There once was a time, when Mel Gibson was mad only on screen and drove a modified black Ford Falcon Interceptor in a movie called Mad Max.

The movie is full of high speed chases and destruction in typical 1980′s fashion. You’d either love this movie or think it is one of the biggest time wasters ever invented.

Some of its supporters seem to be Ford of Australia and the team behind Top Gear Australia and they have pooled their talents together bring a modern version of the Mad Max car.

Out of the many designs penned, two designs have been picked as the finalists, one penned by Nima Nourian and the other by Simon Brook.

Ford Australia’s Melbourne based  Design Director Chris Svensson said, “Our entire team was very excited to be involved in this after-hours project and they approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm – even those that were too young to remember the first Mad Max movie. We had a special screening of the original movie so they could understand it.”

These two final designs will be voted on by readers of Top Gear Australia, and the winning design will be turned into a full-scale model. Since a Mad Max 4 is being planned, the winning car could end up in the new movie.

[Source: Carscoop]

American electric car maker Tesla Motors has filed a lawsuit against the BBC over an episode of its popular Top Gear show that Tesla says is libelous and contains, “malicious falsehood.”

The issue surrounds a test Top Gear did of the Tesla Roadster in which Tesla claims the show faked aspects, including having the Tesla car run out of power and need a recharge. Tesla claims neither of its cars dropped below 20 percent battery life during the shoot and also refutes a statement by presenter Jeremy Clarkson that one of the cars suffered from issues with the brakes.

Tesla has also taken issue with claims in the episode that the car has a range of just 50 miles, rather than the 211 mile range Tesla claims.

While the original episode aired in 2008, Tesla is suing in response to unedited re-turns of the show, as well as copies sold on DVD. Of note, Tesla appears to be suing more for the principle than the money, with the suit for less than £100,000.

In a statement the Silicon Valley-based EV maker commented that, “Tesla simply wants Top Gear to stop rebroadcasting this malicious episode and to correct the record, but they’ve repeatedly ignored Tesla’s requests.”

The BBC has confirmed receipt of the suit and a spokeswoman for the show said that, “The BBC stands by the programme and will be vigorously defending this claim.”

[Source: Guardian]

Over 70 years ago, the Battle of Britain was waged in an effort to stop Hitler’s army from invading the United Kingdom. While Britain may have won that pivotal contest, it looks like the Germans are about to make off with one of the UK’s cultural jewels, as the BBC prepares to sell the print version of Top Gear.

German publishing firm Bauer is considered a leading candidate to purchase the magazine, as well as Burda, another German outfit. British publishers Haymarket and Future are also said to be involved in the bidding process. Top Gear is actually being sold as part of the entire BBC magazines suite, which suggests that the state owned broadcaster is looking to divest itself entirely from print.

[Source: This Is Money]

The Morgan Aeromax is a rare and beautiful thing. Only 100 examples of this V8 supercar were ever made, one of which was purchased by Richard Hammond of TopGear fame.

Since Hammond’s car was one of only six right-hand drive examples, it is even more rare. Well now his very car can be yours, because Hammond has put his car up for sale.

It is listed at Mole Valley Specialist Cars in Surrey, England, and its asking price is a whopping £99,950 ($159,000). That is exactly the same as what these cars were worth new back in 2008.

So if you are the world’s biggest Richard Hammond fan, maybe this is just the trinket you’ve been looking for.

[Source: Autoblog]

Televisions biggest motoring loud mouth is undeniably Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear fame. He is known to either really love a car, or hate it to bits, nothing comes in the middle.

Back in 2006, he raved on and on about the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, a car he loved so much, he actually put his money where his mouth is and bought one.

However, his love for it has been gone for a while now because he sold it a year later. Its second owner has now also put this car up for sale. It’s priced quite well also for such a car, asking about $145,000 for this 2007 Gallardo Spyder, which has covered 19,250-miles.

So if you think you are the ultimate Top Gear fan, you should consider buying it and perhaps make your own Top Gear style videos shouting “Pwwrrrr” every 10-seconds.

[Source: J Spec Imports]

Apart from the news, Top Gear might just be the biggest thing to ever come from the BBC, spawning local versions from Australia to the U.S. with the original watched by millions around the world. Now another country is set to get in on the irreverent fun, China.

China isn’t big on free speech, however, so don’t expect any off-the cuff rants from a Clarkson-esque personality, insulting other races, cultures or political leaders. (Definitely not political leaders.)

In order not to diminish the impact of the show too much, some antics will still be involved, but as a result the show won’t air until after midnight.

Currently the world’s largest auto market, it looks like sales of DVRs in China are about to hit an all time high too.

[Source: Telegraph]

Last weekend, an episode of the popular BBC2 show Top Gear sparked controversy when comments made by the presenters caused upset in Mexico, including a formal complaint lodged by ambassador Eduardo Medina Mora, in which he described the comments from Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson as ‘xenophobic and humiliating.’

Now the BBC has responded directly. In a letter addressed to Sr. Mora, it said it was sorry if had offended some people, but said jokes based on national stereotyping were part of British national humor and culture.

It also stated that there was no vindictiveness behind the comments, even if they might have been “rude” and “mischievous.”

“Our own comedians make jokes about the British being terrible cooks and terrible romantics, we in turn make jokes about the Italians being disorganized and over dramatic, the French being arrogant and the Germans being over-organized,” the corporation said.

The BBC announcement went on to say that such stereotype-based comedy is in line with BBC programming guidelines, provided the audience expects it, as is the case with Top Gear.

[Source: BBC]

Top Gear, the BBC’s infamous car/entertainment show has gained a huge following world wide since it’s reincarnation in 2002.

Many find its off-the wall challenges, insults and humor hard to resist. At the same time, it’s often been the subject of controversy, thanks to forthright comments spouted by presenters Jeremy Clarkson and usually, to a lesser extent, Richard Hammond and James May.

Most recently, the show has become the target of the Mexican government, following remarks made by Hammond during one of presenters’ televised gabbing sessions.

In discussing Mexico’s new Mastretta MXT sports car, Hammond said “Mexican cars are just going to be lazy, feckless and overweight, leaning against  a fence asleep, looking at a cactus with a blanket with a hole in the middle on as a coat.”

Clarkson then went on to joke that the BBC wouldn’t receive any complaints from the Mexican ambassador, quite simply because he would likely be asleep.

In response, said ambassador sent a letter to the BBC saying that the presenters had used vulgar and bigoted language to describe the people of his country, describing the remarks as xenophobic and humiliating.

Really? Perhaps the Ambassador needs to spend more time in Britain.

As for the MXT, if it does prove to be a good car, then it’s likely the company that builds it, nor the Republic of Mexico should have anything to worry about, least of all comments spouted on a segment of some British TV show.

[Source: BBC]

Matt Farah, host of The Smoking Tire and an AutoGuide contributor, has been tapped to host a new SPEED channel show featuring comedian and car buff Adam Carolla, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Dan Neil and former NBA player John Salley.

Carolla, who was once tapped to host a stillborn version of Top Gear USA, will head up the show, produced by Mandt Bros. Productions. The structure of the show will be more like a cable sports show, where hosts discuss car related topics, with pre-shot features interspersed with the discussions.

When pressed for details, Farah was tight-lipped, but told AutoGuide that “We feel that there is room in the market for a fun car show with a uniquely American flavor. While the gold standard of Top Gear is out there for everyone to compare to, we want to try something different, something a little less scripted and a little more on the fly, with well-known automotive personalities. I’m really happy to be a part of this project, and really excited for viewers to see it when it’s done.”

It looks as though the marketing machine behind Top Gear USA is at it again, offering the first episode of the show online for free. You can watch episodes at History.com, or right here, thanks to the kind folks at History allowing us to embed their video.

Alternatively, you could watch it on TV, with new episodes airing Sundays on History at 10 Eastern, 9 Central.

After several delays, Top Gear USA finally launched last week with hosts Adam Ferrera, Rutledge Wood and Tanner Foust to mixed reviews. If you want our take on the show, we think its pretty darn entertaining. It’s just not THE Top Gear and never can be.

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]

James May, one third of the popular BBC show “Top Gear” and the presenter known as “Captain Slow”, was awarded an honorary doctorate at his alma matter of Lancaster University.

May, who graduated with a degree in music, took a somewhat different path, despite being a passionate musician. Stints at major car magazines, the Channel 4 television network and even the British civil service all followed his graduation.

“It’s very nostalgic, what with work commitments I haven’t been back for 10 years,” said May. “I walked round the campus and it was very emotional, it doesn’t really come flooding back but, more like a wall covered in posters, it hit me instantly.”

Top Gear has returned for their 15th season with presenters May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson.

[Source: BBC]

Were it not for Top Gear‘s incredible production and entertainment value, surely we wouldn’t be telling you that James May, aka Captain Slow, managed to drive the new Bugatti Veyron Super Sport slower than the world record setting time. In fact, in case you can’t tell from his nick name, going under the car’s top speed is more his specialty. Then again, he did manage to drive the 1,200-hp supercar at an astonishing 259.11 mph.

While it’s not the 267.81-mph record setting time that a professional Bugatti test driver managed, it’s still outrageously fast and will surely make for an entertaining story. The Top Gear team certainly hopes you think so and that you’re so interested you’ll be willing to pay the $25 (or whatever outrageous price it is now) for the latest issue of Top Gear magazine, packed full of complete specifications on every model sold in the UK.

We’ll wait for the TV spot. In the mean time, check out May’s original 253-mph test run from a few seasons back after the jump:

GALLERY: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Continue Reading…

Hot on the heels of Kia’s awesome advertisement for their Soul compact car, Hyundai‘s South African arm has just launched a new spot for the Tuscon crossover (known as the ix35 in South Africa) taking off the wildly popular TV series Top Gear.

The spot, features a mock driving show called “Top Deer”, and features dead-on voice impressions of hosts James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond (represented by a turtle, wildebeest and hamster respectively), the familiar Top Gear episode format and typical cinematography.  The ad, along with its companion segment, (where their hired gun race driver “The Stag” tests his mettle against the car) manages to take a tongue-in-cheek swipe at the BBC hit, which hasn’t always been so kind to Korean cars.

We have no idea how Hyundai is perceived in South Africa, but the cheeky ads are sure to resonate in a country gripped with the festive spirit of the World Cup and a booming new middle-class eager to buy brand new cars.

Hit the jump to see both Hyundai ads

[Source: Autoblog]

Continue Reading…

Volkswagen patriarch Ferdinand Piech is no stranger to grandiose projects, having overseen the Volkswagen Phaeton uber-luxury sedan, as well as the Bugatti Veyron hypercar. While Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear lamented that the worst part about driving a Veyron is that after it was over,  he’d never be able to experience it again, it looks like there will be another opportunity.

In a speech given at a university in Vienna, Austria, Piech let it slip that engineers were working on an all new car that will develop 1200 horsepower. According to the poorly translated report, vehicles like the Koenigsegg CCXR have stolen some of the Veyron’s thunder by garnering ratings in excess of 1000 horsepower, and Bugatti is eager to take back the crown.

While power is a nice thing to have, a lighter curb weight would improve all facets of the vehicles performance, including acceleration, handling, braking and fuel economy. We hope that some weight reduction is in order for the next Bugatti, as the Veyron was anything but svelte, even if it was an awesome feat of technology.

[Source: TeamSpeed]

A Bugatti Veyron that appeared on the BBC hit show Top Gear was owned by a man recently sent to jail for pretending to be a member of Kuwait’s royal family and bilking retired nurses out of their pensions.

Koroush Pour operated a leasing firm in the upscale Kensington district of London. According to the UKPA, Pour operated what is essentially a Ponzi scheme, using other people’s money to cover various debts and financial obligations. Pour managed to defraud banks and other clients out of $875,000 before he was caught.

[Source: UKPA]

Yesterday, a batch of journalists (excluding this one, I’m obviously not cool enough) attending the North American launch of the new Jaguar XJ sedan came upon an interesting roadblock in their pre-determined and very obvious drive route: Top Gear USA had shut down the famous Mulholland Highway and brought out some sports cars to play with. Clearly seen with special “Top Gear” license plates were a Genesis Coupe V6, 2011 Mustang V6, and a Porsche 911 C4S Cabriolet, along with a Mitsubishi Evo X that was apparently pulling camera-car duty. The tire marks in the pavement indicate that Mr. Foust, shown above, was clearly having fun that day, going round and round in circles of smoke, and looks tired, and the shoot appears to be the makings of a good, old-fashioned comparison test between the Mustang and Genesis Coupe.

We are a bit disappointed with their choice of locations, however. Top Gear, with all its money and resources, must be able to find a better, less trafficked, and less obvious road than Mulholland Highway, the best known enthusiast road in the country. Everyone shoots here, from Tanner himself a few months back, to Motor Trend, to this author’s own show, The Smoking Tire. Point being, it’s been done before, time and time again. We’ll reserve judgement until the show airs this Fall, but if the Top Gear boys want to impress, they are going to need to hire some better location scouts, stat. Check out the gallery of spy shots over at Jalopnik.

To call Jeremy Clarkson an automotive gadfly would be incorrect. Quite possibly the most influential automotive journalist in the world, when Clarkson speaks, people listen, and this will not bode well for BMW‘s new X1 crossover.

The new mini-ute from the Bavarian automaker is an important product, but Clarkson was suitably unimpressed, saying its looks reminded him of “a Hyundai that’s been subjected to a thousand years of wind erosion.” The driving experience wasn’t much better, claiming that the diesel engine “…sounds like a dump truck when you start it up…” with a ride that is “much too rigid”.

Whether the X1 is a truly bad car or if this is just another quintessential Clarkson rant remains to be seen (you’ll have to wait for Autoguide’s test drive closer to the launch date.) But considering how much Clarkson liked the not-so-perfect X3, we’re not too surprised that the diminutive Bimmer was given such an abysmal evaluation.

[Source: TimesOnline]

After a series of delays, The History Channel will finally launch an American version of the hit series Top Gear. Expected to premiere this fall, the series, produced in association with BBC Worldwide, will feature Formula D driver and X Games gold medalist Tanner Foust, alongside comedian Adam Ferrara and renowned NASCAR analyst Rutledge Wood. While the show is expected to follow the format of the original Top Gear, the addition of a NASCAR personality will add some American flavor to a quintessentially British product.

The first season of Top Gear USA is expected to premiere this Fall.

[Source: Top Gear]

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.

Caption: Clarkson, known for his big mouth, driving the Ariel Atom

In an uncharacteristically-Clarkson-esque move, Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson apologized after calling British Prime Minister Gordon Brown a, “one-eyed Scottish idiot.”

Apparently the remarks, made while Clarkson was at a press conference about Top Gear Live show in Sydney, Australia, created quite a stir back in the U.K. It wasn’t so much that Prime Minister Brown was upset, but rather other influential members of parliament and the House of Lords, as well as advocacy groups for the blind, which did not appreciate the association of incompetence with loss of sight.

Clarkson, it should be noted, is paid two million pounds a year by the publicly owned (aka, government run) BBC. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.

Prime Minister Brown, it should be noted, only has sight in one eye following a rugby accident in his teens.

“In the heat of the moment I made a remark about the Prime Minister’s personal appearance for which, upon reflection, I apologize,” said Clarkson.

This is hardly Clarkson’s first faux pas, in fact during the Sydney press conference he made other disparaging remarks, commenting that the Top Gear motorcycle stunt-men are from France and that, “if they get killed it’s not the end of the world.”

Last year Clarkson made headlines for commenting that truck drivers regularly murder prostitutes.

[Source: DailyMail]

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]