Top Gear – Series 12 now on Australian TV screens

A quick reminder to AUSmotive readers that SBS is now showing Series 12 of Top Gear. Episode 1 is airing on your screens as this article is being written. You may recall that Jeremy created quite a bit of controversy with a few of his gags in their £5000 Lorry Challenge.

Overall, the eight episode series offers the usual high standard of Top Gear viewing. A few of the later episodes were a bit off key, but still solid entertainment. Hats off to SBS for getting the latest series to screen in relatively quick time. So, for the next seven weeks, keep your telly set to SBS on Monday nights at 7:30pm.

Update: Well, I guess it’s nice that SBS have got this series to air in double quick time, but it’s a shame that more than just the news segment has been edited to squeeze in a few ads. Apart from the odd bits missing from the feature stories, the news segments were some of the more entertaining pieces in this series.

TOP GEAR RETURNS IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SERIES 12

Mondays from 5 January 2009, at 7:30pm

The boys from Top Gear are back on SBS returning early 2009 with an all new eight-episode series commencing Monday 5 January at 7:30pm.

With their customary humour and witty repartee hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig return for Series 12.

Top Gear fans are in for a summer treat with a full line up of motoring entertainment on SBS with the network catching up to date with the UK.

Episode 1 – Monday 5 January, 2009

Top Gear returns with a vengeance as Jeremy pits the Lamborghini Gallardo against the Porsche 911 GT2, which he describes as “…like…being chased around by a turbo charged, newly born albino smoking horse…”.

Then the boys from Top Gear decide to race second-hand lorries through a series of challenging obstacles. Despite thinking truck driving must be easy the Top Gear crew soon find out it is a lot harder than they first thought.

Legendary chat-show host Michael Parkinson is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Episode 2 – Monday 12 January, 2009

The Top Gear crew travel to the USA where they embark on a marathon journey from San Francisco to the middle of Utah in three new generation American muscle cars. The only way the Top Gear gang could be issued USA visas is if they promised the program would be a factual documentary, with absolutely no entertainment value what-so-ever. Jeremy Clarkson does his best to satisfy the USA authorities,”…we tried going back to being factual…but soon we ran out of facts.”

Along the way the boys find themselves in Reno Nevada where James develops a gambling habit while Jeremy and Richard hoon through the streets of Reno maddening local police. Later, the Top Gear crew compete in a time challenge on the Salt Flats of Bonneville “…the Mecca of speed…for a petrol-head, [it] is hallowed ground,” explains Richard Hammond.

Jeremy test drives the Fiat 500 Abarth which he describes as. “…160 horse-power in a car the size of a shoe…that’s fantastic!” Compared to earlier models Jeremy considers this version as practically ‘normal’.

British pop idol singer Will Young is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.