Richard Hammond and daughter Izzy are back again, this time with another edition of the DriveTribe Cool Wall on YouTube. Izzy recently revived the Cool Wall, but with a twist: she had to pick a car for a particular scenario and rank its coolness for that scenario.
The original Cool Wall was, of course, one of the most popular segments on the original Top Gear with Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and James May. The presenters would stick various cars to the wall in different categories ranging from seriously uncool, uncool, cool, and sub-zero.
This twist from Izzy makes it an even more intriguing prospect. Because once her father has selected a car for that scenario, he can’t then swap to the next car. Plus, he only gets the cars picked one by one. So once one car has been tied to a certain scenario, those decisions are locked in.
The latest edition has some very interesting suggestions. Everything from a McLaren supercar to a luxury Rolls-Royce and even a Mercedes pickup truck makes an appearance on the legendary Cool Wall. All of which makes it very tough for Hammond to decide on anything.
What Did Izzy Have Lined up for Her Father This Time?
It was clear that Izzy was ready to up the stakes this time with what she had planned for her father. The first scenario would be which car you could drive through Alabama, incognito, without being chased out of town. Remember the Top Gear USA special? This was in direct reference to that incident.
The other scenarios included surviving a zombie apocalypse, driving to the South of France instead of flying, starting street racing while building a reputation, and taking Hammond’s daughters to a party while they do their makeup. So, some interesting situations for Izzy’s father to have to deal with. Making it more interesting was that the first car was a Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
Hammond, as we know, loves Porsches, so this was quite the predicament for him to choose a scenario. After much thought, he decided to make it the zombie getaway car, and it went into the top, radioactive category. “Escaping a zombie apocalypse in a 911 GT3 RS is worth the risk to my health,” said Hammond. Next up, Hammond had to decide what to do with a BMW Z4 M, but this proved a tough one for Hammond to place into any scenario.
Where Did Hammond Place the BMW Z4 M?
Hammond decided it wasn’t an Alabama challenge car, and that it wasn’t practical enough for the party scenario. In the end, he ruled it the best-suited car to start street racing to try and earn a reputation. But he ranked it low, not thinking it was that cool even for street racing. Izzy had another curveball lined up for her dad by bringing out a Mercedes pickup truck.
“You got a fancy truck,” said Hammond in a jokey Alabama accent. He decided that was the best vehicle for the Alabama challenge. However, it is a fancy European pickup truck, not a Ford F-150 or a Chevrolet Silverado. “Is it cool to drive that through Alabama? It’s not, is it? You’d probably be murdered,” he said. Izzy and her dad both agreed that, while it is a pickup truck, it’s still quite uncool in the Alabama situation.
Then came perhaps the big one. The McLaren F1. And Hammond had to pick either dropping his daughters off to a party in it while they did their makeup, or a road trip in the South of France. Hammond was ecstatic. “That’s a three-seater,” he said. “What?!” exclaimed Izzy. The driver, of course, sits in the middle of the F1. Izzy thought it was beyond cool, so not only was it the party car, but it went into the “fire” category.
A Rolls-Royce Would Take Hammond to the South of France
The car that Izzy revealed last was a Rolls-Royce Cullinan. Hammond agreed with his daughter that it was a hideous-looking car. But it is ideally suited to where it was going, and it would be incredibly comfortable. However, Hammond isn’t a big fan of the car itself…so despite it being comfortable, it went into the mid category. And Hammond was happy with his decisions at the end of the day.