Top Gear series 15

The 15th series of Top Gear returned to BBC Two and BBC HD on 27 June 2010, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig.

Prior to the series, BBC Two advertised the show's return by featuring a home video originally published to YouTube. In the original clip the parents of a young boy called Oscar see the Top Gear crew on public roads filming a motorhome challenge. The over excited responses of the parents were adapted to produce the 30 second promo.

Episodes

#	Episode	Airdate	Guests
120	Series 15, Episode 1	27 June 2010	Several (see below)
Review: Jeremy tests the Bentley Continental Supersports. He is intially impressed, but eventually reveals he doesn't like it for he thinks it's still too heavy and would rather buy an Aston Martin DBS V12. It posts a time of 1:24.9. During the Stig's power lap with the car, the picture abruptly cut to a "car football" match, recorded specially for this episode, spoofing an incident two weeks previously where ITV1 HD inadvertently cut to a car advert seconds before England scored their first goal of 2010 World Cup. Challenge: James tries to drive close to a volcano in Iceland using the camera crew's Toyota Hilux pickup truck from the Polar Special. He brings back a lava rock, although only decides to leave once one of his tyres starts to catch fire. The Hilux used was modified with features to protect the car from debris and combat possible fires. News: In this news segment (and this whole episode) the presenters are trying to be more 'serious'. The presenters discuss the Ferrari 599XX setting the new lap record at the Nürburgring for production cars. They then discuss the cars they drove during the break between series 14 and 15. James shows a device to cook a burger using the heat from a car exhaust system. Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: The old Chevrolet Lacetti was given a "viking burial" following a story from Richard Hammond about the memories old cars have, and that their deaths should be treated like family ones. He then proceeded to detonate a factory chimney in Northfleet, Kent, and bury it under the debris. The car is partially buried, leaving the front partially visible under the debris. A new reasonably priced car was introduced, a Kia Cee'd, which Jeremy likes to call the Kia 'Cee apostrophe dee'. A new lap time board was also introduced and to get times on the board Jeremy and Richard host a summer BBQ for celebrities. In order of arrival: Nick Robinson - 1:49.9 Al Murray - 1:48.1 Peter Jones - 1:45.9 Peta Todd - 1:49.9 (Wet) Johnny Vaughan - 1:53.3 (Wet) Bill Bailey "Angelina Jolie" - 1:50.8 (Wet) Louie Spence - 1:53.69 (Wet) Amy Williams - 1:50.9 (Wet) Challenge: Jeremy points out that the government classifies 3 wheel cars as motorcycles and as such charges less taxes. He then drives a Reliant Robin from Sheffield to Rotherham and rolls it onto its side (and even roof) many times along the way. Fortunately, local celebrities such as Phil Oakey, Peter Stringfellow, Dickie Bird and Harry Gration happened to be on-hand to help right the car. After several such rolls, Jeremy comes up with a novel idea to help keep it upright, and has stabilizer wheels fitted to the front of the car. Unfortunately, the stabilizers eventually break off because of the damage previously done to the panels that they were attached to, causing Jeremy to crash and roll the Reliant Robin into a canal near Rotherham.
#	Episode	Airdate	Guests
121	Series 15, Episode 2	4 July 2010	Alastair Campbell
Challenge: The presenters are each given £5000 with which to purchase the ultimate track day car - a four-door saloon that would be as suitable for a family as it is quick around a racing circuit. James purchases a Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth, Hammond buys a BMW E36 M3 and Jeremy settles on a Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth. Challenge 1: After meeting up in Berlin, they are first tasked with driving as quickly as possible down the Autobahn to test top speed. Despite being stymied by traffic, Jeremy manages 142 MPH in the Sierra Cosworth, James manages 140 MPH in the 190E Cosworth, and Richard manages 152 MPH in the M3. They then then pull over to test passenger space by escorting a brass band - complete with trombone and tuba - around a town. The band chooses Richards' M3 as the roomiest despite the protestations of Jeremy. Challenge 2: The cars are then subject to a comprehensive road-worthiness test by the ADAC. Hammond, who at this point had won every challenge and was openly confident of his M3's