Idris Elba - King of Speed
Discussion
CooperD said:
I'm pretty certain the drifting segment was filmed at Aintree racecourse, maybe on part of the old racetrack there.
Carpark roof top was definitely Central Liverpool so would make sense if Pre-VT was local.I enjoyed both shows. Was surprised the 22inch wheeled yellow thing was quickest, but is that "King of Streets" had the unbeaten record to back it up then, who am I to argue? And the 7 Million quid Veyron.....really? Kahn car is here....http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/bugatti/veyron/bugatti-veyron-16-4-auto-2007/1617529 and I would assume the shiny bits are now matte black using the power of a wrap.
Not a bad programme overall, but a bit forgettable really.
And it was a bit strange that they'd gone to the trouble of covering up the "Rothmans" stickers on the 6R4, then showed archive footage of Ari's Mk2 Escort with Rothmans all over it. Granted they couldn't change the archive footage, so no real point in blanking it out in the new film.
I haven't watched the first one yet, though.
entropy said:
I've just remembered a bug bear from the ep.2 Idris can't pronounce Keichi Tsuchiya - sounded more like he wanted to order King Prawn Chop Suey!
Listening to the interview with him as the "inventor" of drifting (OK, reading the subtitles) it seemed as if he was taking credit for thinking the technique up as a way of not having to brake so much around corners when he was racing 25-odd years ago, my immediate thought was "Gerry Marshall was doing that in the seventies" and probably many more before and since. Might just have been poor translation though.And it was a bit strange that they'd gone to the trouble of covering up the "Rothmans" stickers on the 6R4, then showed archive footage of Ari's Mk2 Escort with Rothmans all over it. Granted they couldn't change the archive footage, so no real point in blanking it out in the new film.
I haven't watched the first one yet, though.
krunchkin said:
Sorry - I'm a TV cynic because I make it for a living - but none of those exterior shots of the car in these sequences are with Idris driving it
It's not unusual, you can't keep a chopping hanging around all day to catch one good drift in one hundred, might as well make as much of the time you have in the air as possible. Being nosey, what do you do in the industry? Just wondering if we've crossed paths before?droopsnoot said:
And it was a bit strange that they'd gone to the trouble of covering up the "Rothmans" stickers on the 6R4, then showed archive footage of Ari's Mk2 Escort with Rothmans all over it. Granted they couldn't change the archive footage, so no real point in blanking it out in the new film.
I think it's more of a case of having to take reasonable steps to cover it up, whilst archive is treated a little differently. It's a fair amount of roto work which would be needed to cover it up from the old stuff, which would add to budgets etc etcI really liked the show, I thought he came across well and had a good passion for what he was presenting. Ari came across as nothing short of a legend, I do love the Finnish outlook on things.
To answer the q about the drifting part.It was filmed at Aintree on the old circuit. There was also a lot of footage filmed round various bits of Liverpool as it was all shot in a day. A fair bit appears o have not been used.
I had to stand in for Idris at one point with Tsuchiya driving on top of the car park. So smooth on every direction change etc and a very nice fella to boot.
Maybe I'm biased as I was involved in the GT86 segment but thought the whole programme was pretty good for mainstream tv to non petrol heads.
I had to stand in for Idris at one point with Tsuchiya driving on top of the car park. So smooth on every direction change etc and a very nice fella to boot.
Maybe I'm biased as I was involved in the GT86 segment but thought the whole programme was pretty good for mainstream tv to non petrol heads.
I enjoyed seeing a bit of Nascar -at Watkins Glen, rather than on an oval- in the first episode. Idris Elba comes across well as a person, although he wasn't a great presenter and not quite up to Stringer Bell on the streets. The ordinary blokes in the US appeared to warm to him/Stringer, though.
He did appear to come across as trying to be a 'geezer' and seemed to be blagging it a bit about being 'into cars'. He also seemed to be hinting that he was driving on the roads at a young age -confirmed in the second episode, although it seemed a bit odd: Either true and legally awkward/embarrassing or an attempt to appear more of a 'geezer'.
The second episode was much better -Far better than I'd expected. Idris appeared more relaxed.
The section about the 60s Mini and 6R4 Metro was good and Ari Vatanen driving an old 3-Series around a field was great.
