Top Gear (2002 TV series)

This article is about the current format of the BBC television programme. For the original format see, see Top Gear (original format). For other uses of "Top Gear", see Top Gear (disambiguation).

Top Gear is a BAFTA, multi-NTA and Emmy Award-winning BBC television series about motor vehicles, mainly cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style. The programme is estimated to have 350 million viewers worldwide and 8 million viewers each week in the UK on BBC Two. The show is presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig, an anonymous test driver. In 2007 it was one of the most pirated television shows in the world.

Top Gear
File:275px-TopGearLogo.jpg The Top Gear logo
Genre	Motoring
Presented by	Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May (since 2003) The Stig Top Gear Dog Jason Dawe (2002)
Opening theme	"Jessica"
Composer	Dickey Betts
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	10
No. of episodes	89 (inc. specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Producer	Andy Wilman
Production locations	Dunsfold Park, Guildford, Surrey
Running time	60 min. (approx.)
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	2002 – present
Related
Stars in Fast Cars; Top Gear Winter Olympics; Top Gear of the Pops; Top Gear: Polar Special; Top Ground Gear Force

Top Gear is broadcast in many countries; for a list of these, and of the releases the programme has produced over the years, please see the List of Top Gear broadcasters and video releases. Series 10 of Top Gear has now finished, but the show will return for Series 11 on June 22 2008.

History

See also: Top Gear (original format)

File:TopGearHosts.jpg

1. Top Photo: Series 1 host lineup from l to r: Jason Dawe, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson.
2. Bottom Photo: The current presenters from Series 2 onward. From l to r: James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson.

Jeremy Clarkson, who helped the original series reach its peak in the 1990s, along with producer Andy Wilman, successfully pitched a new format for Top Gear to the BBC, reversing a previous decision to cancel the show in 2001. The new series was first broadcast in 2002. Top Gear's studio is located at Dunsfold Park in Surrey, a private aerodrome and business park. Top Gear uses a temporary racing circuit which was designed for the show by Lotus and is laid out on parts of the runways and taxiways. A large hangar is used for studio recording with a standing audience who apply to the BBC for free tickets.

The new series format incorporates a number of major changes from the old show. The running time was extended to one hour and two new presenters were introduced: Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe, with James May replacing Dawe after the first series. Top Gear Dog was introduced to the presenter line-up at the start of Series 8. The Stig, an anonymous masked racing driver, was introduced as the test driver. New segments were also added, including "Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car", "The Cool Wall", "Car News", "Power Laps", and one-off features such as races, competitions and the frequent destruction of caravans.

Series 9 was scheduled to air on BBC Two from 8 October 2006. However, on 20 September 2006, Hammond was seriously injured while driving a jet-powered drag-racing car at up to 314 mph (502 km/h) for a feature in the show. On 24 September the BBC said: "It also confirmed the final part of the Best of Top Gear had been postponed indefinitely and the new series, due to begin on 8 October 2006, will be delayed." Both the BBC and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) carried out inquiries into the accident. On 5 October 2006, filming resumed. The ninth series began on 28 January 2007 and included footage of Hammond's crash. The first show of the ninth series attracted higher ratings than the finale of Celebrity Big Brother and the final episode of the series had 8 million viewers — BBC Two's highest ratings for a decade.

A special edition of Top Gear — filmed for Red Nose Day 2007 — called Top Gear of the Pops mixed the show's typical format with music and appearances from artists Lethal Bizzle, Travis, Supergrass, and McFly with a challenge to write a song including the words "sofa", "administration" and "Hyundai" and a performance by Clarkson, Hammond and May with Justin Hawkins of "Red Light Spells Danger" by Billy Ocean.

Repeats of earlier series are currently shown on Dave and UKTV People, cut to 45 minutes to allow it to fit in an hour-long slot while leaving room for adverts. Since mid-October 2007 the channel Dave has begun showing new episodes of Top Gear, only three weeks behind BBC Two. The new episodes are also shown in an edited 45-minute version. Top Gear has been broadcast in other countries either in its original format, in a re-edited version, or (as in the case of the North American edition) with specially shot segments in front of the UK audience.

The BBC also broadcasts edited Top Gear programmes on its international BBC World TV channel. Episodes are shortened from their original length of one hour to 30 minutes, often leaving dangling references and inconsistencies. Additionally, the original transmission order is sometimes not adhered to, so references to un-aired events are common. The only footage specially shot for the international version is for the end of each episode, when Clarkson bids his goodbye to BBC World viewers, instead of BBC viewers.

Recently, BBC World has not shown cut versions of the current series, but has resorted to "best of" collections of the previous series. In both cases the BBC World edition mainly features the challenges and races from the normal episodes, with Clarkson's 'stronger' remarks removed. Interviews and "Car of the Year" are generally not shown.

In April 2007, the BBC reported on a Sun story that Top Gear had been in talks about creating an American version. The current presenters would remain as hosts, but the show would focus on American cars and include American celebrities. The Sun reported in July, however, that plans for an American version had been shelved, partly over Clarkson's misgivings about spending several months in the U.S., away from his family.

