Vintage Mustang breaks down during Top Gear filming
The Top Gear presenter who claims to be even more controversial than Jeremy Clarkson has hit trouble already after his vintage Mustang broke down in the middle of the Highlands.
New presenter Rory Reid was supposed to be pitting the iconic car - made famous by Steve McQueen's 1968 film Bullitt - against two modern versions in Scotland.
But he ran into trouble when it broke down near the remote fishing village Kylesku, near Sutherland, on Saturday afternoon.
It is one of a series of problems the show has suffered since it was taken over by Chris Evans.
Mr Reid beat thousands to a spot on the BBC2 show after it invited ordinary car enthusiasts to audition and claims he is even more of a liability on camera than Jeremy Clarkson.
After his breakdown pair of mechanics in the Highlands toiled through the night on an ailing 1967 Mustang - to get the show back on the road.
Inverness mechanics Angus Mackillop and David Ross, who run Horsepower Cars, came to the rescue.
After producers sent the Ford Mustang on a trailer to their garage, they worked tirelessly through the night to repair the engine and even sent couriers to Aberdeen to collect parts.
Mr Mackillop said: 'We got a phone call from the crew saying they were in a bit of a stoosh but they had helicopters and all different things waiting to film so they really didn't want to cancel filming.
'We were happy to help, we're both big fans of Top Gear but we were very surprised.
'It arrived at about 7pm and we got wired in but we needed parts and with it being a Mustang, they aren't easy to come by.
'We ended up sending a courier to a specialist place in Aberdeen and my partner Dave worked all through the night and into Sunday to get it going.'
Mr Ross said it was a 'pleasure' to carry out the repair work, adding: 'I was working from seven at night until midday but it was worth it.
'We're all car enthusiasts here and it's not every day you're working on a car for Top Gear.'
Rory spent the last week driving the North Coast 500 for the next series, which starts in May.
Three brightly-coloured Mustangs have been tearing around the route, which starts and ends in Inverness, taking in Ross-shire, Sutherland and Caithness.
Since North Coast 500, dubbed Scotland's answer to Route 66, was launched by the North Highland Initiative, it has proved popular with motorists, cyclists and walkers.
He is said to be even more politically incorrect that former host Jeremy Clarkson having pretended to have sex with a car on his audition tape.
The self-styled ‘South London boy’ is actually an experienced broadcaster, who has posed with shotguns, boasted about ‘going after’ Mr Clarkson, and has a history of making tasteless jokes and swearing on camera.
An amateur drone pilot was stunned to find the sports cars he was filming were being driven by the new presenters of Top Gear.
Keith Bremner, 41, was out driving with his wife, Jennifer, 40, when he spotted a yellow Mustang being driven along Kylesku Bridge in the Scottish Highlands and jumped to film it.
He was, he later realised, inadvertently recording the new set of Top Gear.
The five minute footage shows Rory Reid, driving the yellow 2016 Mustang - the day after its break down - and a white 1967 Mustang, along the Kylesku Bridge and whizzing down the winding roads.
Bremner said: 'It was marvellous to watch. I filmed the whole thing remotely from the bridge car park. They were racing along and it was incredible.
When Rory got out of the car he said hello, he was a lovely chap. He recognised the drone because he had one too.
'He then told me he was enjoying filming the first Top Gear segment and joked he was doing a lot of waiting around - but liked Scotland. He was excited, friendly and more than happy to have a short chat.
'The team looked like they were having a great time filming. Everyone was in high spirits, but it did look like a long day. They were there way before we arrived and stayed long after.'
Bremner, a sales manager and father-of-two, has been flying drones for over three months and often films mountain biking with his DJI Phantom Drone which cost him £700.
He said of his Top Gear encounter: 'It was the perfect opportunity to capture some amazing footage and really show the quality of the drones. They capture perfect images and as long as you have a steady hand, you can really get some movie magic with them.'
-Daily Mail