ability to win the challenge, discovers that the car had been involved in an accident and had been poorly-rebuilt, scoring just six points out of a maximum one hundred and fifty in the ADAC tests while James tries to defend his car's worthiness by calling former Formula One driver Martin Brundle for his opinion on the car. Challenge 3: The presenters then head to EuroSpeedway Lausitz where their cars are driven around the circuit by the Stig's German cousin. The presenters then must upload a video of themselves doing a lap of the circuit to YouTube, with points being awarded for the number of views. James gets lost, Jeremy cheats by speeding the video up, and Richard - too afraid of his car to make a video - simply uploads a blank video of himself making car noises. Challenge 4: After that, the three cars were filled with exactly 3 imperial gallons (14 L) of fuel and are told they must drive out of Germany with that amount and nothing else. Due to time constraints, the results are not show, but James runs out of fuel before leaving Germany, while Jeremy manages to beat Hammond into Poland. James is declared the winner because his car was the cheapest of the three, despite having lost all of his points for running out of fuel in the economy test. News: Jeremy addresses criticism of his Reliant Robin review in the previous episode, with disgruntled viewers claiming that a "real" driver would not have experienced the same roll-over related problems as he did. Clarkson takes this as a challenge, and cuts to the Stig starting a power lap in the Reliant. He barely makes it into the first turn before his lap ends the same way as Clarkson's review - upside down. Review: James tests the Porsche 911 Sport Classic, which he describes as a "Greatest Hits version" of all the previous 911s. Although he likes the car, the incredible price turns him off it, and he instead moves on to reviewing the Porsche Boxster Spyder. He also likes the car despite Porsche's ability to remove features that come standard - like door handles - in their other cars and then charge the customer more for it, and gets quite wet when attempting to erect the Spyder's elaborate cloth top to protect against rain. Ultimately, he enjoys driving the car, saying that as an owner of a Boxster for four years, the Boxster Spyder is better. Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Clarkson interviews Alastair Campbell, Director of Communications under Tony Blair and the candidate for the same position for Gordon Brown. Despite being Clarkson's polar opposite politically, the two are able to get along, with Clarkson asking questions carefully constructed to be as controversy-free as possible, such as "What is your favourite colour?" before prompting a discussion about the M4 bus lane. Campbell goes on to set a respectable time in the Kia Cee'd, finishing ahead of political commentator Nick Robinson, with a time of 1:47.0.
#	Episode	Airdate	Guests
122	Series 15, Episode 3	11 July 2010	Rupert Grint and Rubens Barrichello
The episode was broadcast on the same evening as the 2010 British Grand Prix and the final of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As such, the presenters figure that nobody is watching and so decide to put in considerably less effort. Challenge: Clarkson, Hammond and May are tasked with working out which four-door saloon car is the best for businessmen who like driving. Their choices are the Porsche Panamera, which is too ugly; the Aston Martin Rapide, which is too expensive; an the Maserati Quattroporte, which is too fiddly. After meeting in London, they drive to a business park outside the city where they hand the cars over to The Stig for a lap of the park. They are then tasked with chauffeuring guests for a wedding and reception. Jeremy forgets his suit trousers and is forced to improvise by wrapping his jeans up with electrical tape before escorting the mother of the bride and the bridesmaid - who he nicknames "Jenson" and "Lewis" - to the wedding at high speed. James collects the bride and her father in the Maserati and despite initially planning to take his time so as to arrive fashionably late, he ends up hopelessly lost and is over half an hour late. As for Hammond, he collects the groom and best man in the Aston Martin, but his bleak mood and inappropriate choice of music make the groom nervous and very nearly talks him out of getting married altogether. Rather than stand around waiting for the ceremony to end, the presenters leave the church and, acting on a tip from the mother of the bride, head to a nearby airfield for a