The hugely popular motoring show Top Gear

The BBC’s motoring show Top Gear first aired in 1977.

＊Image source:dtv

In Japan, episodes—including reruns—occasionally air on BS Fuji. A new version of Top Gear launched in 2016, but the trio who hosted the show through 2015—Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May—were especially entertaining. Apparently, the show’s popularity really took off after Jeremy Clarkson joined in 1988.

What makes Top Gear so entertaining?

The show’s appeal probably comes down to the three hosts’ wonderfully outrageous antics. Watching grown men act like kids and do whatever they please is hilarious—and it makes you wonder how the BBC ever got away with it. Here are a few of the highlights…

1) The challenges are completely over the top

“Buy a truck for £5,000, customize it, then take on a series of ridiculous challenges—including drifting and hill starts”…

(And the truck’s on fire, lol.)

“Race the length of Vietnam, aiming to reach the finish—even if that means traveling on a raft along the way”…

(What happens if they fall off?)

“To tackle the problem of declining rail use in Britain, build a train using a Jaguar XJS or an Audi S8”…

(The car-based train eventually met a spectacular end.)

These are the kinds of challenges that would probably never make it onto Japanese TV. The show must have had a pretty hefty budget, too.

2) Unfiltered opinions on cars—and everything around them

“Blunt” doesn’t even begin to cover it. If the hosts don’t like a car, they absolutely tear it apart. In the Prius episode, after giving it a savage roasting, they riddled it with machine-gun fire until it looked like Swiss cheese. ((((；ﾟДﾟ))))

And then there are classic one-liners like:

A classic car, like a dog, will eventually let you down and die.

Or:

You get married, have children, buy a minivan, and die.

（笑）They sound outrageous, but there’s often a kernel of truth in them—which is probably why they stick.

3) The celebrity guests are a big draw

One recurring segment has celebrities drive a lap of the test track and compete for the fastest time. Guests have included famous athletes, singers, actors, comedians, and politicians. In one episode, Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise appeared together. (And Tom Cruise was a surprisingly good driver, too.)

Image source: TopGear

What did Jeremy Clarkson think of Porsche?

So, what did Top Gear make of Porsche? Host Jeremy Clarkson wasn’t a fan of the brand (he preferred Mercedes-Benz), so his comments could be brutal. But every now and then, you’d find yourself thinking, “Well, when you put it that way, he might have a point.”（笑）

■ On Porsche design

I often wonder whether Porsche even has a designer. I suspect it’s someone who’s never studied art.

■ On the Cayenne’s design

Like much of Porsche’s current lineup, it isn’t exactly a looker. It’s about as ugly as a badger carcass that died two weeks ago. (2010)

■ On the Panamera

The Panamera looks like a drowned 911, its body bloated and swollen. In the end, this car is about as ugly as a skinned monkey. I drove it all the way to Romania and found it to be an extremely capable car. But that’s like complimenting an ugly person by saying they have a beautiful soul. (2009)

More memorable quotes

James May also had this to say about why modern cars are boring. (I wonder if this was from an interview.)

Because people who aren’t car enthusiasts come up with the ideas,
people who aren’t car enthusiasts design them,
people who aren’t car enthusiasts develop them,
people who aren’t car enthusiasts test them,
people who aren’t car enthusiasts build them,
people who aren’t car enthusiasts inspect them,
and people who aren’t car enthusiasts sell them.

My husband said, “Exactly!”（笑）

By comparison, Japanese motoring shows can feel a little too serious. They don’t tend to feature such a wide range of offbeat challenges, and they’re often careful to soften their criticism out of consideration for the people involved.

So if you’re tired of that style of car show, give Top Gear a try. Jeremy Clarkson reportedly fell out with the production team in 2015, and all three hosts left the show. They went on to present The Grand Tour, available exclusively on Amazon. The newer version of Top Gear hasn’t received quite the same acclaim, but its challenges are more sensible (the old ones may have set the bar for outrageous a little too high), and its reviews take a more serious approach. Personally, I think that works just fine.

Give it a watch!