Ethan Riley
In a 2011 episode of BBC's Top Gear, former presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May simulated a bank robbery in Albania. The episode, titled Albanian Road Trip, featured the trio testing out cars for an Albanian mobster, which included a staged heist and a high-speed chase with the Albanian police. The presenters wore tights over their heads as masks, wielded pistols, and carried bags of cash as they made their getaway. While the show received backlash for its portrayal of Albania as a nest of mafia car thieves, Albanian diplomats and viewers appeared to take the jokes in good fun.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Show Name | Top Gear |
| Episode | Albanian Road Trip |
| Season | 16 |
| Episode Number | 3 |
| Presenters | Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May |
| Location | Albania |
| Plot | The presenters test out the speed of the cars by robbing a bank and then escaping from the Albanian police |
| Vehicles Used | Rolls-Royce, Mercedes, Bentley |
| Police Vehicles | Chevrolet Aveos, Motorcycles |
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What You'll Learn
Top Gear's Albanian road trip
In the Albanian Road Trip episode of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May test drive around southern Albania in search of the perfect car for an Albanian mobster. The episode features a simulated bank robbery and a high-speed chase with Albanian police with a kidnapped person in the trunk.
The episode begins with the presenters arriving in Albania by ferry from Corfu, Greece. They then set off on a road trip through small villages and over rough roads, where they encounter problems with the Bentley, including a cat's eye getting stuck under the front bumper. They also have to negotiate damp and switchback roads, which prove challenging for all three presenters, especially James.
At one point, they take a detour through a field of old fighter planes from the Cold War, mainly MiGs, which annoys Richard but piques the interest of Jeremy and James. They then come up with the idea of testing the cars by staging a bank robbery, with the Rolls-Royce, the Mercedes, and the Bentley as the getaway cars.
The next morning, the presenters carry out the heist wearing tights over their heads as masks and wielding pistols. Jeremy escapes the bank first and chooses Richard's Mercedes, as it had proved to be the quickest. Richard then exits the bank and curses Clarkson for stealing his car, so he steals James' Rolls-Royce instead. James is the last to exit the bank and, with no other option, takes the slower Bentley. Clarkson has to ask for directions to Saranda, and soon the police are onto them and give chase in Chevrolet Aveos and on motorcycles.
Richard and Jeremy are able to lose the cops and make it back to the ferry. However, James is in trouble. He makes a "very stressy" getaway, but the police catch up and form a roadblock to stop him. James declares, "You'll never take me alive, copper!" and swerves around the roadblock, flipping the car and plummeting off the side of a cliff. Jeremy and Richard bid farewell to their 'dead' friend as they leave on the ferry.
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Simulated bank robbery
In Series 16, Episode 3 of BBC's Top Gear, the show's presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May simulated a bank robbery in Albania. The episode was centred around the trio's quest to find the perfect car for an Albanian mobster.
The simulated bank robbery was part of a high-speed chase with Albanian police, with a twist: a kidnapped person was in the trunk. The presenters wore tights over their heads as masks, wielded pistols, and carried bags of cash as they exited the bank. Clarkson escaped first and, to avoid attracting attention from the police, chose Hammond's Mercedes, which had proven to be the quickest. Hammond then exited the bank and, finding his car stolen, stole May's Rolls-Royce. May was the last to leave the bank and, with no other option, took Clarkson's slower Bentley as the bank alarms went off.
The police chased Clarkson and Hammond in Chevrolet Aveos and on motorcycles, but they managed to lose them and made it back to the ferry. However, May encountered trouble after a "very stressy" getaway in the less powerful Bentley. The police chasing Clarkson and Hammond formed a roadblock to stop him, to which May declared, "You'll never take me alive, copper!". He swerved around the roadblock, flipped the car, and fell off a cliff, resulting in his simulated death. Clarkson and Hammond bid farewell to their 'dead' friend as they departed on the ferry.
