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Top Gear Live (previously known as the MPH Show) was a supercar motor show. Created as a crossover between the recently relaunched Top Gear and Fifth Gear, it was initially hosted by presenters of both programmes. It was held annually at Earls Court beginning in 2003, later expanding to be also held at the Birmingham NEC from 2005 with the two shows being around one week apart. The show took up either one or two halls at both venues, and there were usually two parts to it: the Exhibition and the Main Show. From 2011 the show was rebranded and relaunched as "Top Gear Live", tying together its close links to the Top Gear television series and with a venue change to ExCeL London. Top Gear Live was later expanded, being used by BBC Worldwide as a brand of touring stadium show.
Visitors arrive and have the opportunity to take a look at exhibitors' stands. Many are there to advertise a product that they sell (for example there was a 'Shell' stand at MPH '06 advertising Shell V Power) There are also exhibition stands advertising car lease, whilst showing actual cars that can be leased at the stand. These are the likes of the Ferrari Enzo, Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, Ferrari F430 or the Aston Martin DBS V12.
There are also a few car manufacturers exhibiting, although not to the scale of the 'Sunday Times Motor Show'. At MPH 2006, Land Rover turned half of the hall into a simulated off-road environment with ramps and severe slopes, on which people could drive the new Land Rover Discovery 3.
There are also VIP enclosures such as 'The Sunday Times' enclosure, or the 'Auto Express' enclosure in which people with VIP tickets can go and enjoy a glass of wine for example. Overall, the exhibition side of the show is very trade based[ clarify ] and does not include many car manufacturers.
The main event is a 90-minute show, which takes up an entire hall and has the audience sitting in stadium-like seating. The show features stunt driving and a catwalk-style presentation of new cars. Also included in the show are the usual team antics, well known from Top Gear and TGT ; at MPH 2006 they placed James May in a shopping trolley and pushed him across the hall with a Ford Mustang at 40 mph into huge ten-pin bowling skittles.
There were also 3D presentations during the show; for example MPH 2005, included a virtual and life-size 3D Apache helicopter shooting at a real Lotus Elise as it raced around the arena. Pyrotechnics added live explosions to the display, simulating missile hits and ricochets from gunfire; due to its success, it made a return appearance in 2006. MPH 2006 also included a virtual 3D Hummer being dropped out of an aircraft, shot down by a Tornado jet, and landing in pieces in the ocean. A 3D Gatso Camera/Dragon of the future battled it out with the Stig at MPH 2007.
In 2006, the MPH show was presented by Jeremy Clarkson and James May (Top Gear presenters), and Tiff Needell (Fifth Gear presenter) who was drafted in to cover for Richard Hammond who could not make the show due to a crash. At MPH 2007 the presenters were Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond (then the Top Gear presenters).
Exhibited cars in the MPH 2006 show included the Caparo T1, Pagani Zonda F, Jaguar XKR, Lamborghini LP640, Bentley GTC, Koenigsegg CCX, Spyker C8, Spyker D8, Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, Invicta, and the Porsche Cayenne Magnum black gunsmoke.
