Not so long ago, we told you about the special edition satellite navigation device by TomTom which features the voice of the Stig (!) and Jeremy Clarkson, both of TopGear fame.

Now due to a clause found in BBC’s own contact, this device had to be pulled off the shelves. According to the BBC, all its presenters “must take particular care not to endorse any product or service which could be covered in the programmes on which they work.”

Since this TomTom device could have easily been featured in an episode of TopGear, it would breach the contract rules and thus cannot be allowed to be put on sale.

However, the issue only came out after the device had already gone on sale. A reported 54,000 of these TopGear special edition sat nav’s have been sold thus far, however the BBC is not allowed to make any money due to its breach, and thus will have to donate all proceeds from its sale to its charity – BBC Children In Need.

Similarly, TomTom will also make a donation from its profits to a charity of its choice.

Clarkson, who had nothing to do with the brokering of this deal will also make no money from this transaction. However, anyone who currently owns this now very rare TomTom Go Live TopGear Edition, could sell it for a profit.

No word yet if this BBC clause will effect the new Forza4 video game, which also features the voice of Jeremy Clarkson.

[Source: The Guardian]

We don’t know if he read Forbes’ list of worst cars for 2011. All we do know is that he’s made his own list, and that he is called the Stig.

That’s right, Top Gear’s ‘the Stig’ has released his list of the worst five cars he’s ever driven, with some shocking surprises and some rather obvious ones. The Stig in question here is the second Stig or the White Stig, Ben Collins, who joined the show in 2003 after the Black Stig was killed off and who left the show last year.

The list includes a total of five cars, two American, two Italian and even one from the UK. Hit the jump for a brief summary.

[Source: Drive.com.au]

The Stig’s Top 5 Worst Cars

5. Alfa Romeo 8C – Yes.. the 8C. The car that shares the same chassis with the Maserati Grand Turismo and Ferrari California, Collins describes as one of the most beautiful ever, but also the worst supercar he’s ever driven.

4. Fiat Multipla – There’s almost no explanation needed here. Even if it drove like a Lotus Elise, the Multipla might just be the most hideous car ever designed.

3. Cadillac Escalade – The first U.S. vehicle to make the list (but not the last), Collins describes it as a joke of an off-roader and retells an anecdote about shoddy build quality.

2. Dodge Charger – A disappointing remake, Collins says it,  “underwhelmed with its heavy weight, modest power and woeful automatic gearbox.”

1. TVR Sagaris – Called “ghastly, unreliable and held together by craft glue,” Collins says the Sagaris was the worst of the bunch with all other problems being overshadowed by the fact that it was essentially undriveable, even by a pro. Lauded by Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, Collins indicates this might just be the best reason that it’s the worst.

The reputation of Top Gear‘s “The Stig” has become synonymous with anonymity and was quite possibly one of the industry’s greatest mysteries. In a way it gave viewers a lot to chat about, with this growing aura of secrecy around The Stig. But now Ben Collins has been ousted as The Stig from Top Gear due to a breach in a non-disclosure agreement and we have to wonder…was Ben the only Stig for the past few years to ever entertain our eyes?

We can’t help our skepticism to believe that Collins was the one and only Stig, but rather one of the drivers that played the Stig’s identity. Collins has quite the driving resume, having competed in American Le Mans, Formula Three, GT3, ASCAR and NASCAR.

Now knowing how big of a secret The Stig’s identity is to Top Gear, we find it really odd that Collins would risk that portion of his career for the sake of publishing an autobiography. But maybe he was taking some notes from Perry McCarthy, the former Black Stig that also appeared on Top Gear. When McCarthy published his autobiography, Top Gear killed off the Black Stig.

UPDATE: The BBC has lost an appeal in the British courts system to block publishing house HarperCollins from confirming the identity of The Stig. That hearing was attended by Ben Collins.

[Source: TopSpeed and BusinessWeek]

The BBC is about to expand on the mystery surrounding Top Gear’s ‘The Stig’ by asking not only who he is, but also where.

Now while 40 year old men who play with cars can wonder who the Stig really is, their children can hunt for the silent hot-shoe in a new series of books the BBC is launching based on the popular Where’s Waldo? series.

Called Where’s Stig? the books will be illustrated by Rod Hunt and feature ‘The Stig’ carefully hidden amongst throngs of shoppers at the mall or folks at the zoo. And who knows, maybe some of the pages will feature other Top Gear characters, although searching for an abnormally tall Jeremy Clarkson with his curly mop of hair might not prove so challenging.

BBC Books will officially launch the Where’s Stig? book on September 17th.

[Source: Design You Trust]

Jay Leno has confirmed that he will make an appearance on the most famous (and infamous) car show in the world, Top Gear. Leno has been traveling through the U.K. all week, including introducing the world to the new Jaguar XJ yesterday.

Leno will appear in “The Star in the Reasonably Priced Car” segment, where the legendary comedian will get to try his skills around a race track in an econo-box. Leno was even coached by The Stig.

The spot is scheduled to run in a few weeks and will also include an interview with Leno by Jeremy Clarkson.

[Source: JayLenosGarage]

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

Top Gear kicked off a new season in the U.K. with two big stunts. For starters, it revealed that The Stig is none other than Michael Schumacher.

More amazingly, however, the seven-time Formula 1 World Champion piloted his very own black Ferrari FXX  around the Top Gear test track completely obliterating the previous record held by the Gumpert Apollo. The Gumpert’s best lap was an incredible 1:17, while the 800hp 6.3-liter V12 FXX crossed the line in just 1:10. As it’s not street-legal, however, we wouldn’t exactly call this matchup a fair fight.

According to a report in the UK’s Telegraph newspaper, Top Gear’s “The Stig” is none other than Ben Collins.

Who?… you say.

Ben Collins.

Still not ringing a bell.. well, here’s a little profile on the man who, as Jeremy Clarkson would say, likes listening to Marvin Gay while driving a Pagani Zonda.

Collins has raced successfully in Formula 3, the FIA GT Series, Indy Lights and even at Le Mans. He began his career in the Formula Vauxhall series in the U.K in the ’90s. After a stint there he moved on to Formula 3 where he landed 5 straight wins in the British National Championship. In 1999 Collins began racing in the USA in the Indy Lights Championship scoring several podiums before returning to England. His oval track experience gave him a huge advantage when in 2003 he dominated the competition in the European NASCAR-style ASCAR Championship where secured the championship while setting new series records for points, pole positions and overall wins.

During this time Collins also raced at Le Mans and in 2005 joined the FIA GT3 European Championship where he races today in one of three Ascari KZ1R Supercars.

According to the Telegraph article, Bristol art gallery owner Simon Whitehead was the first to know for certain that Collins was The Stig when the legend himself said so. Apparently Collins told Whitehead while at the gallery to see about a limited edition Stig print.

Sadly this could mean the end of the road for Collins as The White Stig. The Black Stig, aka Perry McCarthy, was canned from the Top Gear show after outing himself in his book Flat Out, Flat Broke.

[Source: The Telegraph]