A special program, Top Gear: Polar Special, was broadcast in the UK on July 25 2007, and again on July 29. This episode involved a race to the Magnetic North Pole from Resolute, Nunavut, Canada, with James May and Jeremy Clarkson travelling in a 'polar modified' Toyota Hilux, and Richard Hammond on a dog-drawn sled. All three presenters had experienced explorers with them, but Clarkson and May became the first people to reach the magnetic North Pole by car, using the vehicle's satellite navigation to pinpoint their co-ordinates with the known coordinates of the pole. It was the first episode of the programme to be shown in high-definition. However research shows that the presenters of Top Gear did not make it to either the geographic north pole, or the current magnetic north pole. Whilst the event took place in 2007, the presenters actually made it to the location of where the magnetic north pole had been in 1996. Since then it had moved around 100 miles away. The geographic north pole was still 800 miles away.

On September 9 2007, Top Gear participated in the 2007 Britcar 24-hour race at Silverstone, where the hosts (including The Stig, but excluding Top Gear Dog) drove a race-prepared, second-hand diesel BMW 330d to win 3rd in class and 39th overall.

On 19 November 2007, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), an Australian Broadcaster, secured the rights to franchise Top Gear and produce an Australian version of the show. Australia is the first country in the world to secure the rights to make a local version of the show, which mixes performance cars with comedy and celebrities. Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson added, "I'm delighted that Top Gear is going to Australia. Maybe the first guest could be Jonny Wilkinson." The Hosts of the Australian show will be Daily Telegraph cartoonist Warren Brown, former Sydney radio newsreader Charlie Cox, and Porsche Australia racing driver Steve Pizzati.

A special episode of Top Gear for Sport Relief, entitled Top Ground Gear Force, was broadcast on BBC Two at 10:00 pm on 14 March 2008. This programme, which borrowed the Ground Force format, saw presenters 'Alan Clarkmarsh', 'Handy Hammond' and 'Jamesy Dimmock May' undertake a one-day makeover of Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave's garden.

Also on 14 March 2008, BBC Worldwide announced that the Top Gear format would provide the basis for a live event that will visit fifteen countries. Clarkson, Hammond and May are expected to be present for the British leg of the tour.

On 5th June 2008 BBC Books will be publishing Top Gear Top Drives - Road Trips of a Lifetime in the World's Most Dramatic Locations

Segments

Races

Epic races

The show has featured a number of epic races where Clarkson or one of the other presenters drives a car against other forms of transport, typically involving Hammond and May taking the same journey by combinations of plane, train or ferry.

The races that have taken place so far are:

• Car vs. Train in a race to Monte Carlo, Clarkson drove an Aston Martin DB9 while Hammond and May caught a bus to Guildford station, a train to London Waterloo, the Eurostar to Gare du Nord in Paris where they transferred to Gare de Lyon using the Paris Métro, the TGV to Nice and another train to Monte Carlo. Series Four, Episode One

• Car vs. Plane in a race to Verbier, Switzerland, Clarkson drove a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti while Hammond and May caught a flight to Geneva, then had two train rides and a short coach ride to the finish. Series Five, Episode Eight

• Car vs. Boat in a race to Oslo, Clarkson drove a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren while Hammond and May caught a flight to Newcastle, a bus to North Shields Ferry Terminal, a ferry to Kristiansand and a Speedboat to Oslo. Series Six, Episode Six

• Car vs. Private Plane in a race to London from Alba, Clarkson drove a Bugatti Veyron while Hammond and May rode scooters to the airport and flew a Cessna 182 to Lille where they caught the Eurostar to London. Series Seven, Episode Five

• Car vs. Bike vs. Boat vs. Public Transport in a race to see what form of transport was quickest at getting from one side of London to the other during rush hour. Clarkson took a boat, Hammond a bicycle, May a Mercedes-Benz GL 500 and The Stig went by public transport. Series Ten, Episode Five

• Car vs. Dog sled in a race between Clarkson/May and Hammond to the north pole. Clarkson and May drove a Toyota Hilux over the polar ice caps against Hammond who did the expedition with a dog sled.Series Ten, Episode 0, Top Gear Special

Races vs. athletes

A number of smaller scale 'novelty' races have also taken place that demonstrate various strengths and, more often, weaknesses of cars. These races involve one of the presenters, in a carefully chosen car, racing head-to-head against an athlete in conditions that favour the latter.

• Car vs. aerobatics plane: Hammond presented a race between The Stig in a Radical SR3 against British Aerobatic Champion, Tom Cassells, in a CAP 232 Aerobatic Plane around the Top Gear test track. Series One, Episode Nine

• Car vs. racing pigeons: May used a Ford SportKa equipped with satellite navigation to compete against racing pigeons in a point-to-point race. Series Four, Episode Four

• Car vs. snooker player: Ronnie O'Sullivan had to pot 14 snooker balls while his Mercedes-Benz SL500 was raced around the Top Gear test track by The Stig. Series Four, Episode Four

• Car vs. all-terrain skateboarder: Hammond presented a pair of races on the "Green Mile", a half-mile downhill course in Wales, between double world champion all-terrain skateboarder Tom Kirkman and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Group N rally car, and then a Bowler Wildcat, both driven by Ben Collins. Series Five, Episode Two

