After 22 years together on Top Gear and The Grand Tour, Clarkson, Hammond and May have reached their final destination. Their swansong is set in Zimbabwe, and because it is their last ever episode, they get to choose the cars they have always dreamed of owning: a Lancia Montecarlo (with mods!), a MKI Ford Capri RS3100 and a Triumph Stag.

Not so lucky back in 2009 when the trio filmed at RGS as part of their challenge to find a car for a 17-year-old, negotiating insurance companies, accident repairs and a music festival car park. 

What is the best first car? On the one hand, teenagers want something sporty and preferably turbo-charged. On the other hand, their parents want them to have something slow, cheap and safe and the insurance companies would prefer they didn't drive at all. So begins a Cheap Car Challenge with a budget of £2500 to buy a car, including insurance, that would please them, their parents and their insurance company.

May, Hammond and Clarkson met up at RGS to see what the others bought and to find out their next challenge. James arrived in a Golf, Richard in a Hyundai S-Coupe; and Jeremy in a turbocharged Volvo 940 Estate. The second challenge involved modifying the cars in whichever way they thought would attract girls using only the leftover money they had from their original £2500 budget.

Life hasn’t changed for our Sixth Formers nor their parents 15 years on.

Our Top Gear story - Series 13: Episode 2