drag race and spend the rest of the afternoon power sliding and forget to return to the church. When asked to decide on the best car, Clarkson, Hammond and May all agree that the Maserati is the best choice while apologizing to the couple by giving a gift of a custom toilet seat. News: American rally driver Ken Block protests against Jeremy's rollover in the Reliant Robin in the first episode, claiming Clarkson is a "pussy" for rolling it over. Block takes the Robin out for a power lap, but he barely makes it through the first corner before his lap ends the same way as Clarkson and the Stig before him - upside down. F1 Driver in a Reasonably Priced Car: Rubens Barrichello does a power lap in the old Suzuki Liana. He sets a lap time of 1:44.3, quicker than any other driver on the board, including the Stig. Review: Hammond reviews the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG and the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro, describing both as muscle cars. The Mercedes sets a respectable power lap time, but the Camaro is slower than the Holden Maloo, a ute version sharing its chassis. Nevertheless, Hammond claims he would settle on the Camaro if he had to buy one. Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: For the second time in the episode, the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car tops the power lap board, with actor Rupert Grint breaking Peter Jones' record in the Kia Cee'd, with a time of 1:45.5.
#	Episode	Airdate	Guests
123	Series 15, Episode 4	18 July 2010	Andy Garcia
Review: Jeremy reviews the Audi R8 V10 Spyder and the Porsche 997 Turbo Cabriolet. He mentions that while the Audi is far more powerful than the Porsche, the Porsche is much lighter. This is first proven in a 1/4 mile drag race, with Clarkson at the wheel of the Audi. The Audi initially loses, then drivers are switched, in which the results are reversed. He comments that the Audi, with its four-wheel drive, will need a competent driver for the job, which he isn't. He then moves to handling, commenting that both suffer from the same problems all convertibles face - poor rigidity from lack of a roof. He thinks that the cars were to made up to their maximum potential. Then, he gets a lady named Lauren McAvoy (as James May's 'body double') to test for practicality with the roof down. Both tests end up with Lauren's hair all messed up and, in the test in the Porsche, Jeremy being stung in the eye by a bee. The Audi did the power lap in 1.22.3, a tenth of a second slower than the Porsche's time. News: May takes a quick informal poll of the studio audience, asking who watched Top Gear last week instead of football. Clarkson admits that he couldn't watch it because he was in Johannesburg watching a Dutchman kicking a Spaniard in the heart according to Hammond. Clarkson brought back a Vuvuzela and all three try but fail to get much sound out of it. The trio report on a car that can be driven by the blind, which uses a system of sensors, compressed air, and a special vest that vibrates in certain areas. However, the device is mocked as a number of scenarios are hypothesized. Clarkson then shows crash footage of a similar system built by Volvo to stop a car when the driver is deemed inattentive, which fails. The trio also discuss Britain's most dangerous road (the A537 in Macclesfield) where many of the accidents involve Motorcyclists. This bit of information results in an argument between Clarkson (who hates bikers) and Hammond and May (who own motorbikes). According to Clarkson, statistically, Hammond should be dead three times over every time he goes out and May supposedly has been on "12 years borrowed time" due to the average age of motorbike fatalities being 35 years old. The arguing eventually leads to a challenge; Clarkson and Hammond invite the audience to see who dies first: Clarkson chain smoking or Hammond riding around the track as fast as he can on his Suzuki Hayabusa. Challenge: The three were set the task of designing a new motor home, to make the campervan "cool" again. To qualify, they must be equipped with sleeping accommodations, cooking facilities, and a "bog". Hammond brought a Land Rover 110 with a "shed" on the back decorated like a house, only it was merely a carrying facility for an "expandable" motor home, consisting of metal sheets for walls and clear plastic for the roof (toilet and cooking facilities were brought into the said accommodation). Clarkson turned up in a Citroën CX with a small three storey house set on top of it while May turned up in a Lotus Excel with a shuttle shaped