Just before Michael Schumacher took off his white helmet and exposed himself as the Stig on the BBC television show Top Gear, he set a new speed record around the Top Gear test track in his personal Ferrari FXX. The racing spec super car gets an additional 150 HP over the standard model and takes advantage of lightweight materials to carry speed through the turns so it can hit it’s top speed of 217 MPH when it hits the straight away.
The previous record was held by the Gumpert Apollo, some 6.5 seconds slower. As nice as the factory tuned racing version of the Enzo is, personally we can’t wait for the 599XX based on the GTB Fiorano of a similar numerical nature.
Only a few days ago out favorite shown on the BBC, Top Gear revealed the first teaser of their Season 13 show. Today is time for a second one. And the stars are the same: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and the mysterious Stig in miniature form.
Everyone’s favorite automotive program fro the BBC, TopGear, has just revealed the trailer for their 13 Season. Back are the familiar faces like hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and the mysterious Stig of course! This time complete with "little" versions! Check your local listings for episodes from the all new season of TopGear on the BBC coming soon. No word as of when they will make their way to this side of the pond, but stay tuned to Top Speed for further updates, so for now just enjoy the video.
Things could get messy over on the set of the BBC’s hit television show Top Gear. As everything sits at the moment, the newly nationalized Royal Bank of Scotland is backing a bid to develop the land where the television show’s test track is located. Due to the fact that the English government is fiscally involved with both ventures, it will be interesting to see how they handle things. It is sad to say that soon, there could be no more stars in reasonably priced cars flying through Hammerhead or ridiculously priced machines at speed, hopefully the producers will figure out a way to resolve this.
We here at Top Speed know what it is like to have the fate of your test track in jeopardy. We too have a controlled facility for conducting vehicle evaluations; and although the Top Gear test track was built by Lotus engineers, ours was built by old fashioned construction workers from the era of Miami Vice. This track used to have Porsche 962s and Nissan GTP race cars climbing its painted curbs.
We are talking about back when races were held on city streets and spectators could enjoy the screams of turbocharged engines bouncing off the concrete canyon walls. Racers like Derek Bell, Geoff Brabham, Brian Redman and Miami native Raul Boesel all won at this track for almost a decade starting in the early 1980s. Today, the city is planning a beautification project that will take away our beloved test track, it is only a matter of time before we have to say goodbye, but after all it will be a government project, so at least we won’t have to worry about it happening anytime soon.
So, what is the crew of TopGear doing for fun lately? Nothing much! Just hanging out in the UAE testing a few super cars, that’s all. The guys at World Car Fans spotted the Stig and company surrounded by a slew of high dollar speed machines, like a Lamborghini SV LP670-4, Bugatti Veyron 16.4, Mercedes-McLaren SLR 722 and the venerable classic the McLaren F1. Look for this future super car shootout on your favorite BBC television show.
The original "Black Stig" was killed off after the second series of Top Gear, reportedly due to his identity (Perry McCarthy) getting leaked. Last month the White Stig was outted, so does that mean he’s out?
This video may be trying to put a little mystery back into the legend of the Stig(s). Is the Black Stig back from the dead? Is the BBC just puling a publicity stunt? Is this just a few creative people with the camera (good job with the one glove detail)? It will take time for the full story to be revealed, so for now just enjoy a fun video of the return of the Black Stig!
Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson will reportedly have to take a pay cut if he wants to continue with the BBC. In an attempt by the British broadcaster to save more than £20 million, salaries of stars earning more than £100,000 will be facing a 25% pay cut when their contracts come up for renewal.
Jeremy Clarkson makes an estimated £2,000,000 per year (about $2.9 million) while attracting about 235 million viewers worldwide to the television program. The pay cuts could cost him about £500,000, a substantial amount of money for any person.
This is only the latest impact of a weakening global economy coupled with a disintegrating automobile industry. Unfortunately those who earn more will be affected the most. No matter what the outcome, Top Gear should continue to be one of the premier automotive programs on television.
The Stig is one of the best ideas in competition because no one can accuse the test resultsof being bias. For example if everyone knew Colin McRae (may he rest in peace) was Top Gear’s test driver, then people could assume that he drove the Subarus better than the Mitsubishis because he was loyal to his former team. The Stig levels the field. Everyone has a hard time disputing the driver’s results because no one knows who he is.
The only downside is that we are constantly wondering who is behind the mask. We have speculated a few different times about the identity of Top Gear’s Stig, but now it there is some pretty damming evidence published by a reputable newspaper. We won’t spoil it for everyone here, but hit the jump if you want to possibly meet Top Gear TV’s fourth member.
It seems Top Gear the magazine and Top Gear the TV show have split their Car of the Year decisions. The magazine chose the the Dodge Challenger as its COTY (CORRECTION:Muscle Car of the Year), while the Clarkson, Hammond and May are sticking by the Caterham Superlight R500. The two cars are alike in that they are both retro fun, but accomplish it in two very different ways.
The Challenger is brute fun (you’ll see in our upcoming review.) Shortcomings that arise from a muscle car built on a full-size car chassis are made up for with a huge engine and badass personality.
The Caterham is the never-say-die spirit of the Lotus 7. Where the Challenger uses a big Hemi V8 to get its speed, the Superlight R500 stays true to its name and uses its svelte 1100 lbs weight (500kg) to give it speed. It also helps that its 2.0-liter Ford-sourced engine is rated at 263 hp. 0 to 60 times are in the sub-three second range.
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