The camera fades into a black and white backdrop, and focuses in a car's headlamp, then switches to a black motorbike, and then to a Jaguar XK120, and then over to 60163 'Tornado', with 60103 'Flying Scotsman' coupled behind it, followed by their respective support coaches, and thirteen carmine and cream coaches, as Jeremy Clarkson's voice over starts to speak.

"You join us in 1949, for a race."

"It is between the fastest bike in the world, the Vincent Black Shadow."

"The fastest car in the world, the Jaguar XK120."

"And these, these Peppercorn and Gresley pacific class steam locomotives, are not the fastest trains in the world, but because they were each completed only three years ago, weirdly, they are the most modern trains, working in Britain today. So all we would have to do is decide, who'd go in what."