Top Gear series 18

Last updated

Contents

Top Gear
Series 18
Top Gear Series 18 Promo 2012.jpg
Promotional poster
Starring
No. of episodes8
Release
Original network BBC Two
Original release28 December 2011 (2011-12-28) –
11 March 2012 (2012-03-11)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 17
Next →
Series 19
List of episodes

Series 18 of Top Gear , a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2012, consisting of seven episodes that were aired between 29 January and 11 March; a feature-length special focused on the presenters doing a road trip across India, titled Top Gear: India Special , preceded the series' first episode, and was aired on 28 December 2011. This series' highlights included the presenters being involved in the filming of a car chase sequence, reviewing the Chinese car industry, making home-made mobility scooters, and examining the cars made by manufacturer Saab.

A special edition episode celebrating the Bond film series' 50th Anniversary, titled "50 Years of Bond Cars", was aired on 29 October 2012 and presented by Richard Hammond. In addition, BBC Children in Need 2012 featured a special "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" segment as part of the charity's evening entertainment on 16 November 2012. [1]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
series		ReviewsFeatures/challengesGuest(s)Original air dateUK viewers
(millions)  [2]
140—N/A – India Special India Special: (Jaguar XJS Celebration • Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow • Rover Mini Cooper) David Cameron (uncredited)28 December 2011 (2011-12-28)6.61 [nb 1]
Main article: Top Gear: India Special

Seeking to help encourage trade with India, despite (the then) British Prime Minister David Cameron wishing they won't, the boys head out and see if they can promote British goods to the Indian public, each taking with them a British car that they hope will help with the job – May chose the luxury of a Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow, Clarkson opts for the stylish Jaguar XJS Celebration, and Hammond takes the classic Mini Cooper. On their "trade mission", the presenters attempt to speed up Dabbawala delivery in Mumbai with little success, bring motorsports to Jaipur with a hill-climbing event, host an ambitious but rubbish trade fair in Delhi, before modifying their cars for a trek up into the mountainous, Himalayan region of Himachal Pradesh and their final destination of Shipki La.

Note: The closing credits replaced the first name of the presenters and crew members with an Indian Cuisine theme. The vehicles used in this special were left at their final destination on plinths, but were removed afterwards due to legal complications.
1411None"Supercars Across Italy": (Lamborghini Aventador • McLaren MP4-12C • Noble M600) will.i.am 29 January 2012 (2012-01-29)6.21 [nb 2]
There's a supercar shootout in Italy, and the presenters are determined to find out which of the three mid-engined supercars competing will come out a winner – May expects the McLaren MP4-12C will come out the victor, Clarkson looks to proving that the Lamborghini Aventador is the best, and Hammond believes it will be the Noble M600. On a roadtrip across the country starting at Lecce, the trio subject their supercars to a series of challenges, including seeing how close they dare get to their car's top speed while finding out their fuel consumption in the process, race to Rome and a restaurant in the centre of the city, and finally take on a time trial test at the famous Imola Grand Prix track, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari – a track that has had its toll on many F1 drivers, including both Roland Ratzenberger and the legendary Ayrton Senna dying in accidents during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Elsewhere, Black Eyed Peas frontman, will.i.am, takes the Kia out on a wet track.
1422 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster Clarkson and May examine China's car industry in Beijing • Hammond learns about NASCAR racing in Texas [3] Matt LeBlanc • Jimmie Johnson • Jeff Gordon • Juan Pablo Montoya • Kyle Petty 5 February 2012 (2012-02-05)6.25 [nb 3]

Clarkson and May head to China to explore the country's merging car industry in response to the assertion that everyone will be driving Chinese cars in five years, where they encounter facsimiles of popular car designs from other countries, discover how the automotive populace exploded in size, and meet with The Stig's rather aggressive, Chinese cousin. Elsewhere, Hammond explores the world of NASCAR by travelling to the Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500 and interviewing some notable NASCAR drivers. The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster is given a slidey review by Clarkson on the test track, and former Friends star and car lover, Matt LeBlanc, is in the hot seat of the Kia Cee'd.

