Supercars in the mountains and city cars in the, um, city: episode 2 of new Top Gear TV

Ferrari 296 GTB, Pagani Huayra BC and the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS

When we talk about supercars, it’s always about the big numbers. Horsepower, top speed, price. And don’t get us wrong, while we’re all about those numbers being as big as possible – well, the first two, anyhow – shouldn’t supercars be less about the stats, more about the way they make you feel?

So here’s the question. Which supercar out there gives the lucky beggar behind the wheel, the best time? Does bigger really equal better? To find out, Chris, Freddie and Paddy each selected an offering from a different corner on the ol’ supercar spectrum, and headed to Germany for a spot of research.

Paddy went big, with the £3m Pagani Huayra BC Roadster. Freddie went... still pretty big, with the tech heavy new Ferrari 296 GTB. And for Chris’s supercar, he chose the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS, which isn’t actually a supercar at all, but let’s not get hung up on such minor technicalities.

Just the trio, then, for a night time charge down a derestricted section of autobahn, and a final ascent of Austria’s jaw-dropping Grossglockner Pass. Tough, day, office, etc.

Electric city cars in Paris

If you want a tiny, battery powered pod-thing to transport you to spots that regular city cars simply can’t reach (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t, apart from people who live in the country, or people with more than one other person to transport?), you’re spoiled for choice right now.

You could have the Citroen Ami, spiritual successor to the 2CV and almost impossible to tell its rear from its front. You could have the Carver Electric, the Dutch oddball bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘lean and green’. Or you could have the City Transformer, which transforms from ‘narrow city car’ to ‘slightly less narrow’ city car at the push of a button.

But how to decide the best of the bunch? We’re guessing, some sort of weighted matrix, incorporating price, performance, range, footprint, etc? All of which sounded a bit boring, so the team decided to settle the debate with a treasure hunt around Paris. The treasure in question being ‘mildly creepy waxworks’ and the hunting weapon of choice being ‘coloured berets’. Vive la différence!

Catch episode 2 on Sunday 6 November at 8pm on BBC One, or on BBC iPlayer