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High-speed police chase
In a 2011 episode of Top Gear, the presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May embarked on an Albanian road trip to find the perfect car for an Albanian mobster. The episode, which aired on BBC Two, was filled with national stereotypes and jokes about the Albanian Mafia. One of the most memorable moments from the episode was when the trio decided to test out the speed of the cars by staging a bank robbery and attempting to escape from the Albanian police in a high-speed chase.
The presenters carried out the heist wearing tights over their heads as masks and wielding pistols. They made their getaway in three luxury cars: a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes, and a "Bentley". However, things didn't go exactly as planned. Clarkson, who had escaped the bank first, chose Hammond's Mercedes since it had proven to be the quickest. Hammond then exited the bank and, finding his car stolen, stole May's Rolls-Royce instead. May was the last to exit the bank and, with no other option, took the much slower "Bentley".
As the trio fled the scene, the police were onto them and gave chase in Chevrolet Aveos and on motorcycles. While Hammond and Clarkson were able to successfully lose the cops on the straight roads, May had more trouble in the less powerful "Bentley". The police chasing Hammond and Clarkson soon stopped their pursuit of them and formed a roadblock to catch May instead. Upon seeing the roadblock, May declared, "You'll never take me alive, copper!" He then swerved around the roadblock, flipped the car, and plummeted off the side of a cliff, apparently being thrown from the car and "killed" as a result.
The episode caused some controversy, with some viewers finding the jokes about the Albanian Mafia offensive. However, Albanian diplomats and the Albanian ambassador in London chose to shrug off the comments, and the episode was broadcast in Albania without incident.
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Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May
In the Top Gear episode "Albanian Road Trip", Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May simulated a bank robbery and high-speed chase with Albanian police. The presenters wore tights over their heads as masks and carried bags of cash as they exited the bank, with Clarkson escaping first in Hammond's Mercedes, followed by Hammond in May's Rolls-Royce, and May in Clarkson's "Bentley".
The episode aimed to find the perfect car for an Albanian mobster, with the team testing the speed of the cars, including the Rolls-Royce Ghost, Mercedes S65 AMG, and Bentley Mulsanne. The trio decided to rob a bank and use the cars as getaway vehicles. Clarkson struggled to navigate the "Bentley", and May had a "very stressy" escape, eventually being stopped by a roadblock.
The episode also included jokes about the Albanian mafia, with Clarkson and his co-presenters portraying the country as a nest of mafia car thieves. This came after the show faced protests and criticism for jokes made about Mexicans in a previous episode, where Hammond described a Mexican car as "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus". The BBC issued an apology to Mexico, but the Albanian ambassador in London declined to comment on the episode's mafia jokes.
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Diplomatic responses
In 2011, the BBC show Top Gear aired an episode in which its presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May conducted a simulated bank robbery in Albania. The presenters wore tights over their heads as masks and carried pistols and bags of cash. The episode also featured a high-speed chase with the Albanian police, with a kidnapped person in the trunk.
While the episode was well-received by some, it also attracted criticism for its portrayal of Albania as a "nest of mafia car thieves". The show's producers had previously issued an apology to Mexico for a similar incident in which Hammond described a Mexican car as "lazy, feckless, flatulent, overweight, leaning against a fence asleep looking at a cactus".
Despite the potential for offence, the Albanian ambassador in London declined to comment on the episode, and Albanian diplomats shrugged off the mafia comments. It seems that the Albanian government chose to take the episode in good humour and did not wish to escalate the issue. This diplomatic response likely helped to defuse the situation and prevent further backlash for the show's producers.
Additionally, the episode also sparked interest in Albania's scenic beauty, with some viewers inspired to visit the country after watching. While the show's humour may have been deemed offensive by some, it also had the positive effect of bringing attention to Albania's landscape and culture. Overall, the Albanian government's measured response to the Top Gear episode likely contributed to a peaceful resolution and may have even had some positive outcomes for the country's tourism industry.
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Frequently asked questions
No, this was a simulated bank robbery.
The presenters: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
They used a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes and a "Bentley" as the getaway cars.
They were chased by the Albanian police but Richard and Jeremy successfully lost the cops. James was caught by a roadblock but swerved around it, flipped the car and fell off a cliff, ejecting from the car and being 'killed' as a result.
