Posted on Oct 1st, 2009 by Andrey
1 Comment Category: Car Crashes, Top Gear
It seems that the creativity of the Top Gear producers knows no bounds, as they recently filmed for the upcoming season of the car show a quite interesting race between Richard Hammond, driving a Lamborghini, and James May “piloting” a caravan attached to a huge inflatable airship, as you can see in the pictures.
But because of strong winds and the fact that the team needed to wrap up the filming that day, James decided to take a chance and try to maneuver it so that it would land at the finishing point, in the cricket field in Eltisley, Cambs.
Sadly, things didn’t go as planned and gushing winds drove the airship and the caravan attached to it into a flock of trees in a farmer’s field besides the A428 road. But you can all relax, as May survived without any injuries and nothing happened to Hammond as well. Emergency services were on stand by but the helicopter which was brought in to help film the challenge gave them the good news.
This just goes to show that even though the Top Gear lads have a great time on TV, many of their stunts and general “cocking about” can go awfully wrong, with Richard Hammond’s 2006 crash still very fresh in the memory of many Top Gear fans. All in all, it’s great that May escaped unharmed and we can all look forward to a great new season which might start around November.
Read More: “James May has survived a Top Gear stunt gone wrong involving a caravan and a baloon”
Posted on Jul 14th, 2009 by Vlad Balan
No Comments Category: Top Gear, Video
Last night I finally had time to watch the latest Top Gear episode which was really entertaining, as usual. The episode debuted with Jeremy presenting the new Ford Focus RS, which seems to be an incredible car. I remember reading about it in the Top Gear magazine and Jeremy was very impressed with it. But of course, Richard must mess with Jeremy’s tastes, because he challenges him and his RS to race a Renault Megane R26R. After a few laps where they also exchange cars, they both agree both cars are fun to drive, with a little plus for the RS (even though the Megane was faster around the track), which is much more practical than the Renault. Watch this part here.
After the news part, Richard and James went on and tries to raced the Royal Mail service in the new Porsche Panamera. How exactly did they do that? Well, they sent a letter from the Scilly Isles (the most south-westerly part of Britain) to Orkney Islands, up in the north and then tried to see if they could beat it in the Panamera. We’re gonna let you watch the race (part 1 and part 2) and see who won.
After this part, it was time for the “celebrity in a reasonably priced car” part, where Jeremy had the fastest man on Earth, Usain Bolt, as his guest. Bolt, which is a big car fan, was very funny and he even talked about his BMW M3, which we wrote about some time ago and about the recent crash he was involved in. Watch this part here.
As for the final part of the show, there was Jeremy racing a Mitsubishi Evo VII (this one) against some “creatures” from the British army. I don’t know why, but I didn’t really liked this part as it seemed to be a little too staged for my tastes. Still, this part was also pretty entertaining and you can watch it here (part 1) and here (part 2).
Below is the Focus RS presentation and the race against the Megane R26R. Enjoy!
Read More: “Top Gear Season 13 Episode 4”
Posted on Jun 22nd, 2009 by Vlad Balan
1 Comment Category: Top Gear, Video
After we’ve waited for so long, our favorite TV show is finally back with Season 13 and Jeremy, James and Richard have prepared quite a thrilling season from what we saw in the trailer and in the first episode. The show started with Jeremy reading a letter from a fan, which asked them what would Top Gear have been like if they were making it 60 years ago. And the answer was pretty simple. Exactly the same. So, the guys started their regular challenge, this time racing in the best transportation 1949 had to offer. After a short draw, Richard got the Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle (the fastest motorcycle at that time), James got the Jaguar XK120 (the fastest car in production at that time) and Jeremy got…a steam locomotive. So, who won the 400 miles race? We’re not gonna spoil it so we’re gonna let you find out for yourselves.
After that, we had the news, where the guys barely talked about cars but they were pretty funny. After the news, we say Jeremy taking the Lotus Evora out for a spin on the Top Gear track and he was really impressed with it. And then we had the highlight of last night’s episode and that was the unveiling of The Stig. A question which has haunted millions of people finally got its answer:
I’m really curious to see the next episodes because this part has definitely put more mistery around The Stig than cleared it. I’m sure there are a lot of people out there (including me) who don’t buy this Michael Schumacher=The Stig thing. It looked staged (very well, but still staged) and it makes no sense in Top Gear unveiling the secret that has been one of the show’s greatest parts throughout the years. Who knows, maybe there’ll be one Stig unveiled per episode from now on, just to play with us. On the other hand, there’s also the option of Top Gear knowing no one will believe Schumi’s the Stig, which will make him the perfect Stig. Who knows…what do you think?
Read More: “Top Gear is back with Season 13 and The Stig is finally “unveiled”!”
Posted on Nov 18th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
No Comments Category: Top Gear, Video
A little bit late, but yesterday I finally got to see the latest Top Gear episode and, I hate to say this, but it kinda sucked. I mean, this season, the show changed, being more about entertainment and less about cars. There were still great parts, like the one with the Challenger, the Cadillac CTS-V and the Corvette from episode 2, but the overall feeling is that the show changed and I’m not sure I like it.
The thrid episode starts with Richard’s visit to the Toyota headquarters in Japan and a “test-drive” of one the Toyota i-Real (video here). After that came the news and then we saw James taking a trip to Finland where he got some training into “Finnish driving” from one the greatest drivers ever, Mika Hakkinen (though I was a Schumacher fan back then, I have to admit he was incredible too). Video here (part 1) and here (part 2).
After that, Jeremy decided to go into the home appliance business, by creating a V8 blender. Yup, that’s right, a V8 blender. You can see it in action here. Then, we had one of the most interesting moments from the show, Mark Wahlberg’s apperance, in the “Celebrity in a reasonably priced car” section. This part was pretty entertaining (watch it here). In the last part of the show, we had the regular challenge, where the producers decided to give the guys around 10,000 to modify a Renault Avantime and make it faster around the Top Gear track than the Mitsubishi Evo X. I’ll let you watch this part and see for yourselves how they did. (Check it out after the jump) Read More: “Top Gear Season 12 Episode 3”
Posted on Oct 30th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
1 Comment Category: Ferrari, Top Gear
Apparently, Top Gear’s Richard Hammond needs to make way for his new Morgan Aeromax, and the car that had to go away is his 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello. The car, which was owned by EVO magazine before Richard, features red with black leather interior, manual gearbox, RHD and it has 49,000 miles on the odometer. The car costs £39,950 (around $65,800) and “has had every care possible by Maranello to keep it pristine.”
Read More: “Richard Hammond’s Ferrari 550 Maranello for sale”
Posted on Oct 23rd, 2008 by Vlad Balan
2 Comments Category: Top Gear, Video
Finally! After a really short season 11 and a big break, there are less than two weeks left until everyone’s favourite TV show begins. And to make the wait easier, BBC has released a video trailer with some of the highlights from the upcoming season. And boy it’s going to be an interesting season! In the small preview video we get to see the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Dodge Challenger SRT8, Cadillac CTS-V, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 and a few other really cool cars, plus parts of the funny challenges Jeremy, Richard and James gotten us used to.
Read More: “Video: Top Gear season 12 trailer”
Posted on Sep 2nd, 2008 by Andrey
Yesterday morning, the Top Gear team, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, drove along the Tower Bridge in London, not in some extravagant supercars, but in none other that a tank. While some people would have immediately join the ad-hoc revolution, following Jeremy to the Parliament, it was sadly all part of a publicity stunt for the 2009 MPH show which will also host Top Gear Live, which will kick off in October.
The “small” stunt really drew the crowds attention onto the Top Gear Live show, which will consist in the guys performing live test drives of the hottest supercars out there, next to amazing explosions and other stunts planned out for the event. Toss in some appearances from The Stig, and the recipe for a complete show is made. Plus, the waiting list for the regular Top Gear stretches out for about 21 years, so why don’t you take advantage of this opportunity and be part of the audience for this show. Until then all we can do is wait for October, and indulge ourselves in the photos from this publicity stunt, enjoy! Read More: “Top Gear takes over London, promotes MPH show and Top Gear Live”
Posted on Aug 25th, 2008 by Andrey
No Comments Category: Top Gear
As you all know, Top Gear, one of the most popular car shows in the world, is on hiatus until October. That left us with a desire to watch more of the old adventures of Jeremy, Richard and James, so we don’t have a choice than to go on YouTube and just search for Top Gear and hope the videos posted by fans weren’t deleted by YT admins. That time has ended, TG launching their own YouTube channel, dedicated to bring the most interesting and hilarious moments of their shows to us, the public from all around the world.
You can access it here and they already put up a lot of videos for you to see such as the 24 hour race the boys did at Silverstone, or the race between the Bugatti Veyron and the Eurofighter jet aircraft. Enjoy!
Posted on Jul 30th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
2 Comments Category: Top Gear, Video
I’m pretty sure there isn’t anyone on this planet that watches Top Gear and wouldn’t like the know who The Stig is. The current one, the White Stig, because we know that the Black Stig was former F1 race driver Perry McCarthy. There have been countless speculations about the Stig’s real identity, but none of them was confirmed so far. And the guys keep playing with us, for example, in the last episode, when talking with Jay Kay about The Stig, Jeremy says “Well, he’s quicker than Lewis Hamilton or Nigel Mansell or Mark Webber”. Oh, c’mon! What does that mean, is he one of these three or he’s another guy?
Anyways, we came across this YouTube video that shows an interview with The Stig, and comparing the voices, it looks like he’s Ben Collins, a 33 year old driver from Bristol, England which competed in Formula 3, Le Mans Sportscars, GT and NASCAR. His experience might place him as The Stig, but to be honest, I don’t really dig this video. I mean, we haven’t heard Stig saying anything for 8 seasons and now have him interviewed? Something’s not right. But, who knows, maybe Collins really is the Stig. How about you? Would you like to know his identity or you’d like to keep the mistery?
Posted on Jul 28th, 2008 by Andrey
1 Comment Category: Top Gear, Video
Sadly, this is the final episode of this season/series from Top Gear, the show going on a break until October but it has offered an awesome final episode, full of challenges, great cars and a classic battle between Britain and Germany.
The show started off with James May presenting a few of Japan’s domestic cars, including a Rolls Royce copy (I thought only Chinese manufacturers did that) which he liked quite a bit, testing it while driving a traditional Sumo wrestler and his manager. Click here for the video.
The news segment was enjoyable, James having received a lot of new facts about the Dacia Sandero :). Next up was the test drive of a German supercar, the Gumpert, which although offered quite a lot of settings to tweak, didn’t really appeal to the eyes of Richard. But what it did lack in the beauty department, it made up in the power one, the base model having roughly 650 bhp and the top one offering 800 horses. This really showed on the track, being driven by The Stig, it managed to set the fastest lap time, beating the Ascari A10. You can see this part here.
The star in a reasonably priced car was British singer Jay Kay, which had previously set the best lap time in the old car, the Suzuki Liana. He proved his worth by setting the new fastest lap time, in the Lacetti.
One of the best challenges this season, in my opinion, followed. A German car show had issued a challenge to the Top Gear team, which the trio gladly accepted. What followed is undescribable, the challenges consisting of double decker cars, drag, and manuevering races, culminating with a circuit race between racing prepared Porsche 911 and Aston Martin DBRS 9. Check it out here: part 1, 2 and 3.
All in all, it was a great show to mark the end of the series, and we’re left wanting more but until October we have to settle our car show thirst with Fifth Gear, which will start in the middle of August. Meanwhile, check out the Gumpert part, it’s really cool. Enjoy!
Posted on Jul 21st, 2008 by Andrey
1 Comment Category: Top Gear, Video
This week, everybody’s favourite car show performed as expected. Highlights of this episode include taking the Nissan GT-R on a circuit, thus removing the electronic speed limiter, driving classic cars through the center of London, and consequently blocking the traffic, and the introduction of a new sport, car hunting.
The show started off as it ended the last episode, with the fabulous Nissan GT-R, this time, Jeremy taking it on a professional circuit, the GPS of the car recognising the circuit and removing the speed limit imposed on the car on normal roads. This permitted Jeremy to really push the car to it’s limit, and eventually to his own limit, Clarkson being forced to end the test drive prematurely, because his neck has been sprained by the way which the Nissan handles corners.
The news segment was priceless as always, learning that british prime-minister Gordon Brown is the reincarnation of communist dictator, Ioseph Stalin, the Dacia Sandero has electronic brake force distribution and Opel is the only manufacturer with completely nice looking cars.
Next up, Jeremy and James decided that you just can’t find a good 4 seat sedan at around 25,000 pounds nowadays and decided to buy their own classic cars and show off their qualities in a series of challenges. James deciding on a 1972 Rolls Royce Corniche and Jeremy on a 1963 Mercedes 600. The challenges were really fun, the presenters having to beat a The Stig in a slalom and having to push the cars down a 1/4 mile drag “race”. Hands down, the most interesting one was the fact that they had to park their cars in the center of London, one of the busiest cities in Europe. Check out the video over here.
The last part of the show introduced a new sport, car hunting, and not in reference to finding what car to buy, but serious car hunting. Jeremy driving a Daihatsu Terios, a small Japanese 4×4 which I have to admit did really good in the forrests of Britain, and being chased by Richard, together with a whole club of fox hunters. It was a really good race and eveybody should watch it.
All in all another great show worth watching and here’s the Nissan GT-R part, which is very cool. Enjoy!
Posted on Jul 17th, 2008 by Andrey
Top Gear is one of the most popular car-based tv shows around, having won many prizes and distinctions not only from the car industry but also from the entertainment one, all of us knowing that the trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May don’t only test cars but also undertake crazy endeavours and races.
The show is watched by millions of people worldwide, but only a few of them are priviledged to see them live, when they tape the show in front of their audience. Well if you want to be a part of those lucky few, then you must wait an astonishing 21 years to attend a show. That’s right, there are already another 336,000 people already on the waiting list to attend Top Gear. If they were to be set in a que, it would be 127 miles long and it would be moving with the “great” speed of 0.0007mph.
No doubt, it would still be worth it, just to see what Jeremy finds on the Internet every show 
, but I’m quite satisfied with watching it on my TV.
Posted on Jul 4th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
3 Comments Category: Top Gear, Video
Our favourite TV show, Top Gear, is back with the 11th season. The second episode, which was aired last Sunday, as Jeremy, Richard and James say, they “accidently made a show all about cars; for the whole show, not one of them falls over, or catches fire, or anything”.
In the first part, we find out that BBC wrote them a letter in which, with the gas prices rising, they demanded for the guys to give some advice on fuel economy and saving money. Unfortunately, the letter was opened by Jeremy who decided that the best way to do that is gathering five supercars (Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Aston Martin DBS, Lamborghini Murcielago, Audi R8 and Mercedes McLaren SLR) and race them. Yeah, we’re not kidding. However, each car had only a gallon of petrol in its tank. To see the race, click here.
Next, they try something else. Jeremy tries to prove a point, that, to save fuel, it doesn’t matter what you drive, but how you drive it. So they take a Toyota Prius and a BMW M3. Yeah, we know, that’s an awkward comparison. Check out the race between these two here.
We’ve also got Jeremy doing a comparison between the new versions of the Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the Mitsubishi Evo X, Richard driving the amazing 572 hp new Audi RS6 in the French Alps, James and Top Gear stuntman trying to redo on the world’s hardest car stunts, from one of the James Bond movies.
In the last part of the show, we’ve got Jeremy taking the new Mercedes Benz CLK Black Series on a night drive and on the superb roads of Wales and I have to say, I also like taking my car at night and just drive, so this part I liked most and here’s the video:
Read More: “Top Gear Season 11 Episode 2” Posted on Mar 25th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
4 Comments Category: News, Top Gear
After 12 years in which ITV owned the TV coverage rights for Formula 1, starting next year, BBC will be the channel to broadcast the F1 action in the UK. And, of course, BBC needs some quality presenters commentators and it seems that one of them will be Richard Hammond, who, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and James May, presents the popular auto show Top Gear.
Apparently, the deal cost BBC somewhere around £200 million deal and many question if it was really worth it. Especially after BBC lost the rights for live Champions League matches to ITV and these matches bring a lot more viewers than the F1 races.
The BBC plans on making the presentation more dynamic, screening races live via broadband and mobile phones as well as conventional television, plus it seems that the Top Gear team will create some great reports from the races.
Read More: “Richard Hammond to cover F1 for BBC”
Posted on Jan 17th, 2008 by Vlad Balan
Ben Silverman, NBC’s co-chairman, announced that NBC has ordered a pilot for an American version of Top Gear. And I must say this is probably a very bad idea. I mean, how can you imagine a Top Gear show without Jeremy, Richard or James? I remember I saw a few episodes of the UK version of “Pimp my ride” and I must say, that guy was awful. So bringing a major show like Top Gear to another country and with other cast well…that’s not Top Gear anymore.
