'll do. -It won't do.
Shut up.
How hard can it be?
With James proving his own laws of gravity,
I got on with the business of power.
Hi. Is that the United Kingdom Rocketry Association?
Yeah, it's Jeremy Clarkson here from Top Gear and I need some rockets.
Soon, though, it went dark again. So we went to the pub.
-Nice to meet you. -Damian.
The next morning, the rocketeers arrived
and announced that they could give the Mini twice as much thrust,
pound for pound, than an F-15 jet fighter.
I've taken drag, aerodynamic drag, ski friction, gravity
and the thrust of three rocket motors into account.
This is rocket science. This is.
But then I saw the rockets.
You can buy these from post offices in November.
-Just wait until you're up there. -Are these going to give enough thrust?
-They are. -More much thrust as you can handle.
So, we put them here?
Oh, Jeremy, that way round!
Down here. Take the boot out. Take the back out.
Yep. Let's have a boot pull.
Meanwhile, I'd chosen a spot to build my snowman.
I think about here.
Or here.
No...
I think...
Right.
How fast was the skier going when he left the thing?
-56 miles an hour. -We're going to be going 83 miles an hour.
This meant Hammond had to think big.
Richard Hammond, how's the braking going?
It's going well.
By this stage, Spiderman had finally got to the top of the ski jump.
When the skier goes down, how does he...? How does he...?
How does he stay in the middle?
-Oh, he has some tracks. -Grooves?
Liquid nitrous oxide... That's got all the oxygen in it.
And in the bottom end... fuel, which is rubber.
Here's a tip. Please! I'm a doctor of engineering twice.
If you use rubber as fuel,
you're not going to go as far as if you use petrol or dynamite.
Hey, Jeremy, do you think you could mount it on skis?
-Why? -Why does he want skis?
If you put it on the skis, I can keep it dead straight.
-We'd have to make 'em. -Well, yes.
Obviously we can't go to the ski rental shop and say,
"Have you got skis for a Mini?"
James, the track is 1300 millimetres.
And with those measurements, the ice men could now cut their special grooves.
Oh, yes!
If I lose it now, I'm going to end up in the Lillehammer Asda.
These scientists have found a job for me to do.
-Does anyone want Earl Grey? -No!
With my skis fitted, the rockets installed
and the ice grooves coming along nicely,
James and I dropped in on Hammond to inspect his snow bank.
I can guarantee that won't stop the Mini.
Partly because it's not substantial enough,
but mostly because you built that in front of that slope
and the Mini is coming down that one.
Right.
-Righto. -What a complete...
-Some adjustments. -Did nobody tell you?
No, obviously! Or I'd have built it over there.
That is fairly embarrassing. What I need... is a big machine.