Although the most recent memories that many of us have of Top Gear are of seeing “three middle-aged men” (as they describe themselves) testing hypersports on a track or facing some “crazy” challenge, there were times when the famous BBC show was more like a show about… cars.
Proof of this are a series of videos available on YouTube often identified as “Old Top Gear”. Among the various tests of the most sensible (and also boring) familiar proposals that filled the roads in the 90s, there was one that stood out.
“And why did this video catch your attention?” you ask as you read these lines. Simply because its protagonists are four "heroes" from the 90s, four hot hatches, more precisely the Citroen Saxo Cup (VTS in UK), Peugeot 106 GTi, Fiat Punto GT and Volkswagen Polo 16V.
the magnificent four
The result of an era in which ESP was just a mirage in small sports cars and ABS was a luxury, both the Citroën Saxo Cup and the “cousin” Peugeot 106 GTi, the Fiat Punto GT and the Volkswagen Polo 16V to be driven in the limit required something that is not sold through an app or in sachets at the pharmacy: a nail kit.
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The Citroën Saxo VTS would be known around here in the 120 hp version as the Saxo Cup.
But let's go to numbers. Of the four, the Punto GT was the one with the most “impressive” values. After all, the Fiat SUV (then still in the first generation) had the same 1.4 Turbo as the Uno Turbo i.e. debiting 133 hp that allowed it to reach 0 to 100 km/h in just 7.9s and reach 200 km/h.
The French duo, on the other hand, presents itself as a “two in one”, with the 106 GTi and the Saxo Cup sharing from the engine to the bodywork (with due differences, of course). In mechanical terms, they had an atmospheric 1.6 l capable of offering 120 hp and to boost them up to 100 km/h in 8.7s and 7.7s, respectively, and up to 205 km/h.
Finally, the Polo GTi appeared in this comparison as the least powerful of the group, presenting itself with "only" 100 hp extracted from a 1.6 l 16V engine (there was also the GTi with 120 hp, released later).
As for the verdict given by Jeremy Clarkson about these four hot hatch, we leave you the video here so you can discover and enjoy these little sports cars.