• Car vs. bobsleigh: May co-piloted a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Rally car driven by Henning Solberg, raced Hammond and the Norwegian Olympic bobsleigh team down a mountain in Lillehammer, Norway. Series Five, Episode Eight (repeated in the Winter Olympics Special)

• Car vs. marathon runner: Clarkson raced a Fiat Nuova Panda against marathon runner A.C. Muir around the London Marathon circuit during the morning rush-hour. Series Six, Episode Seven

• Car vs. snowmobile - over water: Hammond visited Iceland and raced a modified off-road vehicle against a snowmobile over Lake Kleifarvatn. Series Six, Episode Ten

• Car vs. rock climbers: Clarkson, in an Audi RS4, competed against two rock climbers, Leo Houlding and Tim Emmet, in a race from the bottom of a French gorge to the top. Series Seven, Episode Two

• Car vs. urban downhill cyclist: May raced a Renault Clio III down the narrow streets of Castle of São Jorge's district in Lisbon against downhill bike racer Gee Atherton. Series Seven, Episode Four

• Car vs. greyhound: Hammond drove a Mazda MX5 against Ireland's most expensive greyhound, Mama Tina, around Shelbourne's greyhound track in a one-lap pursuit style race. Series Seven, Episode Six

• Car vs. speed skater: Clarkson, in a Jaguar XK8, raced against speed skater Eskil Ervik around a speed skating track. Winter Olympics Special

• Car vs. trail of fuel: Clarkson raced a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 against a trail of fuel. The race began when the quarter mile trail of gasoline was lit. Series Eight, Episode Two

• Car vs. motor powered kayak: Hammond visited Iceland and raced a TVR-powered Tomcat 4x4 against a motorised kayak, piloted by its inventor Shaun Baker, over Jökulsárlón. Series Eight, Episode Two

• Car vs. parachutist: Hammond raced two miles (3 km) against a British army parachuter in Cyprus with a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Series Eight, Episode Four

• Car vs. traceurs: May raced two traceurs, Daniel Ilabaca and Kerbie, over six miles (10 km) across Liverpool in a Peugeot 207 1.6L Diesel, from the edge of the city to the Liver Building. Series Eight, Episode Seven

• Car vs. fighter jet: Hammond raced a Bugatti Veyron against a Eurofighter Typhoon, piloted by RAF Squadron Leader Jim Walls, to see which one could travel two miles faster (the Bugatti along a runway and back, the Eurofighter climbing a mile straight up and back down). Series Ten, Episode Three

• Car vs. rollerblades: Hammond drove an Aston Martin V8 Vantage against Dirk Auer, a man on roller skates with a turbo powered rocket backpack, in a straight half-mile drag race. Series Ten, Episode Five

• Car vs. tall man: May used an Alfa Romeo 159 in a race against Graham Boanas, to discover who could cross the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) wide Humber River faster without using the Humber Bridge. Series Ten, Episode Six

• Car vs. BMX bikes: May travelled to Hungary and raced a Fiat Nuova 500 against some BMX cyclists through the streets of Budapest. Series Ten, Episode Nine

Small races

The programme has also featured a variety of small races, typically lasting a couple of minutes, that pit two similar cars against each other, for example old vs. new.

• Old cars vs. new cars — road circuit aka Top Gear Generation Game: five of Clarkson's older cars versus five of Hammond's modern vehicles. The pairings were: Golf GTi MKI vs MKIV, Toyota MR2 old vs new, Ford Escort Cosworth vs Focus RS, Peugeot 205 vs 206, Nissan 300ZX vs 350Z. Series Three, Episode Eight

• Diesel vs. petrol: A race between Clarkson in a diesel Skoda Fabia and Hammond in a petrol Mini Cooper to see if diesel had caught up to petrol. Series Four, Episode Eight

• Old cars vs. new cars — road circuit, race vs. showroom: three pairs made up of one classic racer and one showroom car raced against the clock in The Stig's hands. The pairings were: 1974 British Rally Championship-winning Ford Escort vs Ford Focus RS, Four times Le Mans-winning (1966-69) Ford GT40 vs Noble M400; 1983 World Rally Championship-winning Audi Quattro vs Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-340. Series Five, Episode Eight

• RWD vs. 4WD — rally special stage: May took The Stig to an indoor exhibition rally track of the World Rally Championship at the Millennium Stadium to compare the RWD and 4WD Porsche 911 Carrera. Series Seven, Episode Five

• Old cars vs. new cars — hill climb: May and Hammond oversaw a race against the clock at the Prescott Hill Climb course, which featured an Austin-Healey Sprite and a modified Peugeot 306, both driven by The Stig. Series Seven, Episode Six

• Real life vs. a computer game — road circuit: Clarkson travelled to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to compare a real life lap in a Honda NSX with one he did earlier using the same car in the Playstation 2 game Gran Turismo 4. Series Seven, Episode Six

• Biathlon: Clarkson (in a Volvo XC90) raced May (in an Audi Q7), in a car-biathlon, with cross-country driving instead of skiing. Winter Olympics Special

• RWD vs. 4WD — off-road slalom: Clarkson (in a RWD Jaguar XK) and May (in a 4WD Land Rover Discovery) created a slalom course on a frozen lake and raced against the clock. Winter Olympics Special

Challenges

Main article: Top Gear challenges

File:Tg-0906 a46f.jpg

James May's Limousine - The 'Salfa - Romeaab'

Novelty challenges and short stunt films are typically based on absurd premises, such as a bus jumping over motorcycles (as opposed to the more typical scenario of a motorocycle jumping over buses) or a nun driving a monster truck. These features have become much less prominent over the life of the programme (they were much more regular during the first four series), being replaced or superseded in later series' by the "How hard can it be?" and "Cheap car" challenges which are much larger in scope.

Finally, the presenters are given a budget (typically around £1,500, but it has been between £100 and £10,000 depending on the type of car) to buy a used car conforming to certain criteria. Once purchased, the presenters compete against each other in a series of tests to establish who has bought the best car. The presenters have no prior knowledge of what the tests will be, although they generally involve a long journey to determine reliability, fuel economy (not always however), and a race track event to determine performance.

Unusual reviews

Another Top Gear trademark is the often unusual approach to 'reviewing' cars. Rather than presenting straight road tests, the presenters find interesting ways of focusing on a specific aspect of a car. These items often take the form of (typically) small challenges.

• Drive until you get bored / Test: enjoyable travel. Clarkson claimed that Jaguars "ease the burden of travel" and devised a test for the Jaguar XJ to see how far he could drive one before he got bored. Series Two, Episode Four

• Lap of the M25 / Test: fuel economy. Clarkson drove a lap of the M25 in a diesel Volkswagen Lupo, while another driver used the petrol version to see which would achieve more miles per gallon. Clarkson was allowed to spend any money he saved over the petrol version on a gift at a service station. He chose a small gold model of a cockerel, which made a reappearance in later series as 'The Golden Cock'- the award given to the presenter who'd made the most embarrassing mistake of the year. Series Three, Episode One

• Toyota Hilux destruction / Test: toughness. Clarkson and May used various methods in an attempt to destroy a Toyota Hilux. The heavily damaged (but still driveable) Hilux is now stood on a plinth in the Top Gear studio. Series Three, Episodes Five & Six

• Helicopter gunship evasion / Test: handling. Clarkson tried to avoid being caught in missile lock from an WAH-64D Apache attack helicopter while driving a Lotus Exige. Series Four, Episode One

• London to Edinburgh and back again on a single tank of fuel / Test: fuel economy. Clarkson attempted to drive a diesel Audi A8 800 miles (1,300 km) on a single tank of fuel. Series Four, Episode Four

• Minicab road testing / Test: toughness and practicality. Hammond and May worked as minicab drivers in order to subject a Renault Scenic and Ford C-MAX to a year's worth of hard abuse in one evening. Series Four, Episode Seven

• Off-road up a mountain / Test: off-road ability. Clarkson tried to drive a Land Rover Discovery from the beach to the top of a mountain in Scotland, completely off-road. It was heavily criticised by environmentalists for the damage done by the vehicle's tyres. This stunt was memorable in that Clarkson left the mountain by helicopter with the Discovery's keys in his pocket delaying its removal from the hill. Series Five, Episode Three

• 24 hours in a car / Test: comfort. Hammond and May spent 24 hours in a Smart Forfour to assess the marketing claim that the car is "designed like a lounge". Series Five, Episode Four

• Tank evasion / Test: handling. Clarkson discovered if a Challenger 2 tank could lock its main cannon on to a Range Rover Sport. Series Six, Episode One

• Car Football / Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, played a football match using Toyota Aygos. Series Six, Episode One

• Sniper evasion / Test: handling. Clarkson drove around a deserted village in a Mercedes SLK55 AMG and a Porsche Boxster S, trying to evade snipers of the Irish Guards. Series Six, Episode Five

• Road Test Russian Roulette / Test: random road testing. Hammond and May worked as ScooterMen in order to road-test as many (randomly selected) cars as possible, the catch being that they wouldn't know what they'd be road-testing and had to do it in the presence of the cars' owners. Series Six, Episode Nine

• Supercars / Superbridge / Test: illustrate the point of supercars. The trio took three supercars (a Ford GT, a Ferrari F430 and a Pagani Zonda S) on a road trip to the recently opened Millau Viaduct via Paris. Series Seven, Episode Three

• Car Ice Hockey / Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, played an ice hockey match using Suzuki Swifts, while Clarkson acted as referee. Winter Olympics Special

• Horse racing camera platform / Test: smooth ride. Clarkson reviewed the Citroën C6 and put it to work as a mobile camera platform covering a horse race. Series Eight, Episode Five

• Car Football 2 / Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, staged another football match using Toyota Aygos against a new contender, the Volkswagen Fox. Series Eight, Episode Five

Significant cars

The programme will on occasion, sometimes to celebrate an anniversary, present short review films of non-contemporary cars to highlight why they are significant. These reviews are distinct from the various challenges involving old cars, because the subject matter is addressed in a more serious and factual manner. Reviews include:

• Ford Escort RS1800 Series One, Episode Two
• Citroën DS Series One, Episode Three
• Bentley T2 Series Two, Episode One
• Rover P5 Series Two, Episode Two
• Jaguar Le Mans C-Type & Mark 2 Series Two, Episode Four
• Triumph TR6 Series Two, Episode Five
• GM HyWire Series Two, Episode Nine
• BMW M1, M3 & M5 Series Three, Episode Two
• Lamborghini Miura Series Three, Episode Four
• Lamborghini Countach Series Three, Episode Four
• Volkswagen Corrado VR6 & Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth Series Three, Episode Five
• Aston Martin V8 Vantage Series Three, Episode Six
• Mercedes-Benz 280SL Series Three, Episode Eight
• Aston Martin Lagonda Series Three, Episode Eight
• Dodge Charger 440 R/T Series Four, Episode Three
• Jaguar XJS Series Four, Episode Six
• Rover V8 engine & Rover SD1 Series Four, Episode Eight
• Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing Series Five, Episode Five
• Maserati Biturbo & 250F Series Six, Episode Two
• Maserati Bora Series Six, Episode Three
• Aston Martin DB5 & Jaguar E-type Series Six, Episode Five
• British racing green & Vanwall F1 Series Seven, Episode Two
• Modern control layout Featuring: Benz Motorwagen, Royal Enfield quad bike, De Dion-Bouton, Ford Model T, Cadillac Type 53, Austin 7 Series Ten, Episode Eight

Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car

Main article: Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car

In each episode, a celebrity is interviewed by Clarkson. Then, Clarkson, the guest and the studio audience watch footage of the guest's fastest lap around the Top Gear test track. The times are recorded on a leader board.

For the first seven series of Top Gear's current format, the car driven was a Suzuki Liana. At the beginning of the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti. Consequently, as the Lacetti is more powerful, the leader board was wiped clean. The format for setting a lap time was also changed: each celebrity is allowed five practice laps, then a final timed lap. No allowance is made for any errors on this final timed lap.

Ellen MacArthur set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Liana. However, before it was retired, The Stig was given the chance to do a lap in the car and set a faster time than MacArthur.

As of December 2007, Simon Cowell has set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Chevrolet Lacetti.

There have been several mishaps in the past with this feature. Sir Michael Gambon went around the final corner of the track on two wheels, prompting Jeremy to rename the corner in Gambon's honour. Lionel Richie and Trevor Eve lost a wheel and David Soul destroyed the clutches of both the main car and the back-up car. Several celebrities have come off the track in practice, with Clarkson showing the footage to the audience.

There is a separate Formula One drivers' leader board. The Stig is top of this board, but the presenters consider Lewis Hamilton's time to be more impressive: it is only three tenths of a second behind, despite being set on a very wet and oily track. In the past Clarkson has told drivers that they may deduct 4 seconds for a wet lap in the Suzuki Liana making Hamilton's lap even more impressive. All Formula One times, even those set after the seventh series, are set in the Suzuki Liana.

Power Laps

Main article: Power Laps

File:TopGearStig.jpg

The Stig driving a Pagani Zonda F

In the Power Laps segment, The Stig completes a lap around the Top Gear test track to gauge the performance of various cars.

The qualifications for the normal Power Lap Board is that the car being tested must be a road-worthy car and be able to go over a speed bump which is referred to sometimes in the UK as a 'sleeping policeman'. There is a separate unofficial board of times for non-production car times.

The most powerful production car ever featured on Top Gear, the Template:Auto PS Bugatti Veyron, has not yet been driven around the track by The Stig. According to Clarkson, this is because Bugatti has not given Top Gear permission to run the car through a power lap. This was confirmed on the Veyron's second appearance in February 2007, when Clarkson made an appeal to Veyron owners to let Top Gear borrow their car and allow The Stig to drive it around the track, offering up to £30 to do so.

The car that recorded the fastest lap time on the Top Gear track was the Renault F1 car, at fifty nine seconds (0:59.00), although it was disqualified because the rules only include production cars able to get over speed bumps.

As of the Tenth Series the fastest road legal car that met the 'sleeping policeman' requirement was the Ascari A10 in a time of 1:17.3. This is only 0.3 seconds faster than the former lap leader the Koenigsegg CCX with the Top Gear rear spoiler.

Without the 'sleeping policeman' requirement the fastest time around the track for a road legal car would be the Caparo T1. The Caparo posted a time of 1:10.6 despite its reliability problems.

The Cool Wall

Introduced in the sixth episode of series one, Clarkson and Hammond decide which cars are cool and which are not by placing photographs of them on to various sections of a large board. The categories are "Sub Zero", "Cool", "Uncool", and "Seriously Uncool". Initially, part of the coolness factor rested on the extent to which the presenters believed each car would impress English actress Kristin Scott Thomas, although more recently, BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce has replaced Scott Thomas as their notional judge. When Scott Thomas appeared on the show in series nine, she turned out to dislike all the 'cool' cars and like all the 'uncool' cars. They have also added a separate 'DB9 Section', a mini fridge on a table to the right of the board, for those cars considered "super cool". It initially contained just the DB9, with the V8 Vantage, nicknamed the "Baby Aston", joining it in the seventh series. On one occasion, a particularly uncool car's picture was stuck onto a member of the audience to the left of the board.

