Motown Funk is the twenty-fifth episode of The Grand Tour and the first episode of Series 3. It was released on Amazon Prime on the 18th of January, 2019.
Segments[]
Film[]
Shocked to learn that Detroit, the birthplace of petrolheads has been renovated to producing Organic Kale and Allotment sheds, rather than Power Hungry V8s, the trio head over to bring life back into Motor City. To assist them they each bring an Iconic Tuned American Muscle Car for there Pulsating Petrolhead Playground.
Hammond brings the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, an 840bhp upgrade on the Hellcat (used in Opera, Arts and Donuts), despite having the same brakes and suspension. May uses the Hennessey Exorcist, a 1000bhp Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, but with Standard Brakes and Suspension. Clarkson drives the 720bhp Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3, which does have upgraded brakes and suspension. While enjoying their drive, Clarkson and May reveal their true love for Muscle Cars, only claiming they were stupid to annoy Hammond.
For the first test, Clarkson and May state that the team should do a drag race to see which of their muscle cars is the fastest. Hammond is initially skeptical and reveals that Dodge have stated not to use the Demon for street which his presenters assume is due to his Rimac Crash. Clarkson and May therefore continue without Hammond and have their street Drag Race which they continue for several runs to annoy the latter. Despite May having a bad start on one run, the Exorcist continually thrashes the Mustang, despite Clarkson using launch control on one of the many runs, due to it's 280bhp advantage. Clarkson eventually gives in and the trio look into the Exorcist's engine, but Hammond claims that it would be no faster than the Demon to which May disagrees, due to the Exorcist being built to vanquish the Demon. Clarkson states that to solve this they would find a runaway and stage a drag race between the Exorcist and the Demon, in a battle of "Good vs. Evil".
For the second test, the trio agree to do a noise test in an abandoned theatre, which used to belong to Henry Ford, and after a look into it's history they begin their noise test using a decibel-o-meter. Clarkson goes first, with Hammond and May wearing helmets, to protect them from fragments of the roof, and masks, to prevent them inhaling dust. After doing several doughnuts, the Mustang peaks at 125.2 decibels. During Hammond's run, he initially forgets his key, and his presenters mock him once again, stating that he'll likely have another accident. Despite it having more power the Mustang, the Demon only peaks at 118.8 decibels. As May heads off for his run, his co-presenters mock him for his lack of doughnut experience, which shows as he stalls several times. He eventually over comes and the Exorcist wins overall with a peak time of 128 decibels. After May does his victory dance, Clarkson attempts to claim victory for the Mustang due to it being 50 grand cheaper than the Exorcist.
The trio then head out to search for lunch but after failing to find a restaurant or a hotel, they agree to buy a house, which Hammond gives a tour of and reveals that they only paid $2200. Clarkson however is disgusted by May growing vegetables as Detroit was meant to be petrolhead heaven rather than an Eco-Allotment shed. Clarkson therefore heads out to purchase some burgers and in the process runs over May's vegetables plot.
The next morning the trio compare their fuel economies, the Demon averages 8mpg, the Exorcist averages 3.9mpg and the Mustang averages 13mpg with Hammond joking that it was a Hybrid. Their plan was to turn Detroit's City Centre into a RaceTrack, but were unable to due to the large populous of the city and Clarkson's disgust towards the city becoming a "wholefood market" which annoys his colleagues particularly May.
The trio therefore head for Cadillac's old Conner Avenue Factory, and after a look into its history, Hammond agrees to set up their racetrack with portraits of singers representing different corners. Once completed, they send May in the God-Fearing Exorcist to christen the track. After his run, May criticises Hammond for poorly setting up the track, but never the less, the presenters begin their practice timed laps. The Demon and the Exorcist are relatively close but the Mustang proves to be significantly faster, thanks to its superior suspension and brakes. The practice times shown are:
| Place | Car (Driver) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| First | Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3 (Clarkson) | 56.4 |
| Second | Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (Hammond) | 1:01.2 |
| Third | Hennessey Exorcist (May) | 1:01.7 |
The trio then begin their official timed laps with the Exorcist going first and despite May frightening himself he beats his own record. The Demon goes next but proves to be more a handful for Hammond and his colleagues commentate his lap, stating that he'll likely have an accident. Despite his efforts and beating his own record, Hammond's time proves to be slower than May's. As Clarkson sets off for his lap in the Mustang, May sabotages the lap by pouring Organic palm oil at the final corner. Despite being faster initially, the Mustang slips on the oil and finishes stone dead last. The times shown are:
| Place | Car (Driver) | Time |
|---|---|---|
| First | Hennessey Exorcist (May) | 59.66 |
| Second | Dodge Challenger SRT Demon (Hammond) | 1:00.66 |
| Third | Ford Mustang RTR Spec 3 (Clarkson) | 1:01.42 |
Finally the trio arrive at an Airfield where May and Hammond line up the Exorcist and Demon the drag race of "Good vs. Evil" with Clarkson being the starter. However Hammond halts the drag race, which annoys his colleagues to make modifications to the Demon, so as to make it a proper Drag Racing Car, including changing the tyres, fitting a new ECU, a new air filter, performance fuel and a new dashboard. Eventually the Demon was complete and both Hammond and May warmed they're tyres, burnout style. However once the burnout session ended, Hammond revealed he had to set the Demon up as a Race car, which proves too much for Clarkson who abandons his colleagues. The traffic lights are therefor brought in to start the race. Due to it's rebuild the Demon sets off quicker than the wayward Exorcist and wins overall, resulting in a victory for Evil.
Back in the Tent, May attempts to claim victory due to the fuel used in the Demon but Hammond reveals that the Exorcist used the same fuel, all of the time. Clarkson then claims overall victory for the Mustang due to it being the most sensible choice, which despite May disagreeing with, Hammond reveals that the Mustang would be his choice as the "resident muscle car enthusiast".
Track Test[]
Clarkson tests out McLaren's all new, super hardcore, super light, super fast, super expensive P1 replacement, honourably named the Senna, after Ayrton Senna. Due to it's sheer speed, He tests it at Thruxton Circuit as opposed to the Eboladrome. He is blown away by the Senna's speed, lack of weight, aerodynamics, braking, steering and especially the handling stating that it's way more delicate than even the best Ferrari's. He concludes by stating that the Senna re-wrote the Supercar rule book. Abbie Eaton returns to drive the Senna round the Eboladrome and sets a new Lap Record of 1:12.9, nearly 3 seconds faster than the non road legal Aston Martin Vulcan.
Conversation Street[]
Sting: The trio shake hands, with May revealing an elongated right arm.
The trio talk about the economic collapse of the city. Hammond points out that American carmakers contributed to the demise of Detroit by being too cheap on their prices.