Build an electric car

The presenters were challenged to create their own electric car that would rival the G-Wiz. The first car, nicknamed "Geoff", was put through its paces in the city of Oxford, before being re-built as the Hammerhead-i Eagle Thrust. The Hammerhead underwent a number of safety tests at the Motor Industry Research Association, with the Top Gear trio attempting to fool the examiners by using simple camera trickery. It was then—apparently—reviewed by Autocar magazine, with the team disappointed by the review, while making a reference to OFCOM, the telecommunications regulator. Series Fourteen, Episode Two


Top Gear Builds an Electric Car

Make a car advertisement

James and Jeremy were given the challenge to create a simple, but effective, TV advertisement for the new Volkswagen Scirocco TDi. Several entries were made, including one stating while the Scirocco wasn't fast, but being economical, a rehash of a previous Golf ad, and one detailing a funeral (slightly spoiled by Clarkson). All were rejected, leading Clarkson and May to create separate ads. Clarkson won with references to World War II. Series Thirteen, Episode Seven


Top Gear Season 13 Episode 7

From Basel to Blackpool on a single tank of fuel

The presenters were challenged to drive from Basel, Switzerland to Blackpool, UK on a single tank of diesel, in order to switch on the Blackpool Illuminations. Each presenter chose a car: Jeremy used a Jaguar XJ6 Diesel, and in spite of using every feature in the car, and driving uneconomically, managed to complete the journey. He was, however, beaten by Richard Hammond, economically driving a Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion. James May, driving a Subaru Legacy, failed to reach Blackpool in time to switch on the lights; however, he succeeded in completing the journey. Series Twelve, Episode Four


Top Gear Season 12 Episode 4

Amphibious cars: redux

The presenters made a second attempt to use amphibious cars—this time to cross the English Channel. All three presenters modified their original designs: Clarkson created an amphibious Nissan pickup (the "Nissank"); Hammond used a new Volkswagen Transporter; May upgraded and used the same Triumph Herald he had used in the original challenge. May was unable to sail the Herald out of the harbour, sinking twice and damaging the vehicle beyond repair. Hammond's Transporter worked well initially, but the engine was damaged in rough seas, necessitating the use of an outboard engine. It eventually flooded and sank. Clarkson won, while carrying his co-presenters, in his "Nissank" on the trip. The presenters had aimed for Calais, but missed, finishing in Sangatte. They also attempted (and failed) to break the record set by Richard Branson for crossing the Channel in an amphibious vehicle. Series Ten, Episode Two


Top Gear Season 10 episode 2 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Polar race special

In April–May 2007, Clarkson and May teamed up to race Hammond from Resolute, Nunavut to the North Magnetic Pole, taking the route set out in the Polar Challenge. The terrain in between is some of the toughest in the world—a mix of mountainous land masses and jagged sea ice where temperatures can drop to -65 degrees Celsius (-85 degrees Fahrenheit). Jeremy and James used a specially adapted Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, while Richard used a sled pulled by a team of ten Canadian Inuit dogs, driven by American explorer Matty McNair. In the end the truck won, although the sled overtook them at one point while they were crossing the first of two fields of ice boulders. Polar Challenge Special

The Hilux used by the camera crew would later appeared in Series Fifteen, Episode One, modified to be able to drive near Eyjafjallajökull volcano to obtain a lava rock.

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Stretch limos

The presenters were sent out to buy normal cars that are available in Britain, then turn them into stretch limousines. Once the presenters had built their limos, they had to chauffeur three celebrities across London to the Brit Awards. Hammond chauffeured Jamelia in the MG F "Sports Limo," arriving with a stuck throttle. Clarkson chauffeured Chris Moyles using a greatly lengthened, dual rear axle Fiat Panda, arriving with only half a car after it split in two before reaching its destination.[nb 2] James May attempted to chauffeur Lemar in the "Salfa Romeaab" (a cross between an Alfa Romeo 164 and a Saab 9000); Lemar ultimately got frustrated and got out of the car after May repeatedly got lost. Clarkson claimed victory as he got one photograph of his celebrity published in a newspaper. However, as his co-presenters pointed out, the image appeared in Clarkson's own newspaper column in The Sun (to which he responded that they both also have newspaper columns that they could have used). Series Nine, Episode Six

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Growing petrol using tractors

The presenters decided to grow their own environmentally-friendly petrol by planting rapeseed in a field. For this challenge, each presenter needed to research and acquire a tractor. Each presenter then took part in a series of challenges at the airfield, including a "drag race," in which they raced each other while dragging something found around the airfield. In the end, it was discovered May had ordered the wrong type of seed, so they ended up with 500 gallons of Biodiesel which was later used for the Britcar 24-hour endurance race. Series Nine, Episode Five


Top Gear Season 9 episode 5 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Reliant Robin Space Shuttle

Hammond and May tried to convert a Reliant Robin into a space shuttle. They were given 12 days to build it[6] and help from the British Amateur Rocket Society. Eight tons of thrust were required to launch the Robin—the largest non-commercial rocket launch undertaken in Europe. The Reliant Robin took off; everything seemed to be working until a release bolt attaching the Robin to the fuel tank failed to detach. The combined result spiraled out of control and crashed in a massive explosion on a nearby hillside. Series Nine, Episode Four


Top Gear Season 9 episode 4 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Road works in 24 hours

The presenters decided to speed up the road works on the D5481 near Bidford in Warwickshire. According to the County Council, it would take an entire week, but the Top Gear team achieved it in just one day (although they did have 32 men working with them). According to the film, Clarkson prevented them from having proper lunch breaks and instead fed them on the berries growing on the bushes by the side of the road. However, for tea, Hammond fetched fish and chips for all the workmen. The team worked through the entire day and night to get the job done. Series Nine, Episode One


Top Gear Season 9 episode (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Roadies van challenge

The team decided to test some vans by being roadies for The Who. May picked a Renault Master, Hammond chose a Ford Transit, and Clarkson selected a Volkswagen T30 TDI 174 Sportline. After The Who's concert at Hyde Park, Clarkson, Hammond and May took some of their equipment 90 miles to the site of their next show. They concluded that the cheapest van for the task at hand should always be used. Subsequently, Clarkson admitted that the feature was not the greatest of ideas. After this challenge the presenters were then set the challenge of buying a van for £1000, the ensuence of which proved far more entertaining. Series Eight, Episode Eight

VIDEO COMING SOON!

Kit car race

The presenters, based at Knockhill Racing Circuit in Fife, were set the task of building a Caterham Seven Kit car from scratch and drive past the starting line, faster than the time it would take The Stig to reach the track from the Caterham showroom in Caterham using a pre-built Caterham Seven Kit car. The presenters won the challenge because The Stig was arrested by the traffic police just 3 miles from the finish. Series Eight, Episode Seven


Top Gear Season 8 episode 7 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Caravan holiday

Clarkson, May and Hammond went on a caravan holiday in Dorset to try and find out more about caravanning. The trio unsuccessfully tried to have fun and caused numerous traffic jams. May crashed the caravan into a bollard. Hammond and the Top Gear dog were "kidnapped" by an elderly female fan. Clarkson "accidentally" set the caravan and its neighbour on fire whilst trying to cook chips.Series Eight, Episode Six


Top Gear Season 8 episode 6 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Improve your lap time by 20 seconds

Sir Jackie Stewart claimed that he could cut down any of the presenters' driving time around a race circuit by 20 seconds, so James took him up on the offer and they used a TVR Tuscan at Oulton Park. Series Eight, Episode Five


Top Gear Season 8 episode 5 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Car interior design

Clarkson bought a 1996 Mercedes-Benz S280 and designed his perfect interior based upon his house. The car, dubbed "Anne Hathaway's Cottage," featured a wood-burning stove, kitchen chairs, a flagstone floor, and wood with a cement base (weighing approximately two tonnes), even plastering the door trim. James May and Richard Hammond then tested the car. A lack of seat belts and unsecured seats meant they tumbled around inside the car. Eventually, with May holding Hammond's seat, a 0–60 time of 35.4 seconds was established. Series Eight, Episode Four


