50 Fun Facts About Top Gear

In which year did the relaunched Top Gear premiere on the BBC?

The original magazine-format show had run from 1977 until the BBC cancelled it in December 2001.

Who devised the relaunched Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson?

Wilman was a schoolmate of Clarkson's at Repton and became the show's executive producer.

Who was the third presenter alongside Clarkson and Hammond in the first 2002 series?

Dawe lasted one series before James May took his seat for the second.

Which Channel 5 rival did the BBC want the relaunched show to compete with?

Several original Top Gear presenters, including Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson, had defected to it.

Where is the Top Gear test track and studio located?

It is an airport and business park in Waverley, Surrey; one of its hangars became the studio.

Which sports car maker helped design the Top Gear test circuit?

The circuit was laid out over the aerodrome's runways and taxiways to suit the show's timed laps.

Who was the original "Black Stig"?

The Sunday Mirror named him in January 2003, and he confirmed it in the second edition of his autobiography.

What name did producers first want for the silent test driver before settling on "the Stig"?

McCarthy objected, saying he did not want to be forever remembered as the Gimp.

The name "Stig" comes from what new boys were called at which school?

Clarkson and Wilman were both pupils there; the word is a put-down borrowed from Stig of the Dump.

How was the Black Stig "killed off" in the series 3 premiere?

The white Jaguar XJS, fitted with nitrous, was shown flying off the deck of HMS Invincible.

Which racing driver was revealed as the White Stig in a 2010 court case over his memoir?

The BBC failed to block The Man in the White Suit, published on 16 September 2010.

Which F1 champion was jokingly unmasked as the Stig in series 13?

Ferrari would only let Schumacher drive the FXX, so he wore the suit for that lap alone.

Who did Clarkson reveal in 2024 to have been the second White Stig from series 16?

He took over after Collins was dropped in late 2010 and stayed through the later reboots.

How do the "Some say..." introductions of the test driver always end?

The "Some say..." format began in series 6, with claims like his tears being adhesive.

Which car was the Reasonably Priced Car when Nigel Mansell set his 1:44.6 lap?

Barrichello was the first guest to beat the Stig's time in it, at 1:44.3.

Who was the first guest to beat the Stig's Liana lap time?

The show then played up a jealous rivalry between the Stig and Barrichello.

What was the celebrity segment called during the Clarkson, Hammond and May years?

The Evans-era rally-cross version was panned and dropped after a single series.

What did F1 drivers have to drive for their Reasonably Priced Car laps, to keep things fair?

Everyone else moved on to each new car and a fresh leaderboard as the segment's car was changed.

Which of these is a requirement for a car to make the Power Lap board?

The Renault F1 car and the Caparo T1 both set times but were disqualified on the speed bump rule.

What were the four sections of the studio board where Clarkson and Hammond rated cars?

Any car owned by one of the presenters was automatically classified as Seriously Uncool.

Clarkson judged Cool Wall cars partly on how they would impress which actress?

Later the benchmark became BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce.

Which pickup truck did Clarkson and May try and fail to destroy in series 3?

The rules allowed repairs with tools but no replacement parts except the windscreen.

What did Clarkson and May race to in the 2007 Polar Special?

They drove a modified Hilux against Hammond on a dog sled and became the first to reach it by car.

What was the first feature-length Top Gear special, aired in 2006?

Cars replaced athletes in events including a biathlon and downhill ski-jumping.

Which tagline introduced many of the presenters' build-it-yourself challenges?

Many of the resulting creations went on display at World of Top Gear at the Beaulieu motor museum.

What did the presenters regularly destroy in the show's early series?

Caravan destruction was one of the new humorous elements that separated the 2002 show from the old format.

Which car was named Top Gear's Car of the Decade at the end of the 2000s?

The presenters reasoned it was the only car worthy of the award.

What was the jet-powered dragster Richard Hammond crashed in 2006 called?

Piloted by Colin Fallows, the same car had set a British land speed record of 300.3 mph in 2000.

How fast was Hammond travelling when his dragster crashed?

A front-right tyre failed on his seventh and final run at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York.

How long was Hammond kept in a medically induced coma after the crash?

He later admitted he had no memory of his first TV interview after the crash and "lost a year".

What is Richard Hammond's long-standing nickname?

Producer Andy Wilman later said Hammond was close to being fired after the first series before being reprieved.

Which Sky1 show did Hammond present before signing exclusively with the BBC?

Vic Reeves replaced him as main presenter for the show's final two series.

What nickname did James May earn for his careful driving style?

Despite it, he took a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport to 259.11 mph in 2010.

What top speed did James May reach in the Veyron 16.4 Super Sport in 2010?

Three years earlier he had taken the standard Veyron to its 253 mph top speed.

James May was sacked from Autocar in 1992 for hiding what in a supplement?

Readers rang the office thinking there might be a prize, which is how management found out.

Which Channel 4 motoring show had May presented before joining Top Gear?

He initially declined the new Top Gear until its growing popularity changed his mind.

Where was Jeremy Clarkson born in 1960?

His parents ran a business selling tea cosies and, later, Paddington Bear toys.

What was Clarkson's first job?

He then trained as a journalist with the Rotherham Advertiser before moving into motoring columns.

The 2015 "fracas" that ended Clarkson's BBC contract was a dispute over what?

Refused a steak because the chef had gone home, he punched producer Oisin Tymon, who declined to press charges.

Which producer did Clarkson punch, leading to his suspension in March 2015?

The BBC announced on 25 March 2015 that it would not renew Clarkson's contract.

What Amazon series did Clarkson, Hammond, May and Wilman launch in 2016?

Their production company, W. Chump & Sons, made it for Prime Video until 2024.

The Argentina special provoked fury over a number plate on which car?

The plate H982 FKL was read as a reference to the 1982 Falklands War; the BBC called it pure coincidence.

Ofcom ruled the BBC breached rules over a "slope" remark made in which road-trip episode?

The comment came as the presenters finished building a bridge over the Kok River.

Which electric carmaker sued Top Gear over a 2008 review, and lost?

The show said the car's charge would have lasted 55 miles in its performance tests, a figure that came from the maker itself.

Which two hosts fronted the 23rd series after Clarkson, Hammond and May left?

Evans resigned after one poorly received series; the celebrity segment had become Star in a Rally-Cross Car.

Which ex-cricketer joined Chris Harris and Paddy McGuinness as host from series 27?

The trio lifted ratings to levels not seen since the original presenters left.

To which channel did Top Gear move from BBC Two in 2020?

The move followed the positive reception of the Harris, McGuinness and Flintoff line-up.

What halted production of the 34th series in 2023?

The BBC later said the show would not return for the foreseeable future.

Which major award did Top Gear win in November 2005?

Clarkson joked he could not collect it in New York because he was busy writing the new script.

Which BBC programme did Tesla apparently confuse it with when lending a car in 2008?

Their note suggested "Matt and Alex" could take the Tesla for a spin.