49,000 to visit Top Gear Live

TOP GEAR presenter Richard Hammond once quipped that it does not matter how many chemical companies a man owns, they want to be wowed like a child when it comes to super cars.

There may not have been too many chemical company owners in the RDS last night, but even those of a more vintage age were reduced to staring like a belligerent 12-year-olds at the array of the world’s fastest and most expensive cars.

And that was before they got an up-close and personal view of the live version of what is now one of Ireland’s most popular and unmissable television programmes — even if Jeremy Clarkson is the host.