Year | Title | Hosts | Countries |
---|---|---|---|
2003 [1] | MPH '03 | Jeremy Clarkson | England |
2004 [2] | MPH '04 | England | |
2005 | Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, Tiff Needell | ||
2006 | Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Tiff Needell | ||
2007 | Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond | ||
2008 | England, Ireland | ||
2009 | South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, England, Ireland | ||
2010 | Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, England, Ireland | ||
2011 | Top Gear Live | Australia, South Africa, Norway, Russia, England, Australia | |
2012 | Russia, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, England, Finland | ||
2013 | Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond | Russia, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, South Africa, Poland | |
2014 | Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond | Scotland, Australia, Russia, Barbados, South Africa, Czech Republic, Hungary, Croatia, Italy | |
2015 | Clarkson, Hammond & May Live [lower-alpha 1] | Jeremy Clarkson, James May, Richard Hammond | England, Northern Ireland, England, South Africa, Norway, Australia, Poland, England |
Date | City | Country | Venue |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | |||
December 11-14 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
2004 | |||
December 18-21 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
2008 | |||
October 30 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
October 31 | |||
November 1 | |||
November 2 | |||
November 13 | Birmingham | National Exhibition Centre | |
November 14 | |||
November 15 | |||
November 16 | |||
November 27 | Dublin | Ireland | RDS Simmoncourt |
November 28 | |||
November 29 | |||
November 30 | |||
2009 | |||
January 29 | Johannesburg | South Africa | Coca Cola Dome |
January 30 | |||
January 31 | |||
February 1 | |||
February 6 | Sydney | Australia | Acer Arena |
February 7 | |||
February 8 | |||
February 9 | |||
February 12 | Auckland | New Zealand | ASB Showgrounds |
February 13 | |||
February 14 | |||
February 15 | |||
February 19 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre |
February 20 | |||
February 21 | |||
February 22 | |||
November 5 | London | England | Earls Court Exhibition Centre |
November 6 | |||
November 7 | |||
November 8 | |||
November 12 | Birmingham | National Exhibition Centre | |
November 13 | |||
November 14 | |||
November 15 | |||
December 3 | Dublin | Ireland | Royal Dublin Society |
December 4 | |||
December 5 | |||
December 6 | |||
2010 | |||
January 21 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Heineken Music Hall |
January 22 | |||
January 23 | |||
January 24 | |||
January 28 | Cape Town | South Africa | Grand Arena |
January 29 | |||
January 30 | |||
January 31 | |||
February 4 | Johannesburg | Coca Cola Dome | |
February 5 | |||
February 6 | |||
February 7 | |||
February 11 | Sydney | Australia | Acer Arena |
February 12 | |||
February 13 | |||
February 14 | |||
February 18 | Auckland | New Zealand | ASB Showgrounds |
February 19 | |||
February 20 | |||
February 21 | |||
November 4 | London | England | Earles Court Exhibition Centre |
November 5 | |||
November 6 | |||
November 7 | |||
November 11 | Birmingham | National Exhibition Centre | |
November 12 | |||
November 13 | |||
November 14 | |||
2011 | |||
March 3 | Brisbane | Australia | Brisbane Entertainment Centre |
March 4 | |||
March 5 | |||
March 6 | |||
March 7 | |||
March 11 | Melbourne | Melbourne Showgrounds | |
March 12 | |||
March 13 | |||
March 14 | |||
March 17 | Johannesburg | South Africa | Kyalami |
March 18 | |||
March 19 | |||
March 20 | |||
March 24 | Oslo | Norway | Oslo Spektrum |
March 25 | |||
March 26 | |||
March 27 | |||
July 16 | Moscow | Russia | Red Square |
July 17 | |||
July 22 | |||
July 23 | |||
July 24 | |||
November 11 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre |
November 12 | |||
November 13 | |||
November 24 | London | ExCel, London | |
November 25 | |||
November 26 | |||
November 27 | |||
December 8 | Perth | Australia | Burswood Dome |
December 9 | |||
December 10 | |||
2012 | |||
February 23 | Moscow | Russia | Olympic Stadium (Moscow) |
February 24 | |||
February 25 | |||
March 15 | Stockholm | Sweden | Ericsson Globe |
March 16 | |||
March 17 | |||
March 29 | Copenhagen | Denmark | Forum Copenhagen |
March 30 | |||
March 31 | |||
April 1 | |||
June 16 | Durban | South Africa | Moses Mabhida Stadium |
June 17 | |||
October 25 | Birmingham | England | National Exhibition Centre |
October 26 | |||
October 27 | |||
October 28 | |||
November 23 | Helsinki | Finland | Messukeskus Helsinki |
November 24 | |||
November 25 | |||
2013 | |||
February 22 | Moscow | Russia | Olympic Stadium (Moscow) |
February 23 | |||
March 9 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Motorsport Park |
March 10 | |||
April 26 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Ziggo Dome |
April 27 | |||
April 28 | Antwerp | Belgium | Sportpaleis |
June 15 | Durban | South Africa | Moses Mabhida Stadium |
June 16 | |||
September 21 | Warsaw | Poland | PGE Narodowy |
2014 | |||
January 17 | Glasgow | Scotland | OVO Hydro |
January 18 | |||
January 19 | |||
March 8 | Sydney | Australia | Sydney Motorsport Park |
March 9 | |||
March 25 | Moscow | Russia | Olympic Stadium (Moscow) |
March 26 | |||
March 29 | St. Petersburg | Ice Palace (St. Petersburg) | |
May 17 | St. Philips | Barbados | Bushy Park Circuit |
May 18 | |||
June 21 | Durban | South Africa | Moses Mabhida Stadium |
June 22 | |||
June 27 | Prague | Czech Republic | O2 Arena (Prague) |
June 28 | |||
July 1 | Budapest | Hungary | Budapest Sports Arena |
July 3 | Zagreb | Croatia | Arena Zagreb |
July 5 | Torino | Italy | Pala Alpitour |
July 6 | |||
2015 | |||
February 13 | Liverpool | England | Liverpool Echo Arena |
February 14 | |||
February 20 | Newcastle | Newcastle Metro Radio Arena | |
February 21 | |||
May 22 | Belfast | Northern Ireland | Odyssey Complex |
May 23 | |||
May 24 | |||
June 5 | Sheffield | England | Sheffield Arena |
June 6 | |||
June 7 | |||
June 12 | Johannesburg | South Africa | WeBuyCars Dome |
June 13 | |||
June 14 | |||
June 19 | Stavanger | Norway | Sørmarka Arena |
June 20 | |||
June 21 | |||
July 18 | Perth | Australia | RAC Arena |
July 19 | |||
July 25 | Sydney | Sydney Super Dome | |
July 26 | |||
October 24 | Warsaw | Poland | PGE Narodowy |
November 27 | London | England | The O2 Arena |
November 28 | |||
November 29 | |||
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English television presenter, journalist, writer and farmer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes Top Gear and The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May. He also currently writes weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun. Clarkson hosts the ITV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and co-hosts the farming documentary show Clarkson's Farm.
Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell is a British racing driver and television presenter. He is a presenter of Lovecars, and formerly served as co-presenter of Top Gear and Fifth Gear.
James Daniel May is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme Top Gear from 2003 until 2015 and the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video from 2016 to 2024. He also serves as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons.
Richard Mark Hammond is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May. From 2016 to 2024, the trio presented Amazon Prime Video's The Grand Tour.
The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show Top Gear. Created by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who or what is inside the Stig's racing suit. The Stig's primary role is setting lap times for cars tested on the show. Previously, he would also instruct celebrity guests, off-camera, for the show's "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment.
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Top Gear is a British automobile magazine, owned by BBC Worldwide, and published under contract by Immediate Media Company. It is named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £5.99. As of December 2022, there have been a total of 360 issues published in the UK. The major presenters of the rebooted television series — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May — were regular contributors, along with the series' production staff. "Tame racing driver" The Stig also regularly features in their car tests, though only communicates his thoughts and feelings through the articles of others. It is Britain's leading general interest car magazine in sales terms, with over 150,000 copies distributed each month in 2012, a drop of 50,000 from 2007. Previous columnists have included former Top Gear presenters Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson.
Top Gear is a British motoring magazine programme created by the BBC that aired on BBC Two between 22 April 1977 and 17 December 2001. The programme focused on a range of motoring topics, the most common being car reviews, road safety and consumer advice. Originally presented by Angela Rippon and Tom Coyne, the show saw a range of different presenters and reporters front the programme's half-hourly slots, including Noel Edmonds, Jeremy Clarkson, Tiff Needell, William Woollard and Quentin Willson. The programme proved popular during the late 80s and early 90s, and launched a number of spin-offs, including its own magazine entitled Top Gear Magazine.
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Hamann Motorsport GmbH is a German car tuning company based in Laupheim. It specialises in Audi, Aston Martin, Bentley, BMW, Mini, Ferrari, Fiat, Jaguar, Land Rover, Maserati, Mercedes, Rolls-Royce, Porsche and Lamborghini cars. Hamann Motorsport was founded by Richard Hamann in 1986.
Top Gear is an American motoring television series, based on the BBC series of the same name. The show's presenters were professional racing driver Tanner Foust, actor and comedian Adam Ferrara, and automotive and racing analyst Rutledge Wood. As with the original British version, the show has its own version of The Stig, an anonymous racing driver, and a celebrity guest is featured each week for the first two seasons. The show premiered on November 21, 2010, on History.
Top Gear challenges is a segment of the Top Gear television programme where the presenters are tasked by the producers, or each other, to prove or accomplish various tasks related to vehicles.
Top Gear Australia is an Australian motoring reality television series, based on the British BBC series Top Gear. The programme first premiered on SBS One on 29 September 2008. A second season was ordered following the high ratings for the premiere episode and positive comments from advertisers, and the second season began broadcasting from 11 May 2009. After acquiring the rights to broadcast the UK version in 2009, the Nine Network started airing their own version of Top Gear Australia in September 2010. Top Gear Australia returned for a fourth season in 2011. The show was cancelled on 28 April 2012 due to declining ratings. An eight part series returned in 2024 on Paramount+ with new hosts.
The British motoring-themed television programme Top Gear was often the focus of criticism. The criticism has ranged from minor viewer complaints to serious complaints where broadcasting watchdogs such as Ofcom have been involved.
Top Gear: Botswana Special is a full-length, special edition episode for BBC motoring programme Top Gear, and was first broadcast on BBC Two on 4 November 2007, as part of the fourth episode of Series 10. The special sees hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, travelling across to Botswana with a car that each had bought in Africa for less than £1500, to prove that they can be better than SUVs for driving up "leafy country lanes". The Botswana Special was released as part of a 2-disc DVD boxset alongside the Top Gear: Vietnam Special on 23 March 2009. This special is best remembered for the car Hammond bought, which he fell in love with and named "Oliver", which he still owns to this day.
Top Gear is a British motoring magazine and currently inactive motoring-themed entertainment television programme. It is a revival devised by Jeremy Clarkson and Andy Wilman of the 1977–2001 show of the same name for the BBC, and premiered on 20 October 2002. The programme focuses on the examination and reviewing of motor vehicles, primarily cars, though this was expanded upon after the broadcast of its earlier series to incorporate films featuring motoring-based challenges, special races, timed laps of notable cars, and celebrity timed laps on a course specially-designed for the relaunched programme. The programme drew acclaim for its visual and presentation style since its launch, which focused on being generally entertaining to viewers, as well as criticism over the controversial nature of its content. The show was also praised for its occasionally controversial humour and lore existing in not just the automotive community but in the form of internet memes and jokes. The programme was aired on BBC Two until it was moved to BBC One for its twenty-ninth series in 2020.
Top Marques Monaco is an event that takes place annually at the Grimaldi Forum in the principality of Monaco. It features exhibitions by numerous purveyors of luxury aircraft, automobile, boat, watches, jewellery etc. A quarter of the event's ticket sales are donated to Monaco Aide et Présence, a charity established by Monaco's reigning Prince Albert.
Christopher James Harris is a British automotive journalist, professional racing driver and television presenter. Harris has worked as a reviewer, writer and editor for multiple automotive magazines, including Evo, Autocar and Jalopnik. He has presented numerous television and YouTube series through NBCSN and DRIVE.