I did wonder how much of the Finnish rallying story was true/almost true. Vatanen Jr didn't look very impressed for much of the time!
All-in-all, better than the vast majority of Top Gear.
ps. What was the "King of speed" title all about?
pps. I'd assumed Idris was older than 40 (now 41).
He did appear to come across as trying to be a 'geezer' and seemed to be blagging it a bit about being 'into cars'. He also seemed to be hinting that he was driving on the roads at a young age -confirmed in the second episode, although it seemed a bit odd: Either true and legally awkward/embarrassing or an attempt to appear more of a 'geezer'.
The second episode was much better -Far better than I'd expected. Idris appeared more relaxed.
The section about the 60s Mini and 6R4 Metro was good and Ari Vatanen driving an old 3-Series around a field was great.
I did wonder how much of the Finnish rallying story was true/almost true. Vatanen Jr didn't look very impressed for much of the time!
All-in-all, better than the vast majority of Top Gear.
ps. What was the "King of speed" title all about?
pps. I'd assumed Idris was older than 40 (now 41).
Given its mainstream target audience it had to be dumbed down, but it was a generally enjoyable 2 hours and Idris came across as a genuinely enthusiastic guy even if his knowledge was a bit limited. It really warranted a mini series IMO to cover a wider range of car cultures and cover them all in a bit more depth eg track days, hot rods and customs, hill climbs and sprints, kit cars, off road, go karting etc.
Tony2or4 said:
Who exactly was that Khan guy with the Bugatti? What business is he in. (They probably mentioned it on the programme, but I must have missed that bit.)
Afzal Khanhttp://www.kahndesign.com/
MC Bodge said:
He did appear to come across as trying to be a 'geezer' and seemed to be blagging it a bit about being 'into cars'. He also seemed to be hinting that he was driving on the roads at a young age -confirmed in the second episode, although it seemed a bit odd: Either true and legally awkward/embarrassing or an attempt to appear more of a 'geezer'.
Surely the police must now be opening an enquiry, seems to be the popular thing for them to do for alleged incidents 25+ years ago.I though it was very average, as mentioned he comes across as a blagger and trying to be a geezer, not the style of presenting that I personally like and without much depth. All fur coat and no knickers is the perfect summary - but then it probably suits most people under 25 these days.
Not even in the same class as Top Gear, 2 episodes was enough, any longer and I wouldn't be watching.
droopsnoot said:
Listening to the interview with him as the "inventor" of drifting (OK, reading the subtitles) it seemed as if he was taking credit for thinking the technique up as a way of not having to brake so much around corners when he was racing 25-odd years ago, my immediate thought was "Gerry Marshall was doing that in the seventies" and probably many more before and since. Might just have been poor translation though.
Poor editing?He is certainly not the inventor and certainly he was the Gerry Marshall of his day and but he is the Tiff Needell & Jezza of Japan.
Drifting came from the touge (pronounced 'too-ge') ie. hooning and racing on Japan's mountain roads but most certainly Tsuchiya popularised drifting eg. Best Motoring, D1GP, Initial D was in part based on Tsuchiya; hence his nicknames like Dori Dori, DK (Drift King), cameo in Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift.
Legacywr said:
e21Mark said:
Would have liked to see the e36 roll too. Am guessing a battered ego might have influenced the edit? 
Or, it didn't happen, and was just a set up for the programe?Of course, the gopro may have just not been on at the time. In my experience at track they are never turned on/pointing in the right direction/focussed for the good bits
iva cosworth said:
It's only a 7/10 from me,it was okay.
Looking forward to tomorrow with Ari and Dai Llewelyn in a 6R4....
Pardon my ignorance but I have no idea who Idris Elba might be , and the series is not shown here .Looking forward to tomorrow with Ari and Dai Llewelyn in a 6R4....
However , if you like Dai in the Metro .... Many years ago 1986 iirc ,on the eve of the Welsh rally a certain works 6r4 driver and a certain works RS200 driver thought it would be a hoot to exchange cars and have a blast through the lanes just outside of Cardiff . I didn't end well ,both cars returned late to parc ferme , and both were in a s
t state bodywork wise , Metro being the worst .Thanks to a lot of o/t by the spanner men and some sweet talking to officials both cars made the start , and I believe team bosses were none the wiser.Gassing Station | TV, Film, Video Streaming & Radio | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff