The essential episodes of Top Gear
Watch these 15 in order and you've got Top Gear — each pick states its reason.
- 01
Matt, Chris and Rory race across Kazakhstan in 3 high-mileage cars and Matt's review of the Aston Martin DB11 is thwarted by Chris and a very evil Mercedes.
- 02
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti vs. Jet Plane
Who can reach the ski slopes of Verbier in Switzerland first: Jeremy by road in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, or Richard and James in a plane? In Lillehammer, there's another contest: who can get down a mountain fastest - James in a Mitsubishi rally car, or Richard in a bobsleigh?
- 03
Jeremy (driving the new Bugatti Veyron) races James and Richard (in a plane) from Alba in northern Italy to the top of London's NatWest Tower. Richard also tests the new Marcos on the Top Gear track. The star in a reasonably priced car is Nigel Mansell.
- 04
Jeremy, Richard and James have all poured scorn on caravans and those who choose to spend their weekends in them. Now the team have to swallow their pride as they embark on a caravan holiday in Dorset. Three hot saloons burn rubber on the test track, and the Stig attempts to find out how fast you can drive a car indoors! Plus actor Brian Cox is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
- 05
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May go rural as they harness a group of high-tech tractors. The Lamborghini Murcielago LP640 dances with the devil on the test track and Kristin Scott Thomas is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
- 06
In a Top Gear special, the team travel to Africa where they are challenged to buy a second hand car costing no more than £1,500 and in no way designed to go off road and drive across the wilds of Botswana. Along the way they must negotiate salt pans, rivers and reserves full of animals while facing sweltering heat and suffocating dust.
- 07
James May, tackling his first-ever power test in the pleasantly brisk Pagani Zonda. And for real speed nuts, there's another first as the Stig finally gets to set a lap time in the most amazing-car-in-the-world Bugatti Veyron. Can it beat the current record holder, the absurdly named Gumpert Apollo?
- 08
Train, Jaguar, and Motorbike Race
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to discover what Top Gear might have been like 60 years ago in a race from London to Edinburgh. James grabs himself a gorgeous old Jaguar XK120 whilst Richard chooses the brutal but rather fantastically named Vincent Black Shadow motorbike. Meanwhile, in an almost unprecedented move, Jeremy takes the train. The Ferrari FXX is put through its paces on a power lap, and the Stig takes off his helmet to reveal his true identity, but not everyone is convinced.
- 09
Jeremy, Richard and James attempt to save the planet by building their own electric car, and then put their latest 'green' creation through the rigours of the new car testing process. Meanwhile on the track, the battle of the continents, as Europe takes on the USA and Jeremy pits the Corvette ZR1's muscle against the finesse of Audi's R8 V10. The Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is Hollywood's hottest new property, Frost/Nixon and Damned United star Michael Sheen.
- 10
Richard road tests the new Volkswagen Touareg as well as having race against two snowmobile racers in a customized Volkwagen Touareg (the one used in the Dakar Rally). James tests the new Buggati Veyron Supersport and attempts to take it to its top speed of 258mph. Jeremy documents the life of the legendary racing driver, Ayrton Senna with interviews from racing drivers who raced with him to the those who were huge fans of Ayrton Senna as well as looking back at archive footage from past races to see what made him the greatest racing driver of all time. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz are the Stars In A Reasonably Priced Car.
- 11
Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond look at some second-hand bargains for the price of Britain's cheapest brand new car, the £6,995 Nissan Pixo.James May tests the toughness of the new Range Rover Evoque bydriving it through Death Valley, and then gauges its stylishness by using it to chauffeur a global megastar across Las Vegas.There's also a full track test of the incredible McLaren MP4-12C as it meets its deadliest supercar rival - the Ferrari 458.Plus reigning Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
- 12
Motor Racing for Less Than It Costs to Play Golf
Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May set out to discover if you can go motor racing for less than it costs to play golf.Richard is also out on the Top Gear test track in the brand new BMW M5. Plus there is a double helping of stars, as rock legend Slash and Lotus F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen are let loose in the reasonably priced cars.
- 13
Jeremy Clarkson subjects the new Kia Cee'd to a thorough road test involving eels, curry, a rock legend, an American cop and a rather unusual game of rugby involving James May.Meanwhile, Richard Hammond is in Mexico for a nervous road test of the Mastretta sports car, a trio of hot hatchbacks tear it up on the test track and another top celebrity takes their turn as the star in the Reasonably Priced Car.
- 14
James May straps into a highly tuned hatchback as he competes in a world rallycross race, with Top Gear USA host and professional driver Tanner Foust teaming up with him. Jeremy Clarkson puts the latest Jaguar F-type R and Eagle's modernised E-type the Low Drag GT though their paces, while Richard Hammond is in Spain to test the new version of the Mazda MX-5. Plus, X-Men: First Class star Nicholas Hoult takes to the track in the Reasonably Priced Car.
- 15
Chris, Freddie and Paddy deploy science to find the best family car you can buy today, and they set out to buy delivery vans on a budget. Paddy heads to Italy to test out Ferrari's beautiful new Daytona SP3 - and do a spot of minicabbing.