Note: The closing credits were played out with a Mandarin-styled version of the programme's theme song. Three Chinese actors concluded the show in the place of the presenters, but were not credited.
1433 Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nürburgring • Fiat Panda Creating the climactic car chase for The Sweeney (Jaguar XFR • Ford Focus) [4] Ryan Reynolds • Ray Winstone • Plan B • Nick Love • Paul Anderson • Kevin Michaels12 February 2012 (2012-02-12)6.16 [nb 4]

Believing they could make great car chases for movies, Clarkson and Hammond are invited to provide assistance in directing one for the remake of The Sweeney. Working alongside the film's stars, Ray Winstone and Plan B, Clarkson attempts to prove that dynamic camera usage and timed moves are what can make a good chase sequence, while Hammond tries to show that it should have exciting (if unrealistic) stunts including car jumps. Meanwhile, May takes a look at the Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nürburgring Edition and the new Fiat Panda on the track, and Ryan Reynolds is the latest star going fast in the reasonably priced car.

Note: Top Gear were invited to help with the car chase scenes for the 2012 film The Sweeney, with the rushes of their work shown in the episode; their involvement was not officially credited upon the film's release.
1444 Fisker Karma • Ferrari FF • Bentley Continental GT V8 Build and test off-road mobility scooters in the countryside Michael Fassbender • Brian Johnson 19 February 2012 (2012-02-19)5.28 [nb 5]
The trio see if they can make their own mobility scooters and motorised wheelchairs that can be good in the town as well as being capable of going off-road, and put them through their paces in the Welsh countryside with a race against a team of three wounded soldiers in standard models. Meanwhile, Clarkson heads to Arjeplog in Northern Sweden to pit the Ferrari FF against the Bentley Continental GT V8 in a race on an ice replica of the Silverstone F1 circuit, May heads to Florida to test out the latest sports Plug-in hybrid car, the Fisker Karma, while pitting it against AC/DC front man Brian Johnson and his 1928 Bentley Vanden Plas LeMans Tourer, and Michael Fassbender arrives on the track to do a lap in the reasonably priced car.
1455 Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale • Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Retrospective on Swedish car maker Saab • Rally-spec Škoda vs jet-powered flying man Matt Smith • Yves Rossy • Toni Gardemeister 26 February 2012 (2012-02-26)6.12 [nb 6]

As a final tribute to the sixty years of production that Saab has performed before its closure, Clarkson and May look back at some of the bad ideas the company made, and some of the very good ones they made, including how much emphasis they put on the safety of a car's occupant. Meanwhile, the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale and the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series are tested by Clarkson out on the track, Hammond sees if Finnish world rally driver, Toni Gardemeister, can beat Yves Rossy, the world's first jet propelled man, in a Skoda Fabia S2000 around an eight-mile special Welsh Rally Stage (episode from "At the Movies" DVD Special), and Eleventh Doctor, Matt Smith, swaps the TARDIS for the Kia Cee'd.

Note: Due to scheduling issues, Matt Smith's interview and timed lap were conducted during the filming of the previous episode.
1466"Aero-engined" Bentley, Brutus Test of three stripped track cars: (KTM X-Bow • Caterham R500 • Morgan Three Wheeler) Alex James 4 March 2012 (2012-03-04)5.81 [nb 7]

The presenters head out to Donington Park to test out three stripped-out track cars – May believes it cannot be anything other than the Caterham Seven, Clarkson opts to show that it is the KTM X-Bow, and Hammond attempts to prove that it has to be the Morgan Three Wheeler. Along with a series of challenges on the Park's circuit, the trio also see how practical they are as everyday cars by using them to drive to work. Elsewhere, Clarkson re-enacts the 'Battle of Britain' at the Track as a modern recreation of a classic 1920s Bentley model, faces up against the fury of a home-made German car, Brutus, while Alex James of Blur takes to the track with the Kia Cee'd.

Note: The main feature film originally was planned to feature Clarkson in a BAC Mono, but it was replaced with the KTM after breaking down before filming.
1477 BMW M5 Rallycross cheaper than playing golf? (BMW 328i • Toyota MR2 • Citroën Saxo VTS) • May's childhood dream car: Ferrari 250 GT California. Slash • Kimi Räikkönen • Chris Evans 11 March 2012 (2012-03-11)6.15 [nb 8]

The trio show that you can have more fun by doing Rallycross motor racing for the same amount of money you could spend playing golf, with Clarkson racing in a BMW 328i, Hammond a Citroën Saxo VTS, and May a Toyota MR2. Elsewhere, Hammond takes a look at the new BMW M5 at the track, May gets his chance to see his childhood dream car, the £5.6 million Ferrari 250 GT California, at Chris Evans' garage, while Kimi Räikkönen talks about his return to F1 before taking out the old Liana on the track, and Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash shows how good he is the current reasonably priced car.

Note: The closing credits were played out with Slash's rendition of the Top Gear theme song.

