This is a video for the petrol head in you: one for the speed queen, turbo charged, adrenalin seeker who wants to see fast cars driven… fast. Top Gear compares the McLaren F1 and the Bugatti Veyron in what’s probably a gratuitous test for them to get out in some supercars and play around.

The “two fastest road cars of all time” get out for a speed test in which the only conclusion that can be made is not that they’re both very fast. They’re both stunning, absolutely breathtaking, to look at. And they’re both the stuff of dreams.

It may seem a little unfair to compare the Bugatti to a car that’s already ten years old, but the McLaren is no slack in mechanics and it’s lighter. For a hair raising race, and the result, see the video.

....

0 comments

The thirteenth season of Top Gear, one of the most popular car TV shows in the world, begins on June 21 on BBC. This funny trailer shows the main characters when they were children: Jeremy, James and Richard, but also The Stig with his unforgettable helmet.

....

0 comments

In the words of Jeremy Clarkson: “160 horse power in the car the size of a shoe - that’s fantastic!” It just about sums up everything you need to know about the Fiat 500 Abarth (SS version), which has just been nominated Top Gear’s best hot hatch.

You would have thought that the Fiat 500 could not have had any more success than what it already has, but it looks like the arrival of the Abarth 500 in UK is already destined to swamp the market. 200 orders online have been received, with Abarth 500 demand not slowing.

Prices start at only 13,500 pounds making it far cheaper than any comparable performance from Mini. This little scorpion has certainly got some sting in its tail. For all the low-down, watch the video after the jump.

Continue reading: Top Gear votes Abarth 500: Best Hot Hatch

....

0 comments

British car show Top Gear is really going international. After the Top Gear Australia debut, the Russian version has now been confirmed. If we needed any indication that Russia is the next big car market, this could be it.

It’s unlikely, at least we hope despite the photo, that Top Gear will fall into the trap of a stereotypical depiction of Russia. This big country is waking up, and the production team is offering a first series of 15 episodes, to start at the end of 2008.

Local presenters will be employed, and the English firm will be present only as special guest. Apart from these differences, the same studio style and road tests will be employed - could this be the next playground for rich Russians wanting to try supercars…?

....

0 comments

Autoblog’s comments regarding the Australian version of Top Gear are probably fair enough - the formula at this stage, is just not working. But I give you these videos so you can check it out for yourself.

With a caveat though - the big problem here is that the British Top Gear version has been taken and planted in Australia, without too much consideration of how the local culture might react. The script writing needs to be more sophisticated, more (dare I say?) modern - who uses the expression “a pack of turkies” these days?

The above video is a test-off of “two iconic Australian cars” - the Ford Falcon and a Holden. The only problem is, it needs to be slick and smooth. It just looks like two hoons out for a joy ride, which ignores the impetus behind the program itself.

Continue reading: Top Gear Australia: video episodes - a flop or not...?

....

0 comments

The three madmen from Top Gear have been cooking up something again, with the troup of Clarkson, Hammond and May turning up in Reno, Nevada, with a small convoy of supercars. It appears that the Bonneville Salt Flats was the destination, an immense salt deposit near Salt Lake City in Utah.

Whatever for, you might ask…? Well, it’s clear that a test drive was on the cars and the photos suggest we could see an attempt at the maximum speed of the Corvette ZR1. Bonneville has often been the theatre for new speed records and it could be the ideal place for a crazy experiment like this one.

Continue reading: Top Gear tests the Corvette ZR1: maximum speed at Bonneville

....

0 comments

If you had any doubts that the guys from Top Gear had a few loose marbles rolling around upstairs, you should now be totally convinced that they are a little crazy. Top Gear is going live and to promote the tour the BBC has put at their disposition an army tank, which will be cruising the streets of London escorted by a Ferrari F430 and an Aston Martin DBS.

Clarkson, Hammond and May will be touring the country from October 20 to November 2 with 20 live shoes including the classic challenges and comedy from the presenters. Tickets are divided into three tiers according to seats, with silver at 38 pounds, gold at 56 pounds, and platinum costing 105 pounds.

The possibility of another tour outside Britain is remote, and time taken to organise any possible European show would be likely a long way in the future.

Source | Autoblog.com

....

0 comments

Jeremy Clarkson is well impressed by the Nissan GT-R (can anyone tell me what car he drives..?), as demonstrated in this Top Gear video which tests the new Nissan. The fact that Clarkson was carried off in an ambulance at the end of the test could be all you need to know (neck problems due to over-indulgence in speed, nothing serious).

He discusses the stability and balance of this car, which even has a specially designed rim so the wheels don’t fall off in more extreme situations. All that switch flicking at the beginning can’t dampen his enthusiasm for the feel of the vehicle as he says: “It is extremely hard to explain how this feels. Agony’s probably the best word. It feels mechanical, it feels analogue, it feels human. It feels fab-bleeding-tastic!”

With the final test on the Top Gear circuit, this car results faster than the Ferrari 430, a McLaren and a Porsche. And it costs a whole lot less. As Clarkson says: “They haven’t built a new car, they’ve built a new yard-stick”. We’re asking ourselves what the V-spec version will produce with 100kg less and 70hp more…

Thanks to “joker1372″

....

1 comment

With the words “I cannot tell you how happy it makes me feel to be driving a proper Ferrari again,” Jeremy Clarkson from TopGear gives his thumbs up to the Ferrari Scuderia. And the thumb couldn’t be bigger.

Apart from an initial whinge about the computer system and the silly name, Clarkson is enchanted by the car. The computer system sits in the background, and Ferrari has gone back to its driving roots where it’s all about the car…and the speed.

Apart from some titillating blinking from Clarkson on the gear changes, in the video you can check out the serious aerodynamics of the car, its downforce and especially the purring, then roaring sound. Enjoy.

(Thanks to “nelson92″)

....

0 comments