TopGear

Top Gear
Logo de Top Gear
Genre	Conduite automobile
Présenté par	Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May Le Stig
Anciennement présenté par	Jason Dawe
Compositeur(s) de la musique	Dickey Betts
Thème d’ouverture	Jessica
Pays	Royaume-Uni
Langue(s)	Anglais
Nombre de saisons	13
Nombre d’épisodes	111 et 5 épisodes spéciaux (liste)
Émissions proches	Top Gear (US) Top Gear Australia Top Gear Russia Stars in Fast Cars Top Gear of the Pops Top Ground Gear Force En cinquième vitesse
Production
Producteur(s)	Andy Wilman
Lieu(x) de tournage	Dunsfold et Guildford (Surrey)
Durée	60 min. (approx.)
Société(s) de production	BBC
Distributeur	BBC Worldwide
Diffusion
Diffusé sur	BBC Two
Format d’image	576i, anamorphique 16:9 1080i (Polar Special 2007)
Date de première diffusion	20 octobre 2002
Public conseillé	Tout public
Chronologie
Top Gear Top Gear
Liens externes
Site Web officiel
Site Web de la société de production
Top Gear sur IMDb
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Top Gear est une des émissions emblématiques de la BBC, diffusée sur la chaîne de télévision BBC Two. Lancée en 1977, elle connaît toujours aujourd'hui un vif succès. L'émission est consacrée aux voitures et au sport automobile. La BBC publie également un magazine TopGear au Royaume-Uni. En France, l'émission est diffusée sur la chaine Discovery Channel. Top Gear existe également aux États-Unis, en Australie et récemment en Russie.

Sommaire 1 Histoire 2 Diffusion 2.1 Épisodes 2.2 Charity specials 3 Composition de l'émission 3.1 Races 3.2 Challenges 3.3 Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car 3.4 Power Laps 3.5 The Cool Wall 3.6 Unusual reviews 3.7 Significant cars 3.8 Car of the Year 3.9 Ownership survey 3.10 Ending credits 4 Bande son 5 DVD et CD 6 Récompenses et nominations 7 Critique 8 Productions étrangères 9 Références 10 Compléments 10.1 Articles connexes 10.2 Liens externes

Histoire

Jeremy Clarkson, qui avait permis à la série originale d'atteindre un pic en 1990, et le producteur Andy Wilman réussirent à mettre au point un nouveau format pour l'émission de la BBC Top Gear, modifiant la décision initiale d'annuler l'émission en 2001. La nouvelle version de la série fut diffusée en 2002. Le studio de Top Gear' se trouve à l'aérodrome Dunsfold et dans le quartier d'affaire de Waverley (Surrey). Top Gear utilise un circuit de course provisoire qui a été conçu par Lotus pour l'émission et se trouve être des sections de pistes de décollage et d'atterrissage de l'aérodrome de Dunsfold. Un grand hangar est utilisé pour l'enregistrement en studio avec un auditoire se tenant debout en permanence.

La nouvelle série apporte un grand nombre de changements importants par rapport à l'ancienne émission. La durée fut augmentée à une heure et deux nouveaux présentateurs furent ajouté : Richard Hammond et Jason Dawe, qui fut remplacé par James May après la saison 1. Le Stig, un conducteur automobile anonyme (car il porte un casque), fut ajouté comme testeur automobile. De nouvelles parties furent ajoutée, dont "Célébrité dans une voiture petit budget", "The Cool Wall", "Car News", "Power Laps", et une partie unique par émission telle qu'une course, une compétition ou la destruction d'une caravane.

En 2006, la BBC avait planifié de déplacer le lieu de tournage de Dunsfold à Enstone (Oxfordshire) pour la , mais ce déplacement fut refusé par le conseil du West Oxfordshire pour des raisons de pollutions environnementales et sonores^[1]. Le tournage de la série commença à Dunsfold en mai malgré le fait que l'émission n'avait d'autorisations pour le faire^[2]. Avec un nouveau studio réorganisé, une nouvelle voiture pour la partie "Célébrité dans une voiture petit budget" et l'ajout d'un des chiens d'Hammond, nommés "Top Gear Dog", dans quelques parties des épisodes.

En 20 septembre 2006, Richard Hammond fut sérieusement blessé lors d'un accident à bord d'une voiture de sport à turboréacteur Vampire à près de 505 km/h. La BBC reporta indéfiniment la diffusion du Best of Top Gear et annonça que la production serait retardé jusqu'à ce qu'Hammond aille mieux. La BBC et le Health and Safety Executive ont effectué des enquêtes sur l'accident^[3]. Le tournage repris le 5 octobre 2006^[4]. La saison neuf a commencé le 28 janvier 2007 et a inclus des extraits de l'accident d'Hammond^[5]. Le premier épisode de la saison 9 a eu une audience supérieure que le finale de Celebrity Big Brother^[6] et l'épisode final de la série eut 8 millions de téléspectateurs - l'audience la plus haute de BBC Two en une décennies.

Une émission spéciale, Top Gear: Polar Special, a été diffusé au Royaume-Uni le 25 juillet 2007. Ce fut le premier (et le seul) épisode diffusé en haute définition. Il s'agissait d'une course vers le pôle Nord magnétique^[7] partant de Resolute (Nunavut, Canada). James May et Jeremy Clarkson ont fait la course dans Toyota Hilux modifié pour la rigueur de l'Arctique, et Richard Hammond sur un traineau tiré par des chiens. Les trois présentateurs avait des explorateurs expérimentés avec eux, et Clarkson et May devinrent les premiers à atteindre le pôle nord magnétique de 1996 Nen voiture, utilisant la navigation satellite de leur voiture. Depuis 1996, le pôle nord magnétique s'était déplacé à approximativement 160 km. La position enregistrée de 1996 fut la cible du Polar Challenge et fut réutilisé par l'équipe de Top Gear comme destination; le pôle Nord géographique se trouvait à environ 1 300 km au nord.

Le 9 septembre 2007, Top Gear participa à l'édition 2007 de la course Britcar à Silverstone, ou les présentateurs (dont Le Stig) conduisirent une BMW 330d d'occasion préparée pour la course afin de terminer, au bout de 24 heures, à la troisième place dans le classement et 39^e dans l'ensemble. La voiture aurait utilisé du diesel bio issue des récoltes de la saison précédente lors de la course.

En 2008, l'émission fut adapté pour une série de directs appelés Top Gear Live. Le tour commença le 30 octobre 2008 à) Earls Court (Londres), se déplaçant à Birmingham en novembre puis dans au moins 15 autres pays. Le série d'émission live de Top Gear fut produite par Rowland French^[8] qui décrivait l'événement comme une façon de donner vie à l'émission au moyen de cascades, d'effets spéciaux et de séquences de conduite des meilleurs pilotes automobiles mondiaux^[9].

Le 17 juin 2008, dans une interview dans le Chris Moyles Show de BBC Radio 1, Hammond et May ont confirmé qu'il y aurait, dans la saison 11, un nouvelle invité occasionnel mais régulier^[10]. Il fut révélé qu'il s'agissait du cascadeur de Top Gear. Le producteur exécutif de la série, Andy Wilman, révéla aussi que les futures émissions verraient le temps des challenges importants réduit^[11].

Diffusion

Les nouveaux épisodes de Top Gear sont diffusé au Royaume-Uni sur BBC Two le Dimanche soir à 8:00. Chaque émission dure une heure sans interruptions pour de la publicité car la BBC est financé par un permis annuel de télévision.

Les saisons du précédent format sont rediffusées sur Dave, mais elles sont réduites à 46 minutes pour permettre des coupures publicitaires. Depuis la mi-octobre 2007 la chaîne Dave a commencé à diffusé les nouveaux épisodes de Top Gear seulement trois semaines après la BBC Two. Ces nouveaux épisodes sont aussi édités pour durer 46 minutes. Top Gear a aussi été diffusé dans d'autres pays soit dans son format original, soit dans la version ré-édité, soit avec des parties spéciales pour l'audience britannique. For example, Canvas, the Flemish public broadcaster, picked up the show after the success of the Top Gear: Polar Special programme. The BBC version of the programme is broadcast by RTE Two in Ireland.

The BBC also broadcasts edited Top Gear programmes on its international BBC World TV channel. Episodes are shortened to 30 minutes, often leaving dangling references and inconsistencies. Additionally, the original transmission order is sometimes not adhered to, so references to un-aired events are common. The only footage specially shot for the international version is for the end of each episode, when Clarkson bids his goodbye to BBC World viewers, instead of BBC viewers. BBC America also broadcasts repeats of Top Gear, with two episodes shown back-to-back, but with segments edited to allow for commercials.

Recently, BBC World has changed from showing edited versions of the current series to "best of" collections of the previous series. In both cases the BBC World edition mainly features the challenges and races from the normal episodes, with Clarkson's 'stronger' remarks removed. Interviews and "Car of the Year" are generally not shown.

The show's episodes from Series 11 and Series 12 are also available on iTunes. They are edited for content, often pixelating curse words and "bleeping" them out, but the timing indicates they match with the full BBC2 version.

On 22 September 2009, the BBC confirmed that future episodes of Top Gear will be filmed in high-definition and available to view on BBC HD.^[12]

Épisodes

Charity specials

As of July 2008, Top Gear have produced three specials for Comic Relief. The first, titled Stars in Fast Cars, was broadcast on 5 February 2005, and starred Hammond and May as presenters, with Clarkson and five other British television personalities racing against each other. It spawned a short-lived series presented by Dougie Anderson.

The second was filmed for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2007 fund-raising event, and is titled Top Gear of the Pops. It mixed the show's typical format with music and appearances from artists Lethal Bizzle, Travis, Supergrass, and McFly who were challenged to write a song including the words "sofa", "administration" and "Hyundai", which they later recorded and included as a B-side to their single "The Heart Never Lies". It concluded with a performance by Clarkson, Hammond and May with Justin Hawkins of "Red Light Spells Danger" by Billy Ocean.

The third, titled Top Ground Gear Force, was broadcast on BBC Two at 10:00 pm on 14 March 2008 as part of Sport Relief. This programme, which borrowed the Ground Force format,^[13] saw presenters 'Alan Clarkmarsh', 'Handy Hammond' and 'Jamesy Dimmock May' undertake a one-day makeover of Olympic rower Sir Steve Redgrave's garden, an attempt that failed spectacularly.

Composition de l'émission

Races

Erreur : La version française de {{Main}} est {{Article principal}}. The show regularly features long-distance (or, as Clarkson refers to them, "epic") races.^[14][15] These typically feature Clarkson (or one of the other presenters) driving a car against other forms of transport. The challenges usually involve Hammond and May taking the same journey by combinations of plane, train or ferry.

A number of smaller scale 'novelty' races have also taken place that demonstrate various strengths and, more often, weaknesses of cars. These races involve one of the presenters, in a carefully chosen car, racing head-to-head against an athlete in conditions that favour the latter. The programme has also featured a variety of small races, typically lasting a couple of minutes, that pit two similar cars against each other, for example, old and very powerful racing cars against new showroom cars.

Challenges

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In the first few seasons, the series featured novelty challenges and short stunt films, typically based on absurd premises, such as a bus jumping over motorcycles (as opposed to the more typical scenario of a motorcycle jumping over buses) or a nun driving a monster truck. No stunt films appeared between series seven and ten, but series eleven saw the introduction of segments with an anonymous stunt man (credited as "Top Gear Stunt Man") performing car jumps.

Starting with series five, many of the show's challenges were introduced with the tag-line, "How hard can it be?". These included challenges where the presenters attempt to build a convertible Renault Espace, being roadies for The Who, and participating in the Britcar 24-hour endurance race at Silverstone Circuit.

Starting with series four, one episode of each series has featured a film built around the premise of "Cheap cars", whereby the presenters are given a budget (typically around £1,500, but it has been between £100 and £10,000 depending on the type of car) to buy a used car conforming to certain criteria. Once purchased, the presenters compete against each other in a series of tests to establish who has bought the best car. The presenters have no prior knowledge of what the tests will be, although the tests typically involve long journeys to determine the reliability and fuel economy of the cars, and a race track event to determine performance.

Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car

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In each episode, a celebrity is interviewed by Clarkson. Then, Clarkson, the guest and the studio audience watch footage of the guest's fastest lap around the test track. The times are recorded on a leader board. For the first seven series of Top Gear's current format, the car driven was a Suzuki Liana. A few celebrities have returned for a second time round the track, including Boris Johnson, now Mayor of London.

At the beginning of the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti. Consequently, as the Lacetti is more powerful, the leader board was wiped clean. The format for setting a lap time was also changed: each celebrity is allowed five practice laps, then a final timed lap. No allowance is made for any errors on this final timed lap.

Ellen MacArthur set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Liana. As of July 2008 Jay Kay set the fastest lap time of any celebrity in the Chevrolet Lacetti in the final episode of series 11, knocking Simon Cowell off the top.

There have been several mishaps in the past with this feature. Sir Michael Gambon went around the final corner of the track on two wheels, prompting Jeremy to rename the corner in Gambon's honour. Lionel Richie and Trevor Eve lost a wheel and David Soul destroyed the clutches of both the main car and the back-up car. Several celebrities have come off the track in practice, with Clarkson showing the footage to the audience.

There is a separate Formula One drivers' leader board. The Stig is top of this board, but the presenters consider Lewis Hamilton's time to be more impressive; despite being set on a very wet and oily track, Hamilton's time was only three tenths of a second slower than The Stig's, which was set in dry conditions. In the past Clarkson has told drivers that they may deduct three seconds for a wet lap in the Suzuki Liana, making Hamilton's lap even more impressive. All Formula One times, even those set after the seventh series, are set in the Suzuki Liana.

Power Laps

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In the Power Laps segment, The Stig completes a lap around the test track to gauge the performance of various cars.

The qualifications for the normal Power Lap Board is that the car being tested must be road-worthy, be able to buy it, and be able to go over a speed bump^[16] which is sometimes referred to as a 'sleeping policeman'. There is a separate unofficial board of times for non-production cars, such as the Aston Martin DBR9 Le Mans racer.

The car that recorded the fastest lap time on the Top Gear track was the Renault F1 car, at fifty nine seconds (0:59.00), although it was disqualified on the speed-bump rule.

As of the end of the twelfth series, the fastest road legal car that met the 'sleeping policeman' requirement was the Gumpert Apollo S in a time of 1:17.1. However, episode 1 of season 13 (aired 21 June 2009) featured Michael Schumacher's Ferrari FXX. Schumacher, masquerading as the Stig, rounded the track in a time of 1:10.7; the following episode this record has been disqualified due to use of slick tyres. The fastest time set by any road legal car on the Top Gear test track was the Caparo T1 in season 10, which set a time of 1:10.6; however, it did not meet the 'sleeping policeman' requirement and was removed.

The Cool Wall

Introduced in the sixth episode of series one,^[17] Clarkson and Hammond decide which cars are cool and which are not by placing photographs of them on to various sections of a large board, known as 'The Cool Wall'. The categories are, from left to right; "Seriously Uncool", "Uncool", "Cool", and "Sub Zero". According to Andy Wilman, the show's producer, any given car's coolness factor rested on various attributes that are not necessarily related to the quality of the car itself.^[18] For example, Wilman suggests that "fashion cars" such as the Audi TT, PT Cruiser, Jaguar S-Type and Volkswagen Beetle are uncool because they "make a massive impact for five minutes and then look clichéd and vaguely ridiculous."^[18] The following criteria appear to apply for different car manufacturers:

• All Alfa Romeos are automatically cool
• Small European cars (Fiats, Peugeots, etc) are automatically cool - unless they win the European Car of the Year award, at which point they become seriously uncool. The presenters also consider the Fiat Panda to be way beyond Seriously Uncool because James May owns one.
• 4x4s and SUVs are automatically Uncool, though the Hummer is considered cool because of its size and political incorrectness.
• Supercars are almost always Uncool, though the latest Aston Martins have been put into the DB9 Fridge. Another exception is the Koenigsegg CCX, as it is 'scary' for having nearly killed The Stig during the power lap of the car on the Dunsfold track.
• The Chris Bangle-designed BMW range of cars are considered so uncool that their pictures have been left on the floor, rather than the Cool Wall.
• Convertibles are usually cool, with the exception of the aforementioned Uncool '5 minute wonders', particularly the Chrysler PT-Cruiser convertible, which the presenters consider hideous.
• Cars move depending on which 'cocks' are driving them — the presenters consider 'cocks' to be footballers, footballers' wives, those Clarkson describes as the 'televisual elite' and any other centre of attention for Britain's tabloid press. A case in point was the migration of 'the cocks' from the BMW M3 to the Audi RS4, and the repositioning of each car from the Seriously Uncool to Cool section of the wall, in their respective directions.
• Cars which any of the three presenters (Clarkson, Hammond and May) own are automatically placed in the Seriously Uncool section of the board.

On the show, Clarkson has stated that cars were deemed cool by the extent to which he believed they would impress actress Kristin Scott Thomas,^[19] and later, BBC newsreader Fiona Bruce. Both have since been the celebrity guest for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car feature; when Scott Thomas appeared on the show in series nine, many of her own judgments on which vehicles were "cool" and "uncool" were the opposite to the show's verdicts (her own car being a G-Wiz, previously dubbed "uncool"). Later, when Bruce came on in series 11, her preferred choice of transport — a Citroen Picasso — visibly horrified Clarkson.

In the first episode of series four, a separate fridge section, the "DB9 Super Cool Fridge", on a table to the right of the board, was introduced after Jeremy declared that the Aston Martin DB9 was too cool even to be classified as "Sub-Zero". It initially contained just the DB9, but was eventually joined by the Aston Martin V8 Vantage in the seventh series. At the other end of the scale, James May's car — the Fiat Panda — was placed several metres to the left of the "uncool" side, on a banner at the back of the hangar.

This was partly due to an acknowledged rule by the presenters that cars owned by themselves cannot be considered cool. In series nine, Clarkson was forced to place the Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder in the Uncool section because he had just bought one. He then revealed that he had sold his Ford GT, allowing him to move the car back into the Sub-Zero section.

The humour of this section often lies in Clarkson and Hammond disagreeing over which section a car should be placed in, with Clarkson nearly always winning the argument — sometimes by placing the car at the very top of the wall, preventing the much shorter Hammond from being able to reach it (although in the last episode of series 13 Hammond got his own back by using a scissor lift, which was stopped by Clarkson pressing the emergency stop button). Clarkson sometimes uses more extreme methods such as burning the card depicting the car in question, or once even taking a chainsaw to the wall when Hammond dared to try and place a Ducati 1098 motorbike on the wall. Hammond has occasionally had his revenge: after a series of disagreements with Clarkson's choices, he snatched the card on which a BMW M6 was featured from Clarkson and then ran into the audience, leading to a fight between the two and to Hammond eating the card, preventing it from being used; or during series six, after Clarkson had slipped two intervertebral discs and was unable to bend down, Hammond ended an argument by placing the car in question at the bottom of the board.

The Cool Wall was mostly destroyed in the fire that occurred in August 2007 (reported, tongue in cheek, by Jeremy Clarkson as having been started by their Five rivals, Fifth Gear), and was not used during the subsequent tenth series. The burnt wall was present during episode 3 of series 10, when Hammond was testing the auto-parking Lexus LS 600 next to it. A new Cool Wall was introduced in the second episode of series eleven.

Unusual reviews

Modèle:See also

A common theme on Top Gear is an approach to reviewing cars which combines standard road tests and opinions with an extremely unusual circumstance, or with a challenge to demonstrate a notable characteristic of the vehicle.

This has included several reviews, including "Toyota Hilux Destruction", featured in series three, episodes five and six. Various methods were employed by Clarkson and May to try to destroy a fourth generation Toyota Hilux, thereby proving its strength. The 'trials' included dropping the Hilux from a crane, setting the vehicle on fire and also driving it into a tree, which belonged to Churchill parish, Somerset. The villagers presumed that the damage had been accidental or vandalism had occurred until the Top Gear episode was broadcast. After the BBC was contacted, the director of the programme admitted guilt and the broadcaster paid compensation.^[20] Other tests on the Hilux included leaving it out in the sea, dropping a caravan on it, slamming it with a wrecking ball, and finally having it hoisted to the roof of a tower-block that was subsequently demolished with explosives. The heavily damaged (but still driveable, without the use of any new parts) Hilux now stands on a plinth in the Top Gear studio.

Another such review featured a Ford Fiesta, after Clarkson read out a letter from a viewer complaining that "Top Gear cannot review cars properly any more". Clarkson gave the model a sarcastic appraisal and was then pursued around Festival Place shopping centre by a Chevrolet Corvette. The Fiesta was then used as a beach landing craft with the Royal Marines.

Occasionally, many cars are featured and reviewed inside one segment. In the "Scooter Road Test Russian Roulette Challenge" of series six, episode nine, Hammond and May worked as ScooterMen^[21] in order to road-test as many randomly-selected cars as possible, the catch being that they wouldn't know what they'd be road-testing and have to review the vehicles in the presence of the owners.

Exotic or foreign cars are occasionally also reviewed in unusual ways. In the "VIP Chauffeur" test of series eleven, episode six, May conducted road tests in Japan of the Mitsuoka Orochi and Galue, and used the Galue to chauffeur a Sumo wrestler and his manager to a tournament as a way to test if the car is "Japan's Rolls-Royce".^[22]

During its release in 2008, the Dacia Sandero was frequently mentioned as a running gag in the show's News feature, with the presenters' increasingly sarcastic excitement highlighting their opinion that the car was of no real importance to anybody.

Significant cars

The programme occasionally celebrates anniversaries of notable vehicles, presenting short review films of non-contemporary cars to highlight why they are historically significant. These reviews are distinct from the various challenges involving old cars, because the subject matter is addressed in a more serious and factual manner. Reviews include:

Car	Series & episode
Ford Escort RS1800	Series One, Episode Two
Citroën DS	Series One, Episode Three
Bentley T2	Series Two, Episode One
Rover P5	Series Two, Episode Two
Jaguar Le Mans C-Type & Mark 2	Series Two, Episode Four
Triumph TR6	Series Two, Episode Five
GM HyWire	Series Two, Episode Nine
BMW M1, M3 & M5	Series Three, Episode Two
Lamborghini Miura	Series Three, Episode Four
Lamborghini Countach	Series Three, Episode Four
Volkswagen Corrado VR6 & Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Cosworth	Series Three, Episode Five
Aston Martin V8 Vantage	Series Three, Episode Six
Mercedes-Benz 280SL	Series Three, Episode Eight
Aston Martin Lagonda	Series Three, Episode Eight
Dodge Charger 440 R/T	Series Four, Episode Three
Jaguar XJS	Series Four, Episode Six
Rover V8 engine & Rover SD1	Series Four, Episode Eight
Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing	Series Five, Episode Five
Maserati Biturbo & 250F	Series Six, Episode Two
Maserati Bora	Series Six, Episode Three
Aston Martin DB5 & Jaguar E-type	Series Six, Episode Five
Ford Transit	Series Six, Episode Seven
British racing green & Vanwall F1	Series Seven, Episode Two
Modern control layout Featuring: Benz Motorwagen, Royal Enfield quad bike, De Dion-Bouton, Ford Model T, Cadillac Type 53, Austin 7	Series Ten, Episode Eight
Ferrari Daytona	Series Twelve, Episode Five
British Touring Car Championship Featuring: Jaguar Mark 2, Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, Leyland Mini, Ford Sierra RS Cosworth	Series Twelve, Episode Seven

Car of the Year

At the end of each autumn series the hosts present an award to their favourite car of the year. The only criterion for the award is that all three presenters must come to a unanimous choice. Winners have included:

Year	Car
2002	Land Rover Range Rover
2003	Rolls-Royce Phantom
2004	Volkswagen Golf GTI
2005	Bugatti Veyron
2006	Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder
2007	Ford Mondeo or Subaru Legacy Outback
2008	Caterham Seven R500

Ownership survey

From 2003 to 2006, Top Gear conducted an annual survey which consults thousands of UK residents on their car-ownership satisfaction. The survey asks respondents to score cars on build quality, craftsmanship, driving experience, ownership costs, and customer care. While for legal reasons the survey is now conducted via the Top Gear magazine, the results are still used on the show. The survey, formerly undertaken in conjunction with J.D. Power, is now conducted by Experian. Based on these weighted criteria, the best and worst ranked cars from the survey are:

Year	Best Ranked	Worst Ranked
2003	Jaguar XJ[23]	Volkswagen Sharan[24]
2004	Honda S2000	Mercedes M-Class
2005	Honda S2000	Peugeot 807
2006	Honda S2000	Peugeot 807

Ending credits

For the special episodes, the programme alters the end credits to reflect its locale, replacing everybody's first name with one reminiscent of the area. The first time this was done was for the "Winter Olympics Special"^[25] episode, filmed in Lillehammer, Norway, where everybody was named Björn (except for Hammond, May and The Stig, who took the names Benny, Agnetha and Anni-Frid respectively). The end credits of the American Road Trip episode in series 9 named Clarkson as 'Cletus Clarkson', Hammond as 'Earl Hammond Jr.', May as 'Ellie May May', The Stig as 'Rosco P. Stig' and replaced the first names of all other crew members with 'Billy Bob'.

Furthermore, in the Polar Special all first names in the ending credits were replaced with Sir Ranulph, in reference to the explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who had also made an appearance early in the episode. In the African Adventure Special^[26] all were called Archbishop Desmond, while for the Vietnam road trip special, everyone's first name was replaced with Francis Ford as a nod to the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now.

The one regular episode where the credits were tampered with was the last episode of series 8. Reflecting the episode's main challenge, Clarkson, Hammond and May's first names were altered to those supposedly typical of van drivers; Lee, Wayne and Terry respectively.

Bande son

Top Gear has always used an adaptation of The Allman Brothers Band's instrumental hit "Jessica" as its theme song since the original series started in 1977. The show used part of the original Allmans' recording of the song up until the late 1990s, but later series and the 2002 relaunch use updated cover versions.

During series 6, May hosted a segment showing nominations for the greatest song to drive to, the final list of ten was voted for by write-in nominations on the Top Gear website, the top five were then submitted for phone vote by viewers of the show. Songs in the top 10 were:

Rank	Band	Song
10	Fleetwood Mac	"The Chain"
9	AC/DC	"Highway to Hell"
8	Led Zeppelin	"Immigrant Song"
7	Kenny Loggins	"Danger Zone"
6	Motörhead	"Ace of Spades"
5	Deep Purple	"Highway Star"
4	Steppenwolf	"Born to Be Wild"
3	Meat Loaf	"Bat Out of Hell"
2	Golden Earring	"Radar Love"
1	Queen	"Don't Stop Me Now"

It included continual complaining from the presenters about the presence of "Bat Out of Hell" on the list (which was leading as of the selection of the top five) and its promotional segment included such visuals as cars being towed away and gridlocked streets. On the other hand, the equivalent "Don't Stop Me Now" segment was the exact opposite, featuring open roads and being described as "a joy" and "a song for life" in the voiceover.

In addition, pre-recorded film segments feature a variety of music clips. Along with classic, contemporary, post-rock and occasional dance tracks, excerpts from film and video game soundtracks are used, including The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Back to the Future, The Matrix, The Guns of Navarone, The Battle of Britain, The Dark Knight, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.

DVD et CD

Récompenses et nominations

Critique

Productions étrangères

Références

Compléments

Articles connexes

• Piste d'essai de Top Gear
• Fifth Gear

Liens externes

• Site officiel Top Gear
• Site BBC Top Gear
• Top Gear sur tv.com
• Site du classement officiel top gear

• Portail de la télévision
• Portail de l’automobile