Special episode

TitleGuest(s)Original air dateUK viewers
(million) [2]
"50 Years of Bond Cars" Guy Hamilton, Roger Moore, Ola Rapace, Michael G. Wilson, Ben Collins, Daniel Craig 29 October 2012 (2012-10-29)5.48 [nb 9]
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Bond film series, and the release of the film Skyfall , Richard Hammond examines the best of the Bond cars, meets with two of the actors to play James Bond, and attempts to recreate some of the unique cars abilities, including converting a car to operate like a submarine. [5]

Spin-Off Special

TitleFeatureGuest(s)Original air dateUK viewers
(million) [2]
"Children in Need 2012 Special [1] " Children in Need 2012 does 'Star in a Reasonably Priced Car' Bill Turnbull • Sophie Raworth • Fiona Bruce 16 November 2012 (2012-11-16)8.22
As a special segment for BBC Children in Need 2012, three of the BBC's newsreaders, Bill Turnbull, Sophie Raworth, and Fiona Bruce, head to the test track and see who is fastest with the reasonably priced car of Top Gear, the Kia Cee'd.

Notes

The viewing figures shown in the Episode Table above, are a combination of the figures from the BBC Two broadcast and the BBC HD broadcast.

  1. ↑ 5.76 million on BBC Two, 849,000 on BBC HD.
  2. ↑ 5.18 million on BBC Two, 1.03 million on BBC HD.
  3. ↑ 5.29 million on BBC Two, 963,000 on BBC HD.
  4. ↑ 5.13 million on BBC Two, 1.03 million on BBC HD.
  5. ↑ 4.30 million on BBC Two, 982,000 on BBC HD.
  6. ↑ 5.25 million on BBC Two, 872,000 on BBC HD.
  7. ↑ 4.83 million on BBC Two, 978,000 on BBC HD.
  8. ↑ 5.13 million on BBC Two, 1.02 million on BBC HD.
  9. ↑ 4.71 million on BBC Two, 768,000 on BBC HD.

Related Research Articles

<i>Top Gear</i> (1977 TV series) British motoring TV show (1977–2001)

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.

Series 1 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2002, consisting of ten episodes that were aired between 20 October and 29 December. This series featured Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond as the co-hosts of the programme, a role they would both maintain until the end of the twenty-second series, but the only series to feature Jason Dawe as their co-presenter before he was replaced by James May for the second series.

Series 2 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2003, consisting of ten episodes between 11 May and 20 July; a compilation episode, titled "Best of Top Gear", was broadcast after the series concluded on 27 July, featuring the best moments of the previous two series. It was the first series to feature James May, who was brought in to replace Jason Dawe following the first series, and the first to credit the programme's anonymous driver, "The Stig", as an additional presenter; though not under their actual identity.

Series 9 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2007, and consisted of six episodes that were aired between 28 January and 4 March. Production on the series was delayed by several months when Richard Hammond was seriously injured after crashing the Vampire dragster racer whilst filming for the show; the first episode, which welcomed him back, showed the footage of this crash. This series was the first to introduce feature-length specials focused on road trips with motoring challenges, with other highlights including the presenters attempting to build a Space Shuttle with a Reliant Robin, creating home-made stretch limos, and reaching top speed in the Bugatti Veyron.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 14 Season of television series

Series 14 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two, consisting of seven episodes that were aired between 15 November 2009 to 3 January 2010. It is the first series that was also aired in high-definition. This series' highlights included the presenters making their own electric car, hosting a car-themed art exhibition, and a tribute to the car manufacturer Lancia. The sixth episode of the series was dedicated to a feature-length special, titled Top Gear: Bolivia Special, focused on a road trip with off-road vehicles.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 15 Season of television series

Series 15 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two and BBC HD during 2010, consisting of six episodes that were aired between 27 June and 1 August; the new series was promoted with a special trailer that made use of a clip published on YouTube. This series saw the replacement of the Chevrolet Lacetti by the Kia Cee'd as the Reasonably Priced Car.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 16 Season of television series

Series 16 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2011, consisting of six episodes that were aired between 23 January and 27 February. Following the previous series, the BBC discontinued their involvement with Ben Collins on the programme, after he breached an agreement in his contract that forbid him disclosing his role as "The Stig" with the publication of his autobiography, The Man in the White Suit, in August 2010. His departure led to his replacement by a new driver by the beginning of the first episode.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 17 Season of television series

Series 17 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2011, consisting of six episodes that were aired between 26 June and 31 July. This series' highlights included the presenters making their own trains with cars and caravans, and using second-hand military vehicles to demolish houses. The seventeenth series faced criticism over its review of electric cars by attempting to mislead viewers.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 19 Season of television series