An acknowledged rule of the Cool Wall is that cars owned by the presenters cannot be considered cool. In series nine, Clarkson was forced to place the Gallardo Spyder in the Uncool section because he had just bought one. He then revealed that he had sold his Ford GT, allowing him to move the car into the Sub-Zero section.

Frequently Clarkson and Hammond will disagree over which section a car should be placed in, with Clarkson nearly always winning the argument — sometimes by placing the car at the very top of the wall in his favoured section, preventing the much shorter Hammond from being able to reach it. On one occasion, Hammond began eating the card on which a BMW M6 was featured, preventing it from being used. In series six, Clarkson slipped two spinal disks from "repetitive oversteer injury" and was unable to bend down. Taking advantage of this, Hammond ended an argument by placing the car in question at the bottom of the board.

In the fourth episode of series nine, Hammond attempted to place a Ducati 1098 motorcycle on the wall, but due to his hatred of motorcycles Clarkson removed it (and some of the wall) with a chainsaw. Clarkson pointed the chainsaw at Hammond and jokingly said, "Run or you'll be a lot shorter".

In the first episode of series ten, the fire-damaged Cool Wall was featured in the programme. It, along with other studio furniture (including the chairs used during the News segment) had been damaged or destroyed in a fire at the warehouse where props were stored.

Car of the Year

At the end of each autumn series the hosts present an award to their favourite car of the year, that they can all agree on. Winners have included:

• 2002 – Land Rover Range Rover
• 2003 – Rolls-Royce Phantom
• 2004 – Volkswagen Golf GTI
• 2005 – Bugatti Veyron
• 2006 – Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
• 2007 – Ford Mondeo or Subaru Legacy Outback

Ownership survey

Every year Top Gear conducts a survey which consults thousands of UK residents on their car-ownership satisfaction. While for legal reasons the survey is now conducted via the magazine, the results are still used on the show. The survey, which used to be done in conjunction with J.D. Power, is now conducted by Experian. The survey asks respondents to score cars on build quality, craftsmanship, driving experience, ownership costs, and customer care. Based on these weighted criteria, the best and worst ranked cars from the survey are:

Year	Best Ranked	Worst ranked
2003	Jaguar XJ	Volkswagen Sharan
2004	Honda S2000	Mercedes M-Class
2005	Honda S2000	Peugeot 807
2006	Honda S2000	Peugeot 807

Novelty car features

The programme has always been able to come up with new ways to answer that old adage "What will they think of next?" For example, squeezing the 6'5" Jeremy Clarkson into a Peel P50, and then getting him to drive round central London and the BBC Television Centre. Clarkson then promptly described it as "the best car we've had on the show ever." The piece featured Clarkson in various interactions with BBC News journalists — specifically being pulled out of a lift while still in the car by Fiona Bruce (who was also the new muse for the Cool Wall), trying to get the car back from John Humphrys who had taken it for a joyride around the office, and driving to a meeting within the building and appearing in the background on BBC News 24. Ultimately, Clarkson suffered the final ignominy of being turned 180° by Dermot Murnaghan while stuck at a zebra crossing in a car with no reverse gear. Novelty features include:

• People carrier racing Series Five, Episode Five
• Clarkson opens the Chipping Norton lido by driving a Rolls-Royce into it Series Six, Episode Three
• The Peel P50 Series Ten, Episode Three
• Motorhome racing Series Ten, Episode Six

Ending credits

The programme occasionally alters the end credits to reflect its locale, replacing every first name in the credits with one reminiscent of the area. In the "Winter Olympics Special" episode, filmed in Lillehammer, Norway; everybody was named Björn (except for Hammond, May and The Stig; who took the names Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid respectively), whilst in the "African Adventure Special" all were called Archbishop Desmond. Furthermore, in the Polar Special all first names in the ending credits were replaced with Sir Ranulph, in reference to the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes. In Series 9, The America Challenge ending credits named Clarkson as 'Cletus Clarkson', Hammond as 'Earl Hammond, Jr.', May as 'Ellie May May', The Stig as 'Roscoe P. Stig' and replaced the first names of all other crew members with 'Billy Bob'.

Despite being introduced as "a presenter" at the start of Series 8, Top Gear Dog has never been give the respect she deserves by either contributors to this article or the Top Gear production staff by having her name in the end credits.

Soundtrack

Top Gear has always used an adaptation of The Allman Brothers Band's instrumental hit "Jessica" as its theme song. Initially the show used part of the original Allmans' recording of the song, but later episodes of Top Gear use updated cover versions. For the original series run, the end credits music was "Out of the Blue", an instrumental from the 1976 Elton John album, Blue Moves.

In series 6 episode 11, James May recorded the necessary notes to play the theme tune from car engine sounds, it was played over the end credits.

