NOTE: This article was originally posted before the last episode of Season 13. We now know that Season 14 is coming, and coming soon. Sunday 15 November to be exact—CLICK HERE for more.
UPDATE 16 November: Click here for a full rundown of what to expect in Series 14 (contains spoilers).
UPDATE 4 August: Okay, so I went off half-cocked on the Stig is dead theory (see below). However, perhaps the death in the family is much larger than that—is Top Gear dead, never to return to our screens again?
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage review, which closed Series 13, contains hidden messages about the show’s future. Well, if you are prepared to go looking for them. Even the soundtrack used in the V12 Vantage film was titled “An ending†(by Brian Eno). Clarkson’s commentary on the Aston centred around the death of the supercar due to, among other things, the financial crisis. Were his comments simply about the car in question, or did they form part of a bigger picture for the show itself?
The Top Gear-is-over-theory does have momentum, as this piece in The Guardian shows. And, as noted earlier, the banter at FinalGear contains plenty of discussion on the topic.
One thing is certain and that is Top Gear, as we know it, will end one day. Is that day sooner than we may have first thought? At this stage I am still prepared to accept the words of “The Mole” on the Top Gear Transmission blog, which states there will be “a little bit of time off for the crew and then we’re straight back into filming for series 14 later in the year.”
I formed an educated guess that Season 14 would be back on UK screens around Sunday 15 November [Ed: Zing!] I guess we will have to wait and see what transpires. Let the speculation continue…
(Oh, a reminder to Australian readers that SBS TV will start the seven episode run of Top Gear, Series 13 on Monday 31 August.)
UPDATE 30 September: Top Gear have recently been filming a segment for Series 14 on the Transfagarasan road in Romania.
First filed 1 August:
The final episode of Series 13 of Top Gear goes to air in the UK tomorrow night. After reading the preview of the final episode we’re left asking a few questions that may be answered when Season 14 goes to air, towards the end of this year presumably. To see the source of those questions we need to go back to the preview clip from the start of Series 13 as shown in Episode 1.
The first, and perhaps the biggest question to ask is this—will there be a new Stig?
When the identity of the Black Stig was revealed he was promptly killed off. That was way back in the first episode of Series 3. The true identity of the White Stig hasn’t been confirmed as such—and certainly not by Top Gear—however, there is a reasonably strong belief that it is Ben Collins. In fact, in January this year media speculation reached fever pitch when UK newspaper The Telegraph outed Collins after a builder claimed he got confirmation from Collins himself while at his house doing some work.
So, back to the preview clip from the start of Series 13. You can see, pictured above, a funeral ceremony in place where a scantily clad lass in a black bikini is one of the pall bearers. Cast your mind back to Series 10, Episode 10 when The Stig was lazing in a pool enjoying some rays. Poolside was a bikini-clad babe who the audience were to assume was Mrs Stig. Could The Telegraph‘s revelation be true and Mrs Stig has reappeared as a pall bearer at her husband’s funeral?
UPDATE 3 August: Follow the “Read the rest of this entry” link for more on Season 14.
Other items shown in the Series 13 teaser but not making it to air in the season proper are an Audi R8 V10 v Corvette ZR1 track duel and the Aston Martin V12 Vantage. It isn’t clear why they may not have made the cut for Series 13, but you would expect cars of such quality would not be left out altogether. So, it would seem safe, or at least reasonable, to expect they will make it to air in Season 14.
It is also believed that Lewis Hamilton will be given a second opportunity to lap the Top Gear track in the reasonably priced car, after his first attempt was completed on a wet track (10×08). Hamilton’s scheduling didn’t allow a return filming session for Series 13, so perhaps Lewis will be back for a post 2009 F1 season wrap in Series 14?
It is understood that Series 14 will feature another seven episodes, like the current series, and following previous Top Gear scheduling the second season for the year will finish on the last Sunday of the year (27 December). If we take that as gospel and work seven weeks back, then pencil in a Series 14 premiere date for Sunday 15 November.
