But what about cars? I decided to find out whether today’s cream can blast the monsters from the power crazed eighties. Are the new breed quicker in a straight line. Do they corner faster. Which are better looking and which can make the best noises.

That means the 200 mile per hour Jaguar XJ220 taking on a Pagani Zonda. It means pitting a Mclaren Mercedes SLR against a Porsche Carrerra GT – the first time ever these cares have been brought together. And it means lining up the new Fort GT with the car that spawned it – the old GT40. It means epic head to head drag races.

Naturally, the new Aston Martin DB9 is here too, taking on the old warhorses, the V8 Vantages. And the Evo 8? How much faster is it than the Evo 1. The answer might surprise you.

Oh and of course, I just had to riddle a Nissan with machine gun fire as I take up the new and dangerous sport of "Clay Car shooting".

Why? Why not!

Synopsis
Everything is slowing down. Concorde is in a museum and the fighter jets of today are slower than those of the sixties. Clarkson investigates whether the same applies to today's cars.