Series 19 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two and BBC HD during 2013, consisting of five episodes between 29 January and 24 February, and a two-part feature-length special involving a road trip in Africa, titled "Africa Special", aired on 3–10 March. This series' highlights included the presenters race from London to Milan, a supercar road trip across California, and the creation of a home-made car for the elderly. The nineteenth series received criticism for one of its episodes' early filming featuring Jeremy Clarkson seeming to use a racial slur during a car review film.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 21 Season of television series

Series 21 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2014, consisting of five episodes between 2 February and 2 March; production on the series was confirmed via Twitter in 2013, with a teaser trailer released on the BBC's YouTube channel in January 2014. This series' highlights included the presenters looking back at hatchbacks that were available during their youth, a look at the British military vehicles used in Afghanistan, and a road trip across Ukraine that included a visit to Chernobyl.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 22 Season of television series

Series 22 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2015, consisting of eight episodes - seven of these were aired between 25 January and 8 March, while the eighth was aired on 28 June following a disruption in production; two additional episodes were planned but never produced. The series was preceded by a two-part special focused on the presenters conducting a road trip across Argentina, titled Top Gear: Patagonia Special, and aired during 2014 on 27–28 December. This series' highlights included the presenters conducting a race across St. Petersburg, creating home-made ambulances, a recreation of a famous Land Rover Defender advert, and a road trip across Australia in GT cars.

<i>Top Gear: Patagonia Special</i> Special episode of Top Gear

Top Gear: Patagonia Special is a full length special that was aired as a two-part episode for the BBC car show Top Gear; the first part was aired on 27 December 2014, while the second part was aired a day later on 28 December. The special sees hosts, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, using a selection of cars with V8 engines to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the small-block V8 engine, on a journey across Chile and Argentina, starting from Bariloche and ending on the outskirts of Ushuaia, and includes the infamous scene involving the protesters that the presenters and their film crew encountered and the events that happened; it is the last Top Gear special to be filmed with the hosts, prior to Clarkson's exit from the show in March 2015 followed by Hammond, May, and Executive Producer Andy Wilman shortly afterwards. The incident with the protesters was widely documented and reported by the media, prior to the broadcast of the special.

Top Gear is a British automotive 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.

The Grand Tour is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May, and Andy Wilman, for Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016. The programme was devised in the wake of the departure of Clarkson, Hammond, May, and Wilman from the BBC television series Top Gear with an initial order of 36 episodes that were released over three years.

<i>Top Gear</i> series 23 Season of television series

Series 23 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2016, consisting of six episodes between 29 May and 3 July; an additional four episodes were planned but not produced. Following the dismissal of Jeremy Clarkson, and the subsequent departures of Richard Hammond and James May in the previous series, the BBC hired Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc as the new hosts, with Sabine Schmitz, Chris Harris, Rory Reid and Eddie Jordan as their co-presenters, but appearing only when required for an episode.

The Holy Trinity (<i>The Grand Tour</i>) 1st episode of the 1st series of The Grand Tour

"The Holy Trinity" is the first episode of British motoring series The Grand Tour. It was made available exclusively through the Amazon Video streaming service, first on 17 November 2016 at 23:00 GMT. Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May, who previously presented as a trio on BBC Two motoring programme Top Gear, present the show. Production of the episode was handled by W. Chump and Sons, with executive production done by Andy Wilman, who previously served as the executive producer of Top Gear.

Series 28 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two during 2020, consisting of six episodes between 26 January and 1 March; the series' studio segments were filmed prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The series was preceded by a feature-length special, involving a road trip by the presenters across Nepal, that was aired on 29 December 2019.

Series 30 of Top Gear, a British motoring magazine and factual television programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One and BBC One HD during early 2021. It was the fourth series to feature the presenting lineup of Chris Harris, Paddy McGuinness, and Freddie Flintoff, and the second to be broadcast on BBC One. As with the previous series, the COVID-19 pandemic affected production and filming of this series, with several changes made as a result; studio segments were filmed on an outdoor set with no full audience.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilman, Andy (November 2012). "BBC Children in Need 2012 – the stars of Appeal Night revealed". TBBC Media Centre. No. 236. BBC, BBC Magazines.
  2. 1 2 3 "Weekly Top 10 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
  3. ↑ Red Carpet – Events – BBC Top Gear Richard Hammond
  4. ↑ "The Sweeney (2012)". Kent Film office.
  5. ↑ Wilman, Andy (November 2012). "Live and Let Dive". Top Gear Magazine . No. 236. Immediate Media Company, BBC Magazines.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.