UPDATE 3 August: The Aston Vantage V12 does indeed feature in the last episode of Series 13, and the way the episode ends has created plenty of speculation on FinalGear as to whether this may be the last episode of Top Gear ever.
If we take this recent post by “The Mole” on the Top Gear Transmission blog at face value then Series 14 has been confirmed as it states there will be “a little bit of time off for the crew and then we’re straight back into filming for series 14 later in the year.”
31 replies on “Top Gear – Series 14 (An ending?)”
[…] AUSmotive.com Top Gear – Series 14 (A new Stig?) __________________ ILL HAVE A PINT OF MILD IN A HALF PINT GLASS! […]
hi top gear , is it true that the black stig is ben collins and is there a new stig for series 14 please write back as i got facebook. love u richard .
….or it could just be a new VW advert with a Top Gear twist
Yes, Lee, you were right! 😛
Jay Leno!
What can I say, what a superb episode! Packed full of laughs and the cinematography just gets better and better!! The Aston bit at the end was just so good. It would be a crying shame if this was the end. Although quite why the BBC would want to can one of their most popular shows???
I don’t believe that Top Gear has come to an end! In the last or second to last episode of series 13 Richard Hammond made a reference to their return in coming November. However the ending of episode seven does throw a light on possible changes to the program! Let’s just hope it will be as good as always!
theyve already started filming season 14
I believe the ending of season 13 was about the car industry and not top gear …. it was getting at how the world is changing and cars like the aston martin won’t be made because people won’t be able to afford them and they will become too expensive to make
“That’s All Folks
That’s series 13 done and dusted, but don’t worry we’ll be back with a brand new series soon”
Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show
idiot!
series 14 has been promised
who is the stig hamster
[…] good news is that, despite some nerves created at the end of Series 13, the show will be back in the (UK) winter. Jeremy Clarkson had this to say […]
top gear season 14 will come on tv this fall in november.
[…] that the Top Gear is over rumour has been put to bed, there is further good news for fans of the world’s best car show. Series 14 of Top Gear will […]
[…] Top Gear lads have recently been in Romania filming a segment for the upcoming Series 14, due on UK screens later this year. Why Romania? Well, the above picture of the Transfagarasan road […]
will top gear come to serbia???
Great show I love it, funny interesting and much more……..
when he said an end he meant a end to big v12 supercars at least for a while when the banking crisis ends or when we run out of gas
I eat my own pants yo!
There will definately be another series, the next one is next month – november!
It said in a top gear mag, and they always do two series every year one in July, and one in November.
Yes. The new series will start on 15 November:
http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/09/23/top-gear-series-14-now-in-hd.html
The Stig as shown in Season 13 ep.1 original air date was JUNE 22 2009 is non other than MICHAEL SCHUMACHER which makes sence because the stig never tests the same car that the crew uses (if your paying attension) the car he drives is usually even a different color just for starters and he’s bizzy being retired and helping with tuning at Lambo. Ferrari. Porcshe. and Audi so he dose his track days at different times than the rest of the crew
I hope that this is not the end because i cant stan the other faggy fifth gear show 🙁
Top Gear is Definitely going to be back. If you want to kno why they had the bit on the Astion martin at then end just randomly, it was becasue Lewis Hamilton was supposed to be doing a lap in the dry, but when he turned up it was raining, so he couldn’t do a lap, so that is why they stuck that random bit in, but not to worry, Lewis will hopefully be doing a lap in the dry sometime during this series 🙂
There will be a 14th series no doubt about it, top gear is awsome!! love the show.
@Luke – yes, see the note at the top of this article. The next season of Top Gear starts next weekend:
http://www.ausmotive.com/2009/11/08/i-dont-want-to-grow-up.html
Well…if what you think was the hidden message behind the review, i would rather see top gear die with honor rather than watch them reviewing n testing Electric and Hybrid cars.
I agree with Daniel, top gear will go down with dignity!
I think the new season is doing just great – not available here, but found it online at http://tinyurl.com/topgears14e02
[…] the end of Season 13 there was much talk that it marked the end of the road for Top Gear. While that turned out to be […]