During series 6, May hosted a segment showing nominations for the greatest song to drive to, the final list of ten was voted for by write-in nominations on the Top Gear website, the top five were then submitted for phone vote by viewers of the show. Songs in the top 10 were:

Rank	Band	Song
10	Fleetwood Mac	"The Chain"
9	AC/DC	"Highway to Hell"
8	Led Zeppelin	"Immigrant Song"
7	Kenny Loggins	"Danger Zone"
6	Motörhead	"Ace of Spades"
5	Deep Purple	"Highway Star"
4	Steppenwolf	"Born to Be Wild"
3	Meat Loaf	"Bat Out of Hell"
2	Golden Earring	"Radar Love"
1	Queen	"Don't Stop Me Now"

It included continual complaining from the presenters about the presence of "Bat Out of Hell" on the list (which was leading as of the selection of the top five) and its promotional segment included such visuals as cars being towed away and gridlocked streets. On the other hand, the equivalent "Don't Stop Me Now" segment was the exact opposite, featuring open roads and being described as "a joy" and "a song for life" in the voiceover.

Top Gear annually releases a CD entitled Greatest Driving Songs.

In addition, pre-recorded film segments use a wide variety of background music clips. Along with classic and contemporary rock and occasionally dance tracks, excerpts from movie soundtracks are often used, including Aliens, Pirates of the Caribbean, Predator, The Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, The Rock, V for Vendetta, Donnie Darko and Where Eagles Dare, among others.

During the test of the Enzo Ferrari, which was filmed using the car owned by Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, several clips of Pink Floyd's music were used as Clarkson claimed Mason would only allow them to use his car if they plugged his new book, Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd.

Awards and nominations

In November 2005, Top Gear won an International Emmy in the Non-Scripted Entertainment category.

In the episode where the presenters showed the award to the studio audience, Clarkson joked that he was unable to go to New York to receive the award since he was too busy writing the script for the show.

Top Gear has also been nominated in three consecutive years (2004–2006) for the British Academy Television Awards in the Best Feature category. Clarkson was also nominated in the best "Entertainment Performance" category in 2006. In 2004 and 2005, Top Gear was also nominated for a National Television Award in the Most Popular Factual Programme category; it won the award in 2006 and 2007. Accepting the award in October 2007, Richard Hammond made the comment that they really deserved it this year, because he didn't have to crash to get some sympathy votes. Also, in Series 10, Richard Hammond won the award for the 'Best TV Haircut' and James May won the award for the worst, while James May also won an award for "weird celebrity crush" revealed during the news.

Criticism

Top Gear is often criticised for not featuring enough "affordable" cars, instead featuring expensive supercars. In the final episode of series 10, the Ford Mondeo — historically one of the UK's best selling cars — was the show's Car of the Year despite it not being reviewed; the £350,000 Ascari A10 and £235,000 Caparo T1 were featured instead. The programme occasionally acknowledges this criticism and turns it into a joke. For example, during a news segment, Clarkson read out a letter asking for more 'normal' cars to appear. He then displayed a picture of the up-coming Vauxhall Corsa on the set's TV screen for a few seconds without comment from either the other presenters or the audience, then moved on to the next item. And when introducing May's road test of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, Clarkson read out a letter reading Dear Top Gear, why don't you feature more affordable cars, for normal people like me, Clarkson then rounded off the letter by saying 'From Mr. R. Abramovich, of Chelsea' implying that the letter is supposedly from Roman Abramovich, attempting to fake his rich status. In a different episode, Clarkson read out a letter complaining about the lack of 'Green cars' (referring to environmentally friendly cars) Clarkson then directed the camera to a Lamborghini Murcielago coloured green.

Top Gear has also been censured on many occasions for allegedly promoting irresponsible driving, causing ecological damage and favouring performance over fuel efficiency and conservation.

Conversely, Clarkson himself has been critical of the BBC over handling of the programme. In the February 2006 issue of Top Gear Magazine, Clarkson voiced his opinion that the BBC did not take Top Gear seriously. He also appears to be annoyed with BBC bosses for the length of the series and for often replacing the show with snooker (which Clarkson labelled as "drunk men playing billiards" at the end of Episode 2, Series 10), despite Top Gear having considerably higher viewing figures.

General complaints

In July 2006 the BBC rejected a variety of complaints about the issues Top Gear chooses and the way they are covered by Clarkson, Hammond and May. The BBC argued that their "provocative comments are an integral part of the programme and are not intended to be taken seriously." Regarding offensive remarks traded between presenters and members of the audience, the BBC said "this is part of the appeal of the show [and] we trust most viewers are familiar enough with the style and tone of the show not to take offence." The BBC pointed out that they would act if such statements and actions were carried out with any degree of seriousness or if the programme breached legal and safety requirements.

Top Gear was in negotiations to move to Enstone in north Oxfordshire, close to the home of the Renault F1 team's British base and to Clarkson's home in Chipping Norton, but has so far been unable to negotiate a deal after their initial application was blocked due to opposition by local citizens because of fears that Top Gear would create pollution and noise.

Tree damage

The BBC compensated a Bristol local parish in 2004 after Clarkson crashed a Toyota Hilux into a tree during a segment on proving the sturdiness and reliability of the truck through a series of torture tests. Nobody knew how the damage occurred until film of the incident was broadcast. Until then, it had been presumed that the damage had been accidental or vandalism.

On Germans

During the 13 November 2005 episode, a news segment featuring BMW's MINI Concept from the Tokyo Motor Show showcased a car that Hammond quoted as supposedly being "quintessentially British", the only added feature being an integrated tea set. Clarkson responded by mocking that they should build a car that is "quintessentially German". He suggested turn signals that displayed Hitler salutes, "a sat-nav that only goes to Poland" in reference to the Nazi invasion of Poland, and "ein fanbelt that will last a thousand years", a reference to Adolf Hitler's propaganda slogan of "the thousand-year Reich". These statements gained negative attention in the British and German news media, and led to viewers' complaints reaching the BBC Board of Governors. In July 2006, the BBC Governors’ Programme Complaints Committee rejected the protests:

"...the Committee did not believe that, when looking at the audience as a whole, they would have felt that the comments were anything more than Jeremy Clarkson using outrageous behaviour to amuse his audience, and that the remarks would not have led to anyone entertaining new or different feelings or concerns about Germans or Germany..."

On homosexuality

In December 2006, the BBC upheld complaints from four viewers after comments made by Jeremy Clarkson were considered to be derogatory references to homosexuality and had the potential to offend and should not have been broadcast. In a programme broadcast in July 2006, Clarkson had agreed with a member of the audience that a car was "a bit gay". He also described the vehicle as "very ginger beer", taken to be rhyming slang for the term "queer". The BBC said there was "no editorial purpose" for the remarks and the "Top Gear team had been reminded of the importance of avoiding such comments about sexual orientation."

Caravan fire

Top Gear presenters have been criticised for their negative views and depiction of caravans; once claiming to have received 150 complaints after they destroyed a caravan on a 'caravan holiday' during one of many caravan destruction segments. James Tapper, writing in the British Mail on Sunday newspaper, claimed the episode's action had been staged and that Dorset emergency services had been paid around £1,000 by the BBC for a six-man fire crew to participate in the mock fire. A BBC spokeswoman confirmed that the fire had been planned for safety reasons and that viewers were not misled due to the stunt's slapstick nature. Hammond also presented a show called Brainiac: Science Abuse, where at the end of each programme a caravan is blown up with a different kind of explosive.

Dead cow incident

Both the BBC and the UK media regulator OFCOM received complaints about the dead cow tied to the roof of Clarkson's Camaro in the American Special (the third programme of the ninth series). The cow had died several days previously due to natural causes.

Train crash stunt

Another point of controversy regards the airing of a staged train crash in Series 9 Episode 5. The reconstruction of a collision between a train and a car positioned across the level crossing in hibalstow, North Lincolnshire, nr Scunthorpe was criticised due to the Cumbria train crash only 2 days earlier. The reconstruction, which was organised by Network Rail as part of its Don't Run The Risk campaign, has been condemned by several people, including Anthony Smith, chief executive of the rail watchdog Passenger Focus who said: "We need to raise awareness of the issue, but now is not the right time." However, this item had already been delayed several weeks because of an earlier fatal level crossing crash, and with only one programme remaining in the series and the frequency of level crossing accidents, it may have been considered that there was no "appropriate" time to show the film without "offending" somebody. A repeat of this episode due to be aired on the 1 March 2007 was not broadcast after another death on a level crossing earlier that morning. The episode was replaced with a "Best of Top Gear" episode.

Insensitivity to brain injury victims

The BBC apologised to a number of Top Gear viewers after Clarkson asked the returning Hammond the question "Are you now a mental?" May also offered a tissue in case he "dribbled" during the first episode of the 2007 series. The comments were meant as a joke about the head injuries Hammond sustained during his crash before the series, but an apology was made after several viewers complained.

International Top Gear series

On 19 November 2007, it was revealed that a localised Australian series of Top Gear would be produced by the SBS network in conjunction with Freehand Productions, BBC Worldwide's Australasian partner. This announcement marks the first time a deal has been struck for a version of Top Gear to be produced exclusively for a foreign market. No indication has been given yet as to the exact makeup of the show, other than that it will have a distinct Australian style. It is believed that the Australian show idea was sparked by Clarkson's love of the Australian performance car brand Holden Special Vehicles. SBS ran a competition to find hosts for the show, interested applicants were invited to apply via the SBS Top Gear website. In May 2008, SBS Television confirmed that the presenters for the Australian program were to be Charlie Cox, Warren Brown, Steve Pizzati and a local 'cousin' of The Stig. It is not yet known whether an Australian version of Top Gear Dog will also be "a presenter".

NBC is also commissioning a version of the show for broadcast in the United States, which will have different presenters than the UK version.

International Broadcasts of the original British Top Gear series

Top Gear is broadcast worldwide on the BBC World channel and Canvas, the Flemish public broadcaster, picked up the show after the success of the Top Gear North Pole special.

See also

• List of Top Gear episodes
• Power Laps
• Top Gear (magazine)

External links

• Top Gear at BBC Online
• Top Gear at BBCAmerica
• Top Gear magazine website
• BBC News article on Top Gear's history (21 September 2006)
• Top Gear on UKTV
• List of Cars appearing on Top Gear courtesy of theIMCDb
• Needcoffee.com post and BBC Worldwide America press release regarding the American version (15 January 2008)