Top Gear 10 / Clarkson: Heaven and Hell Set

Top Gear 10
Top Gear is the most popular automotive show in the world. The charisma and enthusiasm of the shows presenters have made it a worldwide megabrand, attracting a global audience of over 500 million in more than 20 countries. Season 10 is the most ambitious yet, featuring some challenges that only the very brave - or the very stupid - would dare to undertake. For example, who else would attempt to cross the treacherous English Channel in a fleet of amphibious cars that are less seaworthy than the average church? There'll also be some serious car journalism with exhaustive road tests of the latest models, looks back at the history of motoring, man versus machine experiments, and weekly power tests featuring the world's most exotic super cars. Find out why people around the world love Top Gear with Top Gear 10!

Clarkson: Heaven and Hell
What if an automotive expert disliked a vehicle so much-he blew it up with dynamite?! If you're a car fanatic or simply enjoy some red-line mischief, we have just the guy for you. Jeremy Clarkson, irreverent auto columnist for The Sun and host of the ultrahot BAFTA®-nominated British auto program Top Gear, is here to steer you to seven of the world's best cars-extracting every last ounce of horsepower from a lineup of exotic Ferraris, Porsches, Aston Martins and other top names. But the fun has just begun. Clarkson also sends seven clunkers to fourwheel heaven with a little help from power saws, hammers and lots of explosives. He's even left some time for a game of "car jousting."

Top Gear 10
Episode 1 - The Best Road in the World
Golf GTI W12: Clarkson takes a drive in the Volkswagen Golf GTIW12 concept.
Hot seats: Top Gear gets some new furniture after a fire in the props warehouse, and the charred Cool Wall is abandoned.
Royal visit: Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren is the regal Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
World's best road?: The team takes a Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera, Porsche 911 GT3 RS and Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 to Europe in search of the best driving road.

Episode 2 - The Channel Crossing
R8 vs. 911: Clarkson and Hammond compare the Audi R8 against the Porsche 911 Carrera.
Pipe dream: The team samples the finest in gentlemanly accessorizing: Porsche pipes.
Later...: Music show host Jools Holland, formerly of the band Squeeze, is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
More wetness: The amphibious vehicles return as Clarkson, Hammond and May attempt to cross the English Channel.

Episode 3 - The World's Smallest Car
What a Drop: James reviews the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead.
Parking break: Hammond tests out the automatic parking function on the Lexus LS600 in the studio.
Ferrari 599: Clarkson thrashes the Ferrari 599 GTB around the test track.
Veyron vs. jet: Richard races the Bugatti Veyron in a drag race against a Eurofighter Typhoon plane.
Tiny a-Peel: Clarkson finds out whether the world's smallest car, the Peel P50, is practical for everyday use.

Episode 4 - The Big Trip to Africa
Africar: The team finds out whether a $2,658 banger will get you all the way across Botswana; Clarkson buys a Lancia Beta, May a Mercedes 230E, and Hammond an Opel Kadett called Oliver.
African Stig: The Stig's African cousin finds out which car is quickest.
Desert trip: James, Jeremy and Richard cross the Makgadikgadi pan and the Okavango Delta. And get wet.

Episode 5 - The Race Across London
Scorching T: Clarkson tries out the "race car for the road," Caparo's T1.
Aston vs. jet skater: Hammond and an Aston Martin V8 Vantage Roadster take on a German on roller skates.
You've got talent: Simon Cowell gives as good as he gets in the Reasonably Priced Car.
London calling: James, Richard, Jeremy and the Stig race across London in a car, a bike, a speedboat and public transportation.

Episode 6 - Motorhome Racing
Everybody say R: Clarkson reviews the new Honda Civic Type-R.
Alfa vs. tall man: May races the Alfa Romeo 159 across the Humber estuary against a very tall man.
M5 vs. E63 AMG: Jeremy compares the BMW M5 Touring and the Mercedes E63 AMG.
What a flanker: English rugby player Lawrence Dallaglio is the really-quite-massive Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Contact sport: Hammond invents the new sport of motorhome racing.

Episode 7 - The British Leyland Cars
Aston DBS: Clarkson reviews the Aston Martin DBS
Fab, darling: Jennifer Saunders, of "Absolutely Fabulous," is the absolutely fabulous Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
BL s-t: Jeremy, James and Richard celebrate the 40th anniversary of British Leyland by each buying a ‘classic' $2,100 BL car and subjecting them to a series of bumpy, dangerous and very wet challenges.

Episode 8 - Lewis Hamilton
Vauxhall VXR8: Clarkson reviews the Vauxhall's Monaro replacement, the hairy-chested VXR8.
Historic challenge: James and Jeremy set out to find the first car with a modern control layout.
You're beautiful: James Blunt is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Hammond vs. F1 car: Hammond finds out if a normal person can drive Renault's Formula One car.
Look, no hands: Clarkson gets a lift round the test track in a driverless BMW.
Lewis Hamilton: Formula One racing superstar Lewis Hamilton takes to the test track in the Reasonably Priced Car...and vows he'll be back for more.

Episode 9 - The 24-Hour Race
Ascari vs. Daihatsu: Clarkson compares the Ascari A10 against the Daihatsu Materia.
500 vs. BMXers: May races the new Fiat 500 against some young hoodies on BMXs.
The Sheriff: actor Keith Allen ("Robin Hood"), father of singer Lily Allen, is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
24: Richard, Jeremy and James use up all the biofuel they planted last season by entering a 24-hour race at Silverstone.

Episode 10  - The Supersaloon Shootout
Jaguar XF: James tries out the Jaguar XF.
Dr. Who?: Actor David Tennant ("Doctor Who") is the intergalactic Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Car of the year: The Ford Mondeo is crowned Car of the Year...even though we forgot to feature it on the program.
M3 vs. RS4 vs. C63: Clarkson, May and Hammond head to Spain in a trio of supersaloons: the BMW M3, Audi RS4, and Mercedes C63 AMG.

Jeremy Clarkson
An acclaimed broadcaster and journalist, Jeremy Clarkson has hosted "Top Gear" since 1988. Born in the decade of the hippie, Jeremy has shunned free love and peace, preferring instead to drive around corners very fast, yelling "POWER" at the top of his lungs.

Jeremy has been accused of some amazing things in his time, including destroying a mountain, destroying the environment and destroying Rover cars. In his defense, the mountain is still there, we can all still breathe and Rover would still be here if their management hadn't been so terrible.

Richard Hammond
Affectionately known as Hamster, Richard Hammond is one of the U.K.‘s most popular broadcasters. He began his career at BBC local radio and first graced British TV screens on the cable channel Men & Motors. He proceeded to work on a number of different motoring and lifestyle programs on cable before realizing his dream of cohosting "Top Gear" in 2002.

A versatile presenter, Richard has hosted TV shows from a variety of genres, including science and nature, children's and sci-fi. Women the world over adore him, something about his puppy dog eyes, and wanting to protect him from the nasty Mr. Clarkson. Richard's hobbies include buying hopeless cars and attempting to restore them.

James May
When James was first introduced on "Top Gear," Jeremy claimed he was "clearly a blithering idiot." The reasoning behind this slightly harsh critique was that James' car at the time was a Bentley T2. His first film on "Top Gear" was him telling people how great it is to own a 25-year-old classic luxury car while at the same time admitting it cost a small fortune to run and fuel.

James admits he was once fired from a job with a well-known magazine for putting a secret message in a supplement. It's exactly this kind of fooling around that makes him perfect for the U.K.‘s favorite motor show. James also has his own pilot's license, which has come in handy on "Top Gear" once already (although it would help more if he was allowed to fly at night).

The Stig
Some say he was forged out of steel and fire in the devil's own pit garage, or that he trickled to the surface of an oil pocket deep in the Earth's crust.  What do we know about him? Well, he's a seriously sick driver. He posts the lap times for cars on the Top Gear test track, trains celebrity guests to race in the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car feature, and performs any other crazy tasks asked of him. But all we really know is, he's called the Stig.

Top Gear 10
"The best comedy act are back on TV to brighten up my Sunday evening. Jeremy, Hamster Richard and James from Top Gear are up to their boyish pranks again. This time they were crossing the English Channel in a Nissan pick-up truck avoiding the SeaCat and ducking the coastguard as they go. It was brilliant. Jeremy lost a race for once and decided to show off by putting the wrong end of his Porsche-designed pipe (yes they do actually make them) in his mouth and not surprisingly got burned. Served him right for picking on James. Leave him alone - I got his cheese analogy!" Jon Wise, People

"On the marvellous Top Gear (BBC2, Sunday), back for a new series, Dame Helen Mirren was ‘the star in a reasonably priced car'. She was rather good and her appearance gave the show a glamorous edge." David Stephenson, Express on Sunday

"Another weekly fix for petrol heads and speed freaks in the series that successfully combines the attractions of motor racing with It's a Knock Out and Men Behaving Badly ... It's a hoot, a noisy, smelly hoot waiting to spring into action at the viewers' command." David Chater, The Times

"Happily, Top Gear (BBC2, Sun) returned for a new series. With the guest appearance of Dame Helen Mirren it is now safe to say that this programme is nothing to do with motoring at all. She clearly dislikes the whole activity and does not even have a car. ‘You are über male,' she told Clarkson, thereby putting her finger on one of the reasons why we all watch this programme with guilty pleasure."  Stephen Pile, Daily Telegraph

"The BBC's incredibly successful home to Middle England-style blokiness..." Will Hodgkinson, Guardian

"I quite like Clarkson, he's a guy who speaks his mind and doesn't give a damn about what anyone else thinks..." Cooper Brown, Independent

"Clarkson's fashionably contraire tone on Top Gear has made it one of the most successful BBC shows in the world. If he said he wanted to do a show about trouser presses, it would get commissioned." Simon Davis, London Evening Standard

"Three cheers to our Jezza for successfully crossing the Channel in his bizarre Toyboata contraption." Emma Parker Bowles, Sun