Top Gear recently reached 10 million Facebook fans, and that is obviously something to celebrate. They asked the fans how to do it, and after some serious brainstorming the light bulb went on. So they decided to blow up a caravan – with 10,000,000 written on it in a lairy but interesting way – and since the boys are busy filming the studio sessions for next week’s return of the TV show, Mr. Stig did the honors and set the charges. Way to start Series 18!

Watch the celebratory explosion after the jump.

Following the first official trailer for Series 18, Top Gear dot com now releases a bunch of photos previewing the brand-new season. Again, it’s full of spoilers, so if you don’t want to look just know that Series 18 is going to be one of the richest and most fun series ever. There’s lots of super cars involved, and many celebrities, and a couple of new Stigs.

Top Gear Series 18 will kick off January 29.

Pics from TopGear.com

Just as the newspapers are trying to involve Top Gear in some sort of diplomatic beef with India, the boys are preparing for the new series which, if TG magazine is to be believed, returns 29 January.

They just released an official trailer which does reveal some of the stories of season 18. So if you hate spoilers, don’t hit the jump.

Alright, so you’ve hit the jump, which means you want to know what to expect from the brand-new series of Top Gear. Well, it’s business as usual, with lots of fast cars sliding about at Dunsfold making massive smoke – the new Mercedes C63 Black is one of them – but it all seems more lively and exciting.

There will be a fair bit of explosions and challenges as well, including Richard in NASCAR and James lapping the test track in a plane. Oh, and you’ll meet Stig’s Italian cousin as part of a great super car challenge involving Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren MP4-12C and Noble M600.

If the video below failed to load, head over to Top Gear Transmission Blog. That’ll work, probably!

Jeremy Clarkson, international man of mystery and rightful inheritor of the 007 tag, oops, scratch that, presenter of the BBC’s Top Gear program has done it again. He’s no stranger to controversy but has he finally gone too far?

The government of India is threatening diplomatic isolation of the UK over a spat about toilet humor for the annual Christmas show filmed in India. Britain’s Prime Minister has been asked to apologize.

The show screened on UK televisions during the holiday season, but the Indian High Commission in London has only recently sent a letter demanding an apology to the BBC, calling the show offensive after viewing a toilet seat on the trunk of a Jaguar, and hearing numerous jokes about food and toilets on public trains.

Clarkson commented in the show that the toilet seat on the Jaguar was perfect for India because “everyone knows visitors to India get the trots”, a reference to poor water standards and general hygiene.

Quoting a diplomat working in the Indian High Commission who told the BBC “too many people” called the Commission to complain and were “very upset” that Indian culture, history, society, and local sensitivities were made fun of. The BBC admitted to having received 23 complaints.

British Prime Minister David Cameron who made a cameo in the show as the crew left London for India is facing pressure to apologize after saying to the crew “stay away from India”, an oblique reference to a previous Top Gear show that made fun of Mexico and caused a similar diplomatic dispute when Clarkson was filmed disparaging Mexicans for being lazy, flatulent and feckless, and that Mexican food is “like sick with cheese on it.”

The Director General of the BBC, Mark Thompson, was forced to respond writing a letter published in British newspapers in which he described Jeremy Clarkson as one of the UK’s leading cultural exports, and stating that the BBC would respond to the Indian High Commission’s complaint in “due course”.

Raja Sekhar, the Indian High Commissioner to London said he was very disappointed with Top Gear because his staff actively helped facilitate the Clarkson and the Top Gear team’s visit to India, and that staff in the Commission felt let down after expecting a better show that would have highlighted reasons to visit India, rather than to mock the country.

In applying for visas and filming rights, Top Gear had stated in their outline that the program would be looking at India’s “beautiful scenery” and “local color”. A British Parliamentarian whose parents came from India, Mr Keith Vaz, went further saying the program directors had not disclosed their real reason for wanting to visit India, and that an element of dishonesty was apparent to him.

Trade relations between the UK and India could be damaged he said, and a quick apology from Clarkson and the BBC would avert further diplomatic deterioration and restore good relations between the two countries. Perhaps this is a lesson for other car programs, if they want to compete with Top Gear, start offending the cultural sensitivities of important trade allies.

We had the first teaser trailer for Top Gear 2012 Christmas Special from India a couple of days ago. And here’s a new one showing a little bit more. The India Special is a classic Top Gear voyage in which the presenters each buy a used car and embark on an adventurous tour of the country. This time however, it’s a bit more serious because they’re trusted with a trade mission to boost British economy. Dear Lord!

Top Gear India Special will be aired Wednesday, December 28 on BBC Two.

Props to FinalGear

BBC released the first teaser for Top Gear India Special, filmed for 2012 Christmas, to be aired December 28 on BBC Two. Like other TG voyages, the boys each pick their favorite cars and set about crossing the country proving their choice is the best. This time though, there’s more to it. Top Gear is actually on a mission to boost UK trade with India in order to improve British economy. This being TG however, there’ll be plenty of fun, and cocking about, involved.

Watch the clip after the jump.

Top Gear’s front man Jeremy Clarkson appeared on The One Show to chat about many things, including his DVD and of course TG’s latest voyage.

And he revealed a few details on the 2012 Christmas special program in which the guys go on a tour of India apparently to see if they can help with improving UK trade balance with the Asian country! Jezza drives a Jaguar XJS in this trip, Richard a MINI, and James an old Roller.

Check out a part of Jeremy’s interview in this video below, and check out Andy Wilman’s blog post if you want more details on Top Gear India Special, to be aired December 28.

Top Gear Australia TV show might be cancelled, but the magazine is still very much alive. This tire smoke-heavy show you see here was organized by them for a cover shoot. They got Ken Block from all the way from America and the Stig from UK for this event. Mind you, we have a sneaking suspicion he’s not the British Stig. Anyways, it’s nice to see two of the biggest hoon masters on earth playing together!

The Top Gear gang is busy filming the new series all around the world. After finishing their Christmas special in India, the boys head back to Europe for an epic supercar battle.

Jeremy, James and Richard have been spotted in Rome recently, with three supercars: Lamborghini Aventador, McLaren MP4-12C and Noble M600. TG has tested all of these cars before individually, but this time they’re putting two of the finest British supercars against the Italian king, in its own turf.

This is one of those episodes you just do not want to miss.

New series of Top Gear is still a couple of months away. Until then you can  keep busy by watching Jeremy’s new DVD “Powered Up”, out November 7, and Top Gear at the Movies DVD, out November 14, over and over again!

source: OmniAuto.it

EVO’s Chris Harris found the keys to Top Gear Live’s Mitsubishi Evo-based London Taxi and took it for a spin. This brilliant machine will be used during the event to take celebs and guests round the track with the Stig at the wheel. In this film Chris shows you what this cab is capable of.

Chris Harris should be on Top Gear you know. The guy can drive. Actually, he might already be on Top Gear… you know… this new Stig… hmmmm!

While Jeremy has been busy making his “Powered Up” DVD on his own, James and Richard teamed up to create the “Top Gear at the Movies” for your motoring pleasure this Christmas.

In this DVD they will recreate some of the coolest car scenes from the movies. As you expect there is a lot of fast cars, lots of explosion, and a few machine guns! Sounds interesting.

The DVD will be out 14th November. Good news is it’ll also be available on iTunes so even if you are outside UK you can get it. Here’s the trailer to get your engines revving:

“Due to the unique way the BBC is funded” they are apparently not very happy with TomTom Top Gear Satnav.

The satnav in question features Jeremy Clarkson’s voice and also the Stig. The device had been greenlit by BBC’s commercial arm, but now the Worldwide service has come to play saying Calrkson and Top Gear are not allowed to endorse car-related products, due to some of the BBC’s editorial guidelines saying that presenters “must take particular care not to endorse any product or service which could be covered in the programmes on which they work”.

Come to think of it, Jeremy is not really endorsing the satnav, he’s just lending them his voice! But they are forced by the corporation’s editorial policy advisers to ditch the deal altogether.

Now TomTom is the one suffering the most from this “monumental cock-up” according to a BBC executive, as they’ve already produced 54,000 units of this £189 satnav. TomTom is not going to get the money they paid to BBC back by the looks of things, as they decided to donate all the money involved to BBC Children in Need.

This whole thing has been a waste of time for Jezza too, because he’s not going to get paid now that the deal is canceled.

Source: Telegraph

Isle of Man is as you know Top Gear’s favorite place when it comes to test high-power sportscar and they need somewhere with no speed limits. Now they decided to give TG a little gift and released Top Gear Stamps.

Released by Isle of Man Post Office, Top Gear stamps commemorates six of the bravest and most innovative transport solutions the boys tried during throughout the years. They fearure pictures of Hammerhead Eagle i, Reliant Space shuttle, Caravan airship, Jeremy’s Citroen motorhome, James’ Triumph herald amphibious car, and the Toyota Hilux Polar explorer.

This is a very nice tribute to Top Gear. More details on events featured on the stamps can be found here:

MOTORHOMES Over the years, Top Gear has waged war on caravans and motorhomes, destroying these slow-moving, jack-knifing road menaces in ever more inventive ways. But how would our intrepid presenters respond to the challenge of building their own compact-yet-stylish motorhomes? Richard devised a Land Rover Defender that transformed into a three-bedroom bungalow, James converted his Lotus into a streamlined ‘aero-pod’ while Jeremy built a two-storey modernist Citroen. Then they set out on a nice beach holiday in Cornwall, where their trio of modified motorhomes proved to be both impractical and entirely dangerous. One of them didn’t return…

TRIUMPH HERALD SAILBOAT No one has ever designed a successful aquatic car, a vehicle equally at home on both road and water. The reason for this, according to James May, is because aquacars have always embraced the wrong power source. Ever at the forefront of technical innovation, wind-loving Captain Slow turned a classic Triumph into a classic schooner, complete with billowing mainsail and 20-foot mast. The ‘Mayflower’ was a simple, eco-friendly solution with just two fatal weaknesses: James’s total lack of sailing ability… and low road bridges.

ROBIN RELIANT SPACE SHUTTLE Space shuttles are among the most expensive pieces of engineering in the world, costing literally billions of dollars to build, send into space and bring back down again. James and Richard believed they could save the space industry a bunch of cash by bolting a Reliant Robin – every Yorkshireman’s favourite three-wheeler – to a blooming great rocket and standing well back. The Reliant Shuttle took off with a bang, but the landing didn’t go so well…

POLAR HILUX When Jeremy and James were ordered to drive to the North Pole, they declined, pointing out that the Arctic is very cold, very dangerous and very lacking in good pubs. But when Richard rolled up on a traditional polar sled with a team of huskies, James and Jeremy felt obliged to defend the honour of the car and reach the top of the world first. In a Toyota Hilux modified with huge tyres and an escape hatch in the roof, they became the first men to reach the North Pole by car, defeating Hammond and his gang of fetid dogs in the process.

CARAVAN AIRSHIP As we may have mentioned, Top Gear isn’t very keen on caravans. But what if, instead of clogging up our roads, the caravans took to the skies? With the aid of a giant balloon, an old caravan and a dangerous volume of propane, James May set out to discover whether a wobbling holiday home on wheels could be turned into a majestic airship. After causing a national security scare by wandering into the fly-zone of Norwich airport, he concluded it probably couldn’t.

HAMMERHEAD EAGLE i-THRUST Electric cars should, in theory, be relatively simple to design, with far fewer moving parts than one of those tricksy petrol vehicles. Turns out they’re actually quite complicated. Tasked with building their own electric car from scratch, the boys borrowed the chassis from a TVR Tamora and the electric motor from a milk float, adding a range of innovative design features including a ‘visibility hatch’ for Richard’s head. Despite its rakish good looks and blistering performance, the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust failed to impress the independent road testers from Autocar magazine. On the plus side, it did dispose of Stig’s vegetarian cousin..

Here’s something to get you through Christmas, you know, if you have nothing else to do. Jeremy Clarkson’s new DVD is ready, almost, and will be available from November 7.

This new one is called “Powered Up” and the location for it is Southern France and the prestigious Paul Ricard circuit. Seeing as it happens almost entirely in the race track, there will be lots of sports cars power test, including a long one with BAC Mono and Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok. But this being Jeremy, he can’t finish a show without blowing up something or wrecking a few cars, for fun.

Here’s a trailer to get your engines revving:

Props to Jalopnik.com

TomTom and Top Gear collaborated on making the TomTom GO LIVE Top Gear edition which makes finding your destination a more fun.

Being a Top Gear satnav, this device lists interesting items such as race tracks along with all the usual TomTom Live services which cover location of speed cameras, shops, etc, and also provides HD traffic and weather forecast. The device comes with one year free subscription of LIVE Services and HD Traffic.

Top Gear satnav has two operating modes, Jeremy Clarkson mode and the Stig mode. In Stig mode the device become like the man himself, completely silent. In Jezza mode though, it becomes quite loud as Clarkson’s voice guide you to your destination. There couldn’t be a James May mode, for obvious reasons!

TomTom GO LIVE Top Gear is priced at £189.

In this month’s Top Gear Magazine James May and the Stig take a look at the new BMW M5 F10. So they put together a little trailer, showing His Stigness thrashing the angry German saloon. Obviously, James May couldn’t do this. Actually, the new M5 is such a brilliant handling car that even someone as laid back as Captain Slow might be able to pull spectacular tricks with it. Check out the Stig in the M5 after the jump.

As you may know in Forza 4 Top Gear is heavily featured, and so is Mr. Clarkson. In this new trailer for the game, narrated by Jeremy, he talks to the petrolheads in a language that only petrolheads understand. And since it’s JC’s trailer what other car could they use than the lovely DB9. It’s a bit sad though, this ad, as it reminds you the days of having fun in the real world is over and you have to resort to your Xbox for some unreal action.

Watch the video after the jump.

As we reported earlier, One of the attractions of the new Top Gear Live event is the Stig’s 400 bhp cab, in which he will be taking celebrities around the 100,000 square metre ExCeL London arena, the venue for TG Live. Check him out here as he takes motoring journalist Dan Trent around the circuit. This new Stig… could he be Ken Block?!

shout out to GTspirit.com

Getting acclimated with ExCeL London, the venue for the all-new Top Gear Live event, the Stig took Chris Evans for a spin in a 400 bhp London taxi.

Celebrity and petrolhead Evans will play in a special live rendition of Star in a Reasonably Priced Car at the event. So Stig gave him a thrilling tour of the 100,000 square metre venue drifting and sliding through the halls.

The new Top Gear Live promises lots of new and exciting stuff, including Stig Power Laps and ‘Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car’ as well as the Top Gear Stunt Team, supercar battles, and as mentioned earlier, a special appearance by a 1300 hp monster truck that has an air cannon at the back!

Top Gear Live 2011: London November 24-27th – NEC in Birmingham between11 – 13 November.

Billed as ‘The Ultimate Top Gear Experience’, visitors can expect all the on-screen, supercharged excitement of the TV show rolled into one event, with the famous presenting trio of Clarkson, Hammond and May previously seen in the TopGearLive action arena now spilling out into the rest of the event.

This year the all-new Top gear Live event offers a whole new experience with more exciting features than ever. One of them is this magnificent monster truck, called the Red Dragon.

Apart from the fact that it has a 1,308 bhp engine, this custom-built Ford 350 Super Duty Monster Truck also has an air-cannon mounted on the back that can fire a fridge-freezer 80 yards. Now that’s something Jeremy Clarkson himself would have designed!

The truck is powered by a supercharged, bespoke 9.5-litre Chevrolet engine, which delivers 1308bhp and an incredible 1,040lbs ft, and uses a gallon of methanol every every 50-60 yards. We’re more interested in that 600psi air cannon, which apparently can shoot any object weighing up to 650kilos. The guys can do some cool tricks with this thing.

Top Gear Live will be held on 11 – 13 November at NEC Birmingham and 24 – 27 November at ExCeL London. Other features of the show include Stig power laps and Star in a reasonably priced car as well as the Top Gear Stunt Team.

Red Dragon Technical Specification

Body Fibre-glass mould of Ford 350 Super Duty
Height 11ft
Length 20ft
Width 12ft
Weight 4.5 tonnes
Engine Supercharged 9.5 litre custom Chevrolet
Power 1308bhp
Torque 1040lbs ft
Yards per Gallon 50-60 ypg