Even though Top Gear Australia on Channel 9 was canceled after only four seasons, the magazine is alive and kicking. The crew of the magazine decided that for the November issue cover story they need local Stig and Ken Block. The two talented drivers managed to do a very impressive show in Melbourne with the Monster Rally Fiesta and the 2011 Falcon FPV Boss 335 GT-P.
Post tags: Tags: entertainment, ken block, stig, Top Gear, top gear australia
2011 Tesla Roadster
Remember Tesla’s libel battle with Top Gear? Tesla Motors has said that the 55-mile range attained by Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson in the 2008 episode of the show gave viewers a false impression of the vehicle’s real 200-mile range. The automaker has stated that this episode has had a “continuing impact” on the company’s business since that episode was aired on a lot of TV channels plus it was also sold on DVDs.
The bad news for Tesla is that they have lost the libel case with Top Gear in an UK high court. The company also made other claims against the very popular TV show and the case is still ongoing, but BBC says that the whole case should be closed.
Will Top Gear manage to do a review of the upcoming Tesla Model S? Probably not.
Source: Green Car Reports
Post tags: Tags: libel case, Tesla, tesla motors, Top Gear
Westfield iRacer
Without any doubt, one of the best ways to promote electric cars is by organizing a competition exclusively for these zero-emission cars. The EVCup was launched in January 2010 and it promised to bring the same amount of excitement offered by the gasoline-fueled cars, without the noise and noxious gasses. Unfortunately, the organizers of the competition announced this week that the 2011 season has been cancelled and they didn’t say anything about further racing events.
The idea of the EVCup got very positive feedback and one of the drivers that signed to participate in the competition was ex Top Gear “Stig” Ben Collins, along with eco-champions and American Le Mans veterans Drayson Racing. The latter preferred the SportEV category which consists of specially-made Westfield iRacer single-seat EVs that can do the 0-62 mph sprint in less than 5 seconds and can hit a top speed of 115 mph. Collins would have driven the 2011 Think City in the CityEV class if they didn’t unplug the competition.
Earlier this year, things began to look grim for UK-based EVCup after Forumlec, a South African company launched its electric racing series. The Forumlec prototype can hit 62 mph in 3 seconds and is able to reach a maximum speed of 150 mph. It was only four days after that when the organizers of the EVCup announced that the competition would be delayed due to not enough time for testing before the start of the race.
The race was supposed to start this summer but the officials postponed it for 2012. They said that they will organize two exhibition races in California at the end of this year in order to promote the season. The situation deteriorated even more when the Norwegian automaker Think filed for bankruptcy. The company was the producer of the 2011 Think City which was supposed to have a class of its own in the EVCup season.
Moreover, towards the end of August, FIA announced its intentions to organizer the Formula E, which promises to be a race series consisting of only electric racing cars. Since we are talking about the biggest auto racing association in the world, the Formula E series will certainly attract the big sponsors to the world of green motor racing. Its inaugural series are scheduled for 2012-2013.
Source: Green Car Reports | Photo: evcup.com
Post tags: Tags: ben collins, evcup, Green, stig, Top Gear
It seems that in the upcoming season of Top Gear, one of the episodes will contain yet another anti-EV stunt, after the one with the Tesla Roadster in the 12th season. The crew of the show was spotted in Lincoln, traveling in a pair of EVs, the Nissan Leaf and the Peugeot iOn. The latter will go on sale in the United States as the 2012 Mitsubishi “i”.
Jeremy Clarkson and James May visited Lincoln searching for recharging stations for their EVs, which they were trying to drive across the country. As you would expect, the cars ran out of juice outside the offices of the Lincolnshire Echo newspaper.
The 17th season of Top Gear will start this June.
[youtube width="470" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_hCspYqhU0[/youtube]
Source: The Lincolnite via GreenCarReports
Post tags: Tags: entertainment, Top Gear
Just a few days ago we’ve talked about the fact that Tesla Motors is suing BBC’s Top Gear because of their 2008 episode in which they’ve reviewed the Roadster model. The law suit claims that TG’s review of the vehicle was rigged and its assertion that the car does not even work in the real world had been decided even before Jeremy Clarkson drove the Roadster.
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Post tags: Tags: bbc, law suit, tesla-roadster, Top Gear
[youtube width="470" height="344"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSFehyN8X7w[/youtube]
First I would like to say that I like Top Gear a lot and the Tesla Roadster is one of my favorite cars at the moment so I can’t really choose sides. Anyway, it seems that Tesla Motors is suing BBC and Top Gear for rigging the test/review (or whatever you’d like to call it) on the Lotus Elise-based Roadster.
The automaker filled a writ at the High Court as they believe that the Top Gear’s test is distorting reality and is biased. Their biggest complaint is with the part when the car apparently runs out of electricity and is being left in the garage to fill up its battery. I remember seeing that episode and Clarkson said that the Tesla Roadster is “not working in the real world”, a statement that is not true at all if you ask me.
More than that, Tesla Motors believes that the events in that episode were faked (quite a shock, isn’t it?) and that the Roadster’s brakes were not really broken. The funny thing is that rumors say that the company’s UK director was aware of the rigged review, before the episode was aired.
Source: DailyMail
Post tags: Tags: bbc, tesla-roadster, Top Gear
Four months ago racer Ben Collins outed himself as the skill behind the Stig’s driving talent. Despite this loss in Top Gear’s cast, the show continued its natural course like nothing happened and it still is just as popular as before, perhaps even more. If you were wondering what is Collins doing in the present you should know that he is now working for the rival United Kingdom car show, which is Fifth Gear. In addition, he recently launched a book – “The Man in the White Suit” where you will be able to read a lot of his interesting memoires, from his stint as an army reservist to his exciting trials on the most popular race circuits in the world.
In the book you will find a couple of interesting paragraphs about his time as a professional stunt driver for blockbuster movies like National Treasure 2: The Book of Secrets and The Quantum of Solace. There are some exciting behind-the-scenes details which review the most intense driving shots of those movies.
With a price tag of only $17.79, “The Man in the White Suit” is a pretty interesting book about Ben Collins, the ex-Stig as most of you know him. He shares juicy details about his life in the army reserves, racing all over Europe and his life at Top Gear.
I for one don’t understand why BBC and Top Gear where so angry about the launch of this book. Ben Collins didn’t dish out any dirt or info behind the scenes of the show. On the contrary, he bragged about how cool the show was. Maybe I’m not seeing the whole picture but I can’t understand what harm this book could cause to Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and the rest of the crew over at Top Gear.
Post tags: Tags: ben collins, stig, Top Gear
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMVuQlPBStQ[/youtube]
It seems that Jeremy Clarkson has finally entered the 21st century with the help of publisher Penguin Books, creating an application exclusively for the iPad/iPhone, dubbed “iClarkson”. In this application, there are more than 140 automotive reviews of Top Gear’s co-host, taken from his books Don’t Stop Me Now and Driven to Distraction.
This iPad application has been designed like a study and comes bundled with many interactive features that make it quite interesting. Dozens of images of cars adorn the “walls”, Jeremy’s drum kit is in the corner and many pleasant surprises await those that are willing to spare $7, 99 for the iClarkson application.
If you don’t like reading that much you might as well try some of the other nice features of the application, like firing a shell from a Challenger 2 Main Battle Tank or you could use the iBumper if you want to insult other road users.
For those of you willing to spend $7,99 for the iClarkson app, here is what you will get: 140 car reviews complete with Jeremy’s thoughts, full stats for every vehicle, 500 photographs of interiors, exteriors, engines and cars as well as 20 videos of various cars in action on highways and on test tracks.
Post tags: Tags: application, ipad, jeremy-clarkson, Top Gear
The most popular automotive TV show in the world is back for its 16th season and BBC just released the first trailer of the new Top Gear season. Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond will begin their journey this weekend. The first episode of the new series will air this Sunday, January 23rd at 8 PM on BBC2.
Here are a couple of highlights from the upcoming Top Gear season: an interesting battle between the iconic Ferrari F40 and the Porsche 959; a very interesting and different review of the Skoda Yeti; the new Ariel Atom; a couple of Corvettes and Ross Kemp.
In addition, in this 16th season we will be seeing James May wearing tights and a whole bunch of submarines. It should be a pretty interesting season, just like all of the rest. Too bad though that there aren’t more episodes per season.
Although there isn’t any information about the new Stig, I’m pretty sure that the guys have already found a new replacement for Ben Collins.
Warning: the next video contains a lot of spoilers of the season so you if you don’t want to know what will happen this year, don’t see it! Otherwise, enjoy.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgIMTgpu1lo[/youtube]
Post tags: Tags: Top Gear, trailer
We’ve already seen a trailer depicting some of the stunts and cars the three hosts, Adam Ferrara, Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust, will be driving in the first series of the show.
Now, the History Channel has provided a sneak peek at Top Gear USA’s Lamborghini special, where the guys will drive a Murcielago LP 670-4 Super Veloce, a Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera and a Gallardo LP 550-2 Balboni.
Needless to say, you should check out the video after the jump to see this impressive sneak peak at Top Gear USA.
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Post tags: Tags: Lamborghini, sneak peak, teaser, Top Gear, top gear usa, Video
According to some voices, the title is set to be launched at the end of the year, right before the new series of Top Gear will start airing in the UK.
It is set to attack almost all platforms imaginable, including the PC, consoles like the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, as well as mobile devices like the iPhone or the iPad.
As of yet though, details about the actual gameplay have yet to be revealed. Maybe we will get to do hot laps on the Top Gear circuit, maybe we will get to invent witty Stig anecdotes, maybe we will yell ‘POWERRRR’ into microphones, it’s still a mystery.
Post tags: Tags: console, gaming, ipad, iphone, mobile, pc, playstation 3, Top Gear, video game, Video Games, xbox 360
We were treated a few seasons ago with his unmasking, as Top Gear had a special that culminated with the reveal that Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher was actually the Stig, but fans knew that it wasn’t true.
Now, it seems that Stig’s identity has finally been revealed by financial records. According to them, the mysterious driver is none other than former Formula Three pilot Ben Collins, who has been rumored to play the Stig once before.
According to the financial records of his company, Collins Autosport, back in 2002 when the current white Stig replaced the former Black Stig, a breakthrough was achieved by providing “driving services provided for the BBC, mainly in the Top Gear programme”.
As you can imagine, when phoned for comment, Collins refrained from declaring anything, instead saying that he was entering a tunnel and couldn’t talk anymore.
So, is the Stig Ben Collins? Probably, but that shouldn’t spoil the aura of mystery that the tame racing driver has around him, especially as some say he doesn’t even have a body.
Post tags: Tags: bbc, identity, stig, the-stig, Top Gear
Now, the first trailer of the Top Gear USA series has been revealed, showcasing some of the wild things we will see this fall on the History Channel, as well as its new cast, Adam Ferrara, Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust.
From driving a Morgan, to a Viper convertible to attempting a classic moonshine run in a $1,000 Cadillac, it’s all there in the trailer, so hit the jump and check it out.
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Post tags: Tags: the hystory channel, Top Gear, top gear usa, trailer, Video
Soon afterwards, Top Gear magazine did hint that it had something to do with the performance and with the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
Now, as a preview for the August issue of the magazine, Top Gear has officially revealed that James May, a presenter of the famous car show, had a very impressive run in the new Bugatti. According to the mag, May, nicknamed Captain Slow, reached 259.11 mph in the Veyron Super Sport.
This isn’t the first time May pushed a Bugatti to its limit, as he reached 253 mph a few years ago, in a standard Veyron model.
If you want to check out the complete story, then you have to wait for the Top Gear August issue to hit the stands wherever you live.
Post tags: Tags: Bugatti, bugatti veyron super sport, bugatti-veyron, james-may, Top Gear
At that time, we were also treated with one stunning trailer video, showcasing all the different types of races you can do, but also the tracks that you could visit. Even though the Nurburgring Nordschleife really impressed us, the images with the Top Gear Test Track really took the proverbial cake.
Now, we can actually check out a race on the Top Gear track, in Gran Turismo 5, thanks to a new video posted on the web.
While it may not be the same without a Clarkson voice over demanding more ‘POWERRRRR’ and name-checking the turns, the footage is quite impressive. Hit the jump to check it out for yourselves.
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Post tags: Tags: gran turismo, gran turismo 5, racing, Top Gear, Video, Video Games
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