skybox on top with a direct entry point into the car (badly placed). The challenge starts with having the trio drive to Cornwall in their new homes. May fared the best here with no problems while Hammond's decorations kept sliding off and he found a strong draft came from where he cut the cabin, leaving a gap. Clarkson was by far the worse off here as his car kept jolting around dangerously on the roads (much to the other's amusement) and almost collided with several bridges and a petrol station roof, although he was able to lower the Citroën's hydropneumatic suspension to avoid it. Hammond and May arrive at the campsite first, leaving Clarkson behind to deal with an overheated engine and to catchup later. At the campsite, Hammond "assembles" his motorhome, which amounts to nothing more than a flimsy prefabricated house with numerous rooms. Overnight winds had destroyed the roof of Hammond's pre-fab motor home, but had also toppled Clarkson's three story Citroën. They then were given a challenge to drive to a nearby beach, put on a wetsuit inside of their motor home, and go surfing. Clarkson manages to put on his wetsuit while James has a problem due to the confined space in his Lotus and the bedding area on the top. Hammond, leaving a vast majority of the siding of his motor home back at the camp site, had only an open platform on the back of the Land Rover that was open to viewing and had to utilize a childs tent to get his wetsuit on. While they attempt to surf, Clarkson notices the incoming tide, and they rush to move their cars. However, Clarkson chose to remove his wetsuit first and his motor home had to be rescued from the incoming tide. The next challenge has the trio cook a three course meal from ingredients found in a petrol station. In an ironic twist, Clarkson remarks on the Caravan chip pan fire from Season 8, only to see Hammond fighting a fire breaking out in his motor home. The trio settle for a "liquid diet" after the calamity. After leaving the campsite the next day (after making use of their toilets), they make their way to a beauty spot. While Clarkson goes to a pub, Hammond and May hatch a plan to strand Clarkson's Citroën near a cliff edge. Clarkson is blissfully unaware as his Citroën falls off a cliff behind him as he proclaims that holidaying in Great Britain does make sense. No one is declared a winner, and all lament the fact that "The Glass Fibre Menace" will go on unabated. Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Actor Andy García sets a time of 1:46.1.
#	Episode	Airdate	Guests
123	Series 15, Episode 5	18 July 2010	Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise
Challenge: Hammond races against two "Swedish Youths" on snowmobiles, down a ski slope. Hammond wins the race, which is odd compared to Top Gear tadition, but one of the snowmobilers finishes by doing a backflip. News: The trio state that it is more difficult to drive in the Summer, rather than Winter, because of distraction by women in short skirts. James suggested that women should wear Burqas to negate the situation. However Jeremy gives an account of a woman in a Burqa who tripped in front of the taxi he was riding in, showing her undergarments. Citreon name their new sales director, ironically called Charles Peugeot. The trio make jokes about his name being shared by the rival car company Review: James drives an updated version of the Bugatti Veyron called the SuperSport. James breaks the suggested top speed of the car passing 258 mph. However Pierre Henri Raphanel later broke that record at over 267 mph. Star in a Reasonably Priced Car: Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise guest, promoting their new movie "Knight and Day". Cameron initially beats Rupert Grint's time with 1:45.2. However Tom Cruise claims the record with 1:44.4, which not only sets the record as the fastest celebrity in any car for the show, but also ties with The Stig's record in the first reasonably priced car in the Suzuki Liana. Special: Jeremy notes that if he hadn't had died, Ayrton Senna would have celebrated his 50th birthday. A small documentary-like film shows detailing his racing style and life including some appearances by Mika Häkkinen and Lewis Hamilton.

External Links

• Top Gear caught in action. Embarrassing parents. - Original Youtube video used by the BBC to advertise Season 15.

Episode 2

• Exclusive - the video you didn't see on last week's show - BBC Top Gear Website video of the cut Economy segment.
• Sierra Cosworth hot lap - Jeremy Clarkson's (CossieMan2000) lap in his Ford Sierra Sapphire RS Cosworth.
• