Top Gear Series 11

Metal Tin Edition

2Entertain / BBCTV

Roadshow

R4 DVD

Yes, they’re still going after all these years. Top Gear is one of the world’s most popular motoring shows. Their three presenters and their racing driver, The Stig, have become firm favourites in many countries. Why? Perhaps it’s because they don’t take their job too seriously. After all it would be terribly boring watching people drive hideously ugly, desperately impractical cars at illegal speeds if that’s all there was to offer. Over the years they have managed to mix a lot of fun into the show. This series features Challenges like is a Nissan GTR faster across Japan than their brilliant public transport system? Can the British beat the Germans in an automotive rerun of World War II? Is Jeremy’s vintage Mercedes better than James May’s vintage Rolls Royce, and can you park either of them in central London?

For a motoring show they are quite irreverent about their sponsors. Jeremy Clarkson, the strongly opinionated one, actually says that a new Alfa is not attractive, and neither is a new Ferrari. People have been telling him for years that supercars are damn ugly so it’s wonderful to see him finally admit it.

Even the humble Fiat Panda gets a serve.

“Are there any mothers here? Yes? Well, Fiat has decided that you need patronizing. So they’ve come up with a limited edition of the Panda……”

“Why is it for mothers?”

“Because it’s called the Panda Mammy, and they’ve given it an orange interior and a purple exterior so it can match your varicose veins”

About the only thing missing is Jeremy’s constant cries for “more power!”. Possibly that’s because after the race across Japan he stayed on for an extra day to test the Nissan GTR on a race track. When he lost the car the spinout was so vigorous that he injured his neck. More power, indeed. You’re not as young as you were, Jeremy.

If you’re a Top Gear fan you will enjoy this series. If you haven’t seen it before, give it a try and see how much fun you can have on four wheels (or three wheels in one episode).

The series comes beautifully presented in a tin box with The Stig on the cover. It’s a collector’s piece in its own right, as well as being a memento of a really entertaining TV show.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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