Grand Tour: Launch Control

In Episode 12: " (censored) to (censored) " of The Grand Tour Jeremy Hammond and May discuss the pointlessness of launch control, in a short skit with a Porsche GT3.

[Ceris_]

Please tell me I'm not the only one who likes the sound of the gt3

[vonJaerschky]

If a GT3 launched beside my corpse at my funeral, I would be honoured.

[IsaaxTeddy]

well the last bit is perfect for the funeral of a racing driver, you know, like air force pilots died and on their funeral, fighter jets will fly pass with a missing man formation.

[Goudney]

My first experience with launch control resulted in my car ending up in someone's front lawn.

[backroad_ex]

1:16 when the car wants to pop a wheelie

[skinnedknuckles]

This makes me crack the shits 🤣🤣🤣 Pure gold... Keep it up chaps.

[liamholcroft]

my car has launch control, it's called my left foot.

[desertsandfly]

The lamborghini Aventador in my opinion has the best launch control sound. That beast just roars out loud waiting for you to unleash it.

[nonamernobrainer]

They discussed this joke back on top gear 😂

[Tom--Ace]

I use the auto slushbox equivalent of launch control ('brake torque launch') on my girlfriend's hyundai i30 sometimes - hold the brake, press the accelerator, let the slushbox build up heat and power reserve in the tranny oil, then let go and feel the torque multiplication.. somewhat. It's an i30 after all lol.

But ironically, it is far more useful than normal launch control:
1) You can hold it for far longer (but be prepared to change transmission oil more frequently)
2) It is far less brutal on your transmission (transmission oil is worn out and needs more frequent replacement, but this is no biggie compared to clutches)
3) It is far less noisy and obnoxious
4) It can be done on any auto slushbox car and actually improve its off the line performance - something an i30 can use, not a 911
5) It can be surprisingly quick and gives a laugh when you need to beat some moron from the lights who clearly wants to cut you off (or if you are that moron)

By comparison, my own Maserati Gransport is far trickier to get off the line - no launch control, manual clutch system means winding up throttle under brake is a huge no no, result is that for approximately the first 0.1 seconds, the car is slower off the line than the i30 - but then theres a huge surge and the thing just flies, no contest of course. But it comes down to balancing traction with your right foot.

Still, I much prefer the clutch to simply engage in a quick, repeatable and wear friendly manner, and then use throttle to control and bring initial wheel slip under control, then having a computer slip the crap out of the clutch instead and wear it out.

And I also have the peace of mind knowing that if a valet ever drives my car, they can't go wearing out clutches with launch control (there's reversing slowly uphill for that!)

Even for quick driving, launch control on a transmission with clutches is just a horrible feature.

[HYPEU_OG]

It’s funny when you see this clip on the internet but without the intro. People don’t understand it’s a skit from a show. 😆

[bro]

😂😂😂 imagine doing that to the police 😂😂😂 and at a FUNERAL 😂😂😂

[ian_]

I cringed when they put it through that car wash...

[jonmcdonald]

Series 17 of Top Gear they mention this and how annoying it would be love they actually did it!

[edwinkjellzahn]

Not the most relevant criticism but the lad didn’t pay for his coffee. He just drove off.

[timo]

How to destroy your gearbox and clutch as quick as possible. Constant launch control will wear it out quickly.

[killer]

Launch control is literally only good for street racing

[John_Doe]

If a, just stop oil, hippie sits in front of your car

[gigagurke]

If i be a milionair there will be signs:

[rudexbruiser]

Now that's how you burn out a clutch