Win – AUSmotive.com

Top Gear Australia cast, 2010

Top Gear Australia, Series 3â€”aka The Channel 9 versionâ€”makes its debut on Tuesday at 7:30pm. The new series kicks off with a 90 minute show dubbed “The Ashes Special” which will see the Aussies take on the Poms. Could the new series jump the shark in its very first episode?

Below is the text from the IceTV guide:

“Cricket passions transfer to automobiles when the Aussie Top Gear mavens, Shane Jacobson, Ewen Page and Steve Pizzati, go to England to take on the originals â€“ Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond on their home turf. A bit like the cricket actually.”

Ewen Page also has a preview on the Top Gear website. Let’s hope its not as cringe worthy as it sounds.

Audi Q5 claims gold before reaching starting blocks

Earlier this year the Audi Q5 was revealed to the motoring world in China. Released prior to the Games, Audi was keen to get plenty of images in front of the soon to be iconic Olympic venues. Now, following that debut, the Q5 has won the “Golden Steering Wheel” award in the SUV class. A nice gig for Audi to be collecting awards for the Q5 even before its market release.

Rupert Stadler, Chairman of the Board of Management of AUDI AG, was in Berlin to collect the gong. “This is a tremendous success for both the new Q5 and the Audi brand. To me, it is also an acknowledgment of the great performance of our highly motivated and committed team,” said Stadler during the awards ceremony. “Our Golden Steering Wheel also proves to me that this car is apparently not only close to my heart; it also convinced the jury.”

Audi have won more “Golden Steering Wheel” awards than any other manufacturer after picking up their first in 1975.

Also of interest, the Q5 dealer reveal took place in Spain last week, with around 14 dealers from Australia making the trip.

Perhaps the most successful step for the Q5 is proving to the world that a small-mid size SUV can actually look half decent. The Q5 is definitely a more cohesive design execution than BMW’s awkward X3, and the Audi also looks neater than it’s Tiguan stablemate form Volkswagen.