Top Gear Challenges
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Top Gear challenges Top Gear challenges are a segment of the Top Gear tele- • Can Ford’s World Rally Championship pit team vision programme where the presenters are tasked by the dismantle and rebuild a rally car faster than four producers, or each other, to prove or do various things women can get ready for a night out? Series Two, related to vehicles. Episode Five • May oversees an attempt at the land-speed 1 Novelty/stunt challenges record for a caravan Series Two, Episode Six • A “race for the universe": Sci-Fi characters race Novelty challenges and short stunt films are typically around the Top Gear track Series Two, Episode based on absurd premises, such as jumping a bus over Eight motorcycles (instead of the more typical scenario of a • Can The Stig achieve 100 mph on the 200m run- motorcycle jumping over buses), or a nun driving a mon- way of HMS Invincible? Series Three, Episode One ster truck. These features have become much less promi- nent over the life of the programme (they were much • How many caravans can a 1987 Volvo 240 jump more regular during the first four series); they have been over? Series Three, Episode Two superseded in later series by the “How hard can it be?" and • What is the best wig for driving fast in an open Cheap car challenges, which are much larger in scope. top convertible? Series Three, Episode Five • How fast do you have to drive to be undetected • Which professor can do the best burn-out? Series by a speed camera? Series One, Episode One Three, Episode Seven • How many motorcycles can a double-decker bus • Can a nun drive a monster truck? Series Four, jump over? Series One, Episode Two Episode Two • • Can Grannies do donuts? Series One, Episode Hammond and May play darts using real cars Three Series Four, Episode Four • • Can you make an 'average' car into a 007/Bond Hammond makes fun of motorists that block car, for less than £300? Series One, Episode Five yellow boxes Series Four, Episode Eight • Is the jet from a 747 enough to blow a car over? • Can Grannies do handbrake turns? Series One, Series Four, Episode Eight Episode Six • Can you parachute into a moving car? Series • What is Britain’s fastest faith? Series One, Four, Episode Nine Episode Seven & Ten • Olympic Games for cars: Long Jump Series Four, • Who is Britain’s fastest white van man? Series Episode Ten One, Episode Eight • How many bouncy castles can an ice cream van • Lotus give a Lada Riva a £100,000 makeover Se- jump? Series Five, Episode One ries One, Episode Eight • Hammond and May play conkers with caravans • How much faster will a car go if you strip it to Series Five, Episode Four save weight? Series One, Episode Nine • Historic People Carrier Racing Championship • What to do with the worst car of all time, the Series Five, Episode Five 1985 Nissan Sunny? Series Two, Episode One • Can a stretch limo jump over a wedding party? • What is Britain’s fastest political party? Series Series Six, Episode Four Two, Episode Two • Hammond oversees an attempt at the world • What country makes the fastest supercar? Series record for the number of complete sideways rolls Two, Episode Three in a car Series Six, Episode Nine 1 2 2 CHALLENGE REVIEWS • Hammond and May play with life-size radio con- • Drive until you get bored / Test: enjoyable travel. trol cars made from real cars Series Seven, Episode Clarkson claimed that Jaguars “ease the burden of Two travel”[1] and devised a test for the Jaguar XJ to see how far he could drive one before he got bored. He • The Team try to get a 1986 Mini to beat a skier ran out of country before he got bored. Series Two, down a ski slope at Lillehammer Winter Olympic Episode Four Special • Hammond oversees an attempt by the Stig at • Lap of the M25 / Test: fuel economy. Clarkson the nonexistent indoor world speed record Series drove a lap of the M25 in a diesel Volkswagen Lupo, Eight, Episode Six while another driver used the petrol version to see which would achieve greater fuel efficiency. Clark- • Motorhome Racing Series Ten, Episode Six son was allowed to spend any money he saved over the petrol version on a gift at South Mimms ser- • Hammond converts a G-Wiz into a full-sized vices. He chose a small gold model of a cockerel, remote-controlled car Series Ten, Episode Ten which made a reappearance in later series as “The • May oversees an attempt by Top Gear Stuntman Golden Cock”—the award given to the presenter at the nonexistent world record for car jumping who'd made the most embarrassing mistake of the in reverse Series Eleven, Episode One year. Series Three, Episode One • May oversees an attempt by Top Gear Stuntman • Toyota Hilux destruction / Test: toughness. to replicate a corkscrew car jump, as featured Clarkson and May used various methods in an at- in The Man with the Golden Gun Series Eleven, tempt to destroy a 1988 Toyota Hilux, which in- Episode Two cluded driving it into a tree which belonged to Churchill Parish, Somerset. The villagers presumed • The Top Gear team (Britain) take on the hosts that the damage had been accidental or vandal- of D MOTOR (Germany) in a series of car chal- ism had occurred until the Top Gear episode was lenges to decide the best motoring country Series broadcast. After the BBC was contacted, the direc- Eleven, Episode Six tor of Top Gear admitted guilt and the broadcaster • Bus Racing Series Twelve, Episode Five paid compensation.[2] Other tests on the Hilux in- cluded leaving it out in the ocean, slamming it with • Hammond oversees an attempt by Top Gear a wrecking ball, setting the cabin on fire and finally Stuntman to beat rival show Fifth Gear's dis- having it hoisted to the roof of a tower-block that tance record for jumping a car while towing a was subsequently blown up. The heavily damaged caravan Series Twelve, Episode Seven (but still driveable) Hilux now stands on a plinth in the Top Gear studio. Series Three, Episodes Five & • Clarkson plays British Bulldogs with the British Six Army Series Thirteen, Episode Four • Airport vehicle racing Series Fourteen, Episode • Helicopter gunship evasion / Test: handling. Four Clarkson tried to avoid being caught in missile lock from an WAH-64D Apache attack helicopter while • Clarkson drives a 1994 Reliant Robin from driving a Lotus Exige. Series Four, Episode One Sheffield to Rotherham (constantly flipping over) Series Fifteen, Episode One • London to Edinburgh and back again on a sin- • Top Gear UK vs Top Gear Australia Series Six- gle tank of fuel / Test: fuel economy. Clarkson at- teen, Episode Two tempted to drive a 4.0 V8 diesel Audi A8 800 miles (1,300 km) on a single tank of fuel. Series Four, • World Taxi Racing Championship Series Twenty, Episode Four Episode Two • Minicab road testing / Test: toughness and prac- ticality. Hammond and May worked as minicab 2 Challenge reviews drivers in order to subject a Renault Scenic and Ford C-MAX to a year’s worth of hard abuse in one A common theme on Top Gear is an approach to review- evening. Series Four, Episode Seven ing cars that combines standard road tests and opinions with an extremely unusual circumstance, or with a chal- • Off-road up a mountain / Test: off-road ability. lenge to demonstrate a notable characteristic of the vehi- Clarkson tried to drive a Land Rover Discovery cle. from the beach to the top of Cnoc an Fhreiceadain 3 in Scotland, completely off-road. It was heavily crit- • VIP chauffeur / Test: luxury. In Japan, May con- icised by environmentalists for the damage done by ducted road tests of the Mitsuoka Orochi and Galue, the vehicle’s tyres. This stunt was memorable in that and used the Galue to chauffeur a Sumo wrestler Clarkson left the mountain by helicopter with the and his manager to a tournament as a way to test Discovery’s keys in his pocket, so delaying its re- if the car is “Japan’s Rolls-Royce.”[4] Series Eleven, moval from the hill. Series Five, Episode Three Episode Six • 24 hours in a car / Test: comfort. Hammond and • GT car on a WRC stage / Test: 4WD system. May May spent 24 hours in a Smart Forfour to assess takes a Bentley Continental GT to a Welsh stage the marketing claim that the car is “designed like a of the World Rally Championship, and acts as Kris lounge.” Series Five, Episode Four Meeke's co-driver. Series Nineteen, Episode One • Tank evasion / Test: off-road ability. Clarkson dis- • covered whether a Challenger 2 tank could lock its Car and tablecloth / Test: Speed. The Stig tries main cannon on to a Range Rover Sport. Series Six, to use a Nissan GT-R to pull a tablecloth off a table Episode One without smashing any of the ornaments and cutlery. Series Twenty-One, Episode Four • Car Football / Test: toughness and handling. Ham- mond and May, along with a selection of profes- sional drivers, played a football match using Toyota 3 How hard can it be? Aygos. Series Six, Episode One A recurring feature on Top Gear involves the hosts un- • Sniper evasion / Test: handling. Clarkson drove dertaking a number of bizarre challenges involving cars. around a deserted village (British Army training fa- The segments involving the challenges are usually pre- cility Copehill Down) in a Mercedes-Benz SLK55 ceded by Jeremy Clarkson, though sometimes Richard or AMG and a 2005 Porsche Boxster S, trying to evade James, asking the audience and viewers: “How hard can snipers of the Irish Guards.