Top Gear Series 1 Episode 8 Episode 8 ( Air Date 2002-12-08 ) Genre Reality, Talk category. Overview "Jeremy Clarkson compares yet another fast Mercedes with yet another fast Audi — the Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG and Audi RS6 — before taking the new Maserati Coupé for a spin. Richard Hammond tackles a group test of superminis, sets out to find Britain's fastest white van man, and discovers whether even Lotus can turn a humble Lada Riva into something worth driving. Sir Michael Gambon is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.".