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Television personality Jeremy Clarkson experienced a disheartening moment when his luxury Italian sports car, valued at an impressive £234,000, unexpectedly broke down.
The former Top Gear presenter was en route to his pub, The Farmer’s Dog, located in Burford, when the incident occurred.
While reviewing the high-end Maserati MC20 Cielo, Clarkson, 65, found himself stranded as the vehicle’s engine abruptly failed. He recounted the mishap in his column for The Sunday Times.
Clarkson captured the excitement he felt prior to the breakdown, noting, “During the dry patches, I could unleash the car’s power, which was delightful. Despite the nose frequently scraping the road, I began to appreciate this car much like its forerunner, the MC20. I was fond of it, even its understated design. It seemed refreshingly un-Cheshire-like, if that’s even a term.”
He went on to narrate, “Then, it broke down. It was late, and I was exhausted after a long day. On the main route between my farm and pub, it abruptly stopped. At the time of writing, I have no idea what caused the failure. Just as I pondered how to get it onto a trailer given its low clearance, in the dead of night, it miraculously started again.”
“I haven’t dared drive it since and this saddens me because it’s just sitting in my yard, looking forlorn. And that’s the thing you see. I do believe a car can feel sad because I am a car person. I see them as beings. And as a result I would be as sad if Maserati went west as you would be if they pulled the Uizi down because it cost too much to keep it cool in there.”
As for his review, he explained that MCPura Cielo translated to “pure heaven”, but he said he had no idea why it was given a Scottish sounding prefix.
Despite the extortionate cost, he said the switches looked like they had come from a Fiat Punto and that the seats were “hard and meagre” leaving him with an “underwhelming” feeling.
And breakdown aside, the 65-year-old TV presenter questioned who would actually buy the car for £234,890? He said it would be unlikely anyone with that kind of dough would turn down a Bentley, McLaren, Ferrari or Lamborghini to instead go for a Maserati.
He said he met the man known as Mr Mountbatten-Windsor when he was a “dashing prince” and a “war hero”.
“I used to see him at various events, and he was invariably being chatted up by a gaggle of impossibly beautiful girls who were longing for an invite back to the Palace,” he said.
Jermey added: “So why did he feel the need to befriend a paedo and then get him to ship girls over from America?”
He concluded by saying it “makes me think there’s a lot more to the story than we think”.