A new business deal signed between the BBC on the one hand and Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman on the other could see the vast expansion of the Top Gear brand worldwide. The deal involves BBC Worldwide, the international commercial arm of the government-owned television network, taking a majority stake in Badder 6. The latter is a company set up by Clarkson and Wilman two years ago for reasons unknown, but will now act to channel all revenues from the Top Gear brand back to the BBC, Clarkson and Wilman.The deal is seen as a necessity to keep Clarkson happy so he'll remain on the show amidst offers from competing networks and producers for the world's most famous automotive journalist. Badder 6, which now includes three top-level BBC Worldwide executives, will be responsible for managing the marketing of Top Gear around the world, including the magazine, the original British television program, the new program for the United States undertaken by NBC, an additional new series for Australia, and all related merchandising opportunities. Now reaping the rewards for his efforts, Clarkson will act in a direct capacity as the figurehead for the Top Gear brand around the world. Although the deal did not involve his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May, the pair are reported to have secured more lucrative deals themselves in light of Clarkson's new arrangement.
We've all heard our share of rumors about the true identity of the one called The Stig. But after our childhood notions of the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus were shattered, we prefer to keep the legend of the anonymous test driver from Top Gear alive. So we're not about to claim that The Stig is one of us – or is he? – but the enigmatic pilot recently tried his hand at blogging. Trouble is, as we already know, The Stig doesn't have opposable thumbs or speak (let alone write) any discernible language known to man.The entry on the Top Gear blog is part of a series of posts while the crew is out on the Isle of Man – the British isle with no speed limits and the birthplace of Nigel Mansell – where Stig is driving the Nissan GT-R. Click the Top Gear link to read the Stig's impressions of the Nissan GT-R. It is perhaps the most concise review of Nissan's supercar we've ever read.
The Gumpert Apollo may not be able to drive over a speed bump, but it sure is fast on the track. Top Gear's most recent episode included a review of the German supercar by Richard Hammond and a Power Lap on the Top Gear Test Track in the hands of the Stig. The result was quite impressive: a time of 1:17.1 that eclipsed the previous best mark of 1:17.3 set by the Ascari A10.
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Just two days after taping the pilot episode of Top Gear USA, Adam Carolla took the proactive approach of revealing who the first Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is before the blogosphere could get those in attendance who signed NDAs to spill the beans. On his radio show Monday morning, Carolla got a caller to cough up the name, and it's none other than auto icon and generally icky dude David Hasselfhoff. Reports from people who attended the taping say that the Hoff was actually a great live guest and even had autographed photos of himself to pass out to the crowd who had been standing in place for seven hours. We haven't heard how Hasselhoff did running a Kia Rio around Top Gear USA's test track, but being the first will ensure his time gets placed atop the leader board.
Who else would you like to see be a Star in a Reasonably Priced Car on Top Gear USA? We can think of a whole red carpet's worth of B- and C-list celebrities, and yes, that includes Kathy Griffin. Click the source link below to make your way to an audio clip of Adam Carolla's radio show on Monday morning.
What would Top Gear be without a star in a reasonably priced car? Well... better, for one thing. But that hasn't stopped NBC from porting over the red-headed step-child of Top Gear segments to the imported version of the show. According to Jalopnik, during tomorrow's taping, B-listers C-listers D-listers Howie Mandel and Melanie B (former Spice Girl) will be piloting the U.S.'s own version of a reasonably-priced car – a Kia Rio – around the newly minted Top Gear test track. What can we expect? Nothing good, we thinks. Nor does it bode well that both pseudo-celebs are part of the NBC franchise. Depressed? We thought so. But the taping is tomorrow, so we'll try to remain upbeat until the first reports from inside the studio surface.
Top Gear has had its fair share of mishaps. There was that time the Stig took the Koenigsegg CCX on an off-track excursion, and of course Hammond's horrific crash in the jet dragster. The latest incident involves the one and only Nissan GT-R press car in Great Britain. Apparently it was involved in a fender bender in the Isle of Man after a photoshoot for Top Gear magazine. It seems that the GT-R wasn't damaged too badly, despite the pic of its naked arse above, and the same exact car ran up the hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed only a couple days later.
While Top Gear obsessives in the UK have to wait 21 years for a chance to share the hanger with Clarkson, Hammond and May, those of us in the U.S. have an opportunity to get in on the ground floor of the imported version of everyone's favorite motoring show. One of the scribes at Autofiends came across the application page for audience members to attend the taping of Top Gear USA's pilot episode, and if you're in the Los Angeles area and free this Saturday, July 26th, you can sign up here.
Adam Carolla is in the host seat, accompanied by rally racer and drifter extraordinaire, Tanner Foust, and -- God help us -- "TV construction guru Eric Stromer." According to the site, "Top Gear will feature irreverent humor and camaraderie, epic races, outrageous stunts and challenges, unique celebrity guest participation and eccentric methods of testing cars." Sounds like the proven formula is on its way.
It's the lap time that everyone has been waiting for. Just how fast can the Stig push the Nissan GT-R around Top Gear's test track? Those who couldn't wait could see the track time posted on Wikipedia a few days ago. Even after the entry was removed (it's since been added back in), Wikipedia still allowed users to review the revisions made to an entry. So while the GT-R's time may have been no secret, those with enough will power not to look can now watch the video of the GT-R lap the Top Gear test track and have the result still be a surprise. Even if you do know the time, it's still worth watching, and as an added bonu,s Clarkson wrings out the GT-R at the Fuji race circuit.
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This Sunday, Top Gear will finally get to test the mettle of the Nissan GT-R on the track. Well, "tracks" to be specific. Clarkson's appetite for tail-out antics wasn't satiated by last week's race against the bullet train, so he headed to a track in Japan to get a feel for the GT-R's capabilities at the limit and a chance to wring out Nissan's super coupe past its nanny-imposed 111 mph top speed.
Back in the UK, the Stig finally takes the GT-R around Top Gear's test track and that meant that members of the studio audience got a chance to see the GT-R's lap time. Earlier this morning, we received word that the time had been posted on Wikipedia. We saw it, our jaw dropped and then it disappeared. Wikipedia being, well... Wikipedia, means that we're taking the time with a grain of salt until the show airs on Sunday. While the lap isn't listed any longer, Wikipedia does allow users to view the revisions made to an entry. If you want to spoil it for yourself, feel free, just don't post it in the comments out of respect for the rest of us. We're willing to wait a few more days for confirmation.
It's no secret that we're big fans of Top Gear, and it's good to hear that we're definitely not alone in loving the world's greatest motoring show. The waiting list to get a first-hand glimpse of the show being produced is an incredible 336k names deep, which translates to about a 21 year wait. That's enough people to fill England's new Wembley Stadium nearly four times, and for us Yanks, we greatly prefer Top Gear to soccer. With a constant flow of the best vehicles on earth, an endless array of clever new challenges, and the most entertaining show hosts in the biz, we don't think that list will shrink any time soon. We'd love to see the show live and in person, too, but at the current rate most of us would be members of the AARP by 2029. That is unless the Old Trafford can be used as the new Top Gear studio.
