The debut of Top Gear Australia is getting closer by the day. So much so that SBS has started an audience call for Series 1. If you are over 18, can easily get yourself to Top Gear Australia’s Sydney studio in September/October and don’t mind if your mug gets on the telly then this could be the gig for you! Follow THIS LINK to register your interest and you’ll be in with a chance to join Charlie, Warren and Steve for the studio filming.
Good luck!
Oh, a quick reminder that starting at 7:30 tonight SBS delves into the vault to bring us Series 2 of Top Gear UK. This is James May’s debut series and well worth a sticky beak if you’ve not already seen it.
Here at AUSmotive we love Top Gear and we love nice cars. Very nice cars. To celebrate the recent arrival of the official Top Gear YouTube channel here is a Top Gear tea break. Set aside a few minutes—7 minutes 58 seconds in this case—and enjoy Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Porsche Carrera GT. Sure, this clip may be a few years old now, taken from way back in Series 4, but the car in question is absolutely timeless. One of my all time favourites. At the time The Stig’s best lap of 1:19.8 was the fastest time recorded around the Top Gear test track. Sadly, the Top Gear boffins have prevented embedding of their YouTube clips, but click on the image above to be taken to the clip and, as Jeremy says, “LISTEN TO THAT ENGINE!” … it is one of the best automotive sounds ever created.
Our favourite television show now has an official YouTube presence. Epic! Thing is though, this will be excellent when you need a helping hand to get your motoring related fix across the line. Watch the intro clip above explaining what to expect. And on that bombshell…
The final episode of Series 11 already! Yes, I’m afraid that’s it for a few more months. The show kicked off with James May testing a couple of Japanese oddities from well known manufacturer Mitsuoka. Hmm, fair enough. Richard Hammond took us down “Hardcore Street” behind the wheel of the Gumpert Apollo S. A car which proves to be as effective as it is, well, ugly. How effective? You’ll need to check the video above to find out. Jay Kay made his long awaited reappearance on the show to see if he could knock off Simon Cowell’s lap time in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment. He did. Predictably, by 0.1 second. All looked a bit of a setup, so much so that the producers must have asked Jay Kay to see if he could act a bigger wanker than Cowell as well. Which is a shame, as Jay Kay was pretty good value when he first appeared on Top Gear all those years ago. He has a bloody nice car collection, so we’ll forgive him!
The show closed out with classic shoot out between the Top Gear crew against Germany’s DMotor crew, featuring Sabine Schmitz and Tim Schrick. The usual “don’t mention the war” banter followed and, of course, Top Gear won the day. Although, one suspects when the film airs on DMotor that there may be a different result, haha. It was all pretty good fun really with the highlight being Jeremy and Sabine lapping the Zolder circuit in a couple of MINI Cooper Ss and Tim Schrick and The Stig duelling in a race going Porsche and an Aston Martin DBRS9.
Top Gear should be back in October with 8 episodes to close out the year. Fifth Gear will return to UK screens on 11 August.
Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t get enough of the Nissan GT-R so he kicked off Series 11, Episode 5 by showing us all why the beefy R35 is proving to be a pain in the neck for the big German bahnstormers (see above). Clarkson and James May then proved what pillocks they are by bringing London traffic to a standstill in their very own classic motors—James in a 1972 Rolls Royce (of course) Corniche and Jeremy in a 1970 Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser. Quite entertaining chaps. A couple of rich blokes fanged around the track in the Lacetti, and one of them, in particular, was right on the money. Richard Hammond joined Jeremy in closing the show with a traditional fox hunt. In a Daihatsu Terios. For mine, this was a great, take it back to its roots, Top Gear episode. A shame then, that next week’s episode will be the last for Series 11.
Still, Top Gear Australia can’t be too far away. And, if nothing else, that will generate plenty of discussion.
This week’s episode of Top Gear saw Jeremy Clarkson make a bold claim. He reckons the Alfa Romeo 8C is “the best looking car ever made”. I disagree. Sure, the side profile is stunning, but I just can’t see much to like about that front end. It’s all a bit of a mish mash. Enjoy the YouTube clip above and judge for yourself. A couple of pretty tidy newsreaders from the BBC were this week’s Stars in a Reasonably Priced Car. Fiona Bruce fared quite well, but Kate Silverton’s time, in such shocking weather, was actually damn impressive. Of course, the main feature of this episode was the first big Top Gear race since the Veyron first appeared in Series 7. This time the crew was off to Japan and it was Jeremy in the Nürburgring taming Nissan GT-R taking on Richard and James aboard a 200mph bullet train. Exectuve Producer Andy Wilman claimed in his blog that the Veyron race was “too big and overblown” and that the GT-R provided an opportunity to bring the big races back to our screens. Well, I’m disagreeing with another TG heavy as I reckon the Veyron film was one of their best. The cinematography was superb. The GT-R film is very enjoyable, of course, but, for mine, not one of their best. Still can’t wait for Episode 5!
In this week’s episode of Top Gear the lads set out on a £1000 Alfa Romeo Challenge. Jeremy buys a 75, May gets himself a four-cylinder GTV and the Hamster rolls up in a 2-litre Spider. Well, not literally rolls up, at first, anyway. BAFTA winner James Corden joins Rob Brydon on the couch for a fang in the Lacetti. If you’re a die hard TG fan then you’ve probably already seen the Alfa Challenge, and if you haven’t you will before week’s end. So, featured in this week’s wrap is the opening clip from the show, Jeremy Clarkson testing the six and three quarter litre Bentley Brooklands. Can you call such a car brutal and savage? Given that sixteen cows were used to fit out the car’s interior I guess you can, and that’s even before the tyre bursting performance!
In a sign of further proof, if it were needed, that a professional wowser’s idea of entertainment is watching their own fingernails grow Jeremy Clarkson and James May have come under fire from the BBC’s independent watchdog over a light hearted gag from their Top Gear Polar Special. To illustrate their point that they could be pioneer explorers without breaking into a sweat—in this case attempting to be the first people to drive to the magnetic north pole—they made an otherwise innocent gag about drinking a Gin and Tonic while conquering one of the world’s few remaining frontiers. Nobody is denying the dangers of drinking and driving, however, the Top Gear duo were neither endangering the lives of others nor causing any genuine unnecessary risk to themselves. In actual fact, no footage of them actually drinking from their glasses went to air. Nor did they break any laws. It was a slice of humour intended to entertain, no more, no less. One day—I hope—we will live in a world where common sense and fun can co-exist. What do you think the chances are?
Source: ABC Online (Thanks to Andrew for the tip.)
Episode 2 of Top Gear’s Series 11 aired in the UK last night and the show closed with this great clip of Jeremy Clarkson behind the wheel of a Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK Black Edition. The episode began with a comparison between the new Subaru Impreza STi and the latest Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X. Richard Hammond took the twin turbo V10 572bhp Audi RS6 to the French alps. A couple of dudes from Spooks were pitted against each other in the Chevy Lacetti. And the Top Gear Stuntman tried to recreate a James Bond movie stunt.
All standard Top Gear fare, but this in no way demeans the lads’ efforts. As Jeremy said in closing his AMG film, this episode embodies the show’s raison d’etre, presenting “the absolute joy of driving a great car, on a great road”. See you next week!
BBC Magazines, the publishers of Top Gear magazine, have done a deal with Australian Consolidated Press to bring an Australian version of the mag to our newsstands. Edited by Ewan Page, the launch issue is on sale now. Looks like they have the finger on the pulse as far as humour goes.
Ever wondered how fast you could go around the Top Gear test track in their reasonably priced car? Why don’t you check out their website and have a go! The current record is 1:44.4—it’s safe to say I won’t be troubling that record any time soon, but I’d be keen to hear how you get on…
Joy to the world—Top Gear is back! With talk of new Australian and US versions in production, I guess there is now a need to specify just which Top Gear is being referred to. Of course, it is the original UK line up of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. The lads are presenting Series 11 and the first episode aired in the UK last Sunday. Above is the first part of two clips of their £1000 Police car challenge, the second part is down below.
Other highlights from the show included Jeremy’s review of the new-ish Ferrari F430 Scuderia, a Toyota Prius v BMW M3 fuel challenge and an all out supercar economy challenge. A new crew member—Top Gear Stunt man—was also introduced. It looks like we are in for another great series from the entire Top Gear team. Stay tuned for more next week.
The debut of Top Gear Australia is getting closer by the day. So much so that SBS has started an audience call for Series 1. If you are over 18, can easily get yourself to Top Gear Australia’s Sydney studio in September/October and don’t mind if your mug gets on the telly then this could be the gig for you! Follow THIS LINK to register your interest and you’ll be in with a chance to join Charlie, Warren and Steve for the studio filming.