Top Gear Season 8 episode 4 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Convertible people carrier

The presenters were set the task of building a convertible people carrier. They succeeded in removing the roof from a Renault Espace and replaced it with a canvas fold-down top. The resulting vehicle was able to travel at 100 mph without losing its roof, and was driven through an animal park without any incident. However, a trip through a car wash resulted in the brand-new million-pound wash facility catching fire. Series Eight, Episode One


Top Gear Season 8 episode 1 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Amphibious vehicles

The presenters were set the challenge of building amphibious cars, and using them to get to—and across—a two-mile-wide reservoir. Hammond transformed a Volkswagen camper van into a narrowboat-style "damper van;" Clarkson attached an outboard motor to a modified Toyota Hilux pick-up truck, which he dubbed the "Toybota"; while May, using the rig of a Mirror dinghy, turned a classic Triumph Herald into a sailing boat. Hammond's propeller broke off on entry to the water, and lacking effective waterproofing, the van quickly sank. Clarkson, with passenger Hammond, capsized at the pontoon finish line. May managed to sail across the reservoir, but slowly, and had to take an alternate route when on land due to a "low bridge." May was voted the winner by the studio audience. Winner: May Series Eight, Episode Three


Top Gear Season 8 episode 3 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Make a police car for a lot less money than the real police spend on their cars challenge

The presenters were all given £1,000 to buy a car and turn them into police cars able to surpass the Police's standard-issue Vauxhall Astra Diesels. Clarkson bought a 1998 Fiat Coupé 20V Turbo for £900, painted it in Italian Polizia di Stato livery (although the colour was wrong), and fitted it with "Boudicea" wheel covers. May bought a 1994 Lexus LS400 for £900 as well, which he painted in a traditional 'jam sandwich' livery, fitted with an air siren from an ice cream van, and armed with paint sprayers at the back. Hammond bought a 1994 Suzuki Vitara for £750, and equipped it with light bars and a self-deploying stinger on the front (actually several doormats stitched together with nails poking through). The presenters' cars were then put to test around the Top Gear track, which included beating the Stig's lap in the Vauxhall Astra diesel (coupled with extra points for flamboyance), clearing a crash site in less than two minutes, and then stopping the Stig in a police chase (the latter driving a BMW 7-Series) "Without using £125,000 worth of Volvo, the RAF, and 16 health and safety forms." The real police demonstrated how to stop a stolen car (the Beemer) using four Volvo V70 estates, boxing in the car to the side of the road, following the fulfillment of "13 separate health and safety criteria." All three cars were subsequently on display at the British Motor Show 2008. They all failed miserably except for the second challenge. Winner: Hammond (un-confirmed)[nb 5] Series Eleven, Episode One

VIDEO COMING SOON

£1,500 two-wheel drive African cross-country car challenge

The presenters were sent to Botswana to buy a car that was not an off-road vehicle and had only two-wheel drive, which they would drive across the country, from the eastern border of Zimbabwe to the western border of Namibia (approximately 1,000 miles). The challenge included a drive over the Makgadikgadi Pan, which left Clarkson and May's cars filled with dust after they had been stripped of excess weight as to try to prevent their cars sinking through the thin surface, and over the Okavango Delta. This was to prove "to the people of Surrey that they don't need 4x4s in case there are leaves on the road." This challenge introduced a new rule that stipulated if any of the presenters' cars were to break down beyond repair, they would have to complete the journey in a substitute vehicle - for this challenge, a Volkswagen Beetle (the Beetle being the presenters' unanimous choice as their least favourite car). Clarkson bought a Lancia Beta Coupé, which was the most unreliable car of the lot. Hammond bought a 1963 Opel Kadett, which he named Oliver (consequently becoming the butt of jokes of the other presenters), while May bought a Mercedes-Benz 230E Hammond felt such affection for his car that he subsequently had it shipped to the UK (which resulted in Clarkson and May making fun of him), and it now has the occasional cameo on Richard Hammond's Blast Lab. It also subsequently featured on the Top Gear 'Lorryist' challenge. All three made it to the Namibian border. Clarkson declared the Beetle as the winner, since it had no documented mishaps during the trip, much to the shock of Hammond, with which May answered "No, he [Clarkson] has a point!". Winner: None Series Ten, Episode Four


Top Gear Season 10 episode 4 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Road trip special—used American car for $1000 challenge

The presenters wanted to find out if it was easier to buy a car for a holiday rather than rent one, so each of them was given a budget of US$1000 to purchase a car, which they would take on a road trip across four US states, from Miami, Florida to New Orleans, Louisiana. Clarkson bought a Chevrolet Camaro, May got a Cadillac Brougham Sedan, while Hammond bought a Dodge Ram pick-up truck.

During their journey they were given a series of challenges, which included the cars being driven around a track by The Stig's overweight "American cousin," doing 0 to 50 to 0 without over-running the track and thereby crashing into a river full of alligators, and camping a night in a field eating only roadkill. They also had to paint slogans on each other's car in order to get them shot at or arrested as they drove across Alabama. When the three pulled into a gas station to refuel, they claimed a gang of rednecks attacked them with stones and chased them out of town.

Upon arrival at New Orleans, the three presenters found the city was taking a long time to recover from Hurricane Katrina and thus couldn't bring themselves to ask for money for their cars. They instead gave them away to people who needed them. In the episode's credits, the presenters were credited as "Cletus Clarkson", "Earl Hammond JR", "Ellie May May" and "Roscoe P. Stig". All of the other credited crew had their first names changed to "Billy Bob". Winner: Unknown Clarkson declared himself the winner. Series Nine, Episode Three


Top Gear Season 9 episode 3 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Italian mid-engined supercars for less than a second-hand Mondeo challenge

The presenters were given £10,000 to buy a 1970s supercar, the requirements being that the car had to be mid-engined and Italian. Clarkson bought a Maserati Merak, Hammond bought a Ferrari 308 GT4, and May bought a Lamborghini Urraco. Various challenges included a lap of the Castle Combe Circuit and driving from Chippenham to Slough on a set amount of fuel. In the end, none of the cars survived the final journey: The Merak's engine exploded and the 308's electrical system failed, and the Urraco ran out of petrol with just one mile to go to the finishing point. No winner Series Seven, Episode Four

The GT4 used in this challenge was later bought and being repaired by Hammond, only have to be damaged again when he was in the Petrolheads, where he was being tricked and rammed on his car during a challenge.

Top Gear Season 7 episode 4 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

Cheap Porsche Challenge

The presenters were given £1,500 to buy a Porsche. Clarkson bought a 928, Hammond bought a 924, and May bought a 944. The challenge included driving from London to Brighton, fuel economy, using the car in a lonely-hearts column, lap time, selling the car, and using the change from the £1,500 modifying the cars for judging by the Porsche Owners' Club. Clarkson won the challenge (despite bringing the most unreliable of the three cars) when he earned more by breaking down his car and selling it for parts.Winner: Clarkson Series Five, Episode Six


Top Gear Season 5 episode 6 (All Rights-->BBC UK)

£100 Car Challenge

The presenters were given £100 to buy a car that was road legal (had current tax and passed the Ministry of Transport test). This was to prove that a car could be purchased and driven from London to Manchester and back again for less than it would cost to take the train (around £180), even including the price of the fuel. Clarkson bought a Volvo 760 GLE, Hammond bought a Rover 416GTi, and May bought an Audi 80 1.8E. The challenge included reliability, fuel economy, stopping time, safety, price, and lap-time testing. Jeremy Clarkson won the challenge overall due to him buying his car for £1. Winner: Clarkson Series Four, Episode Three


Top Gear Season 4 episode 3 (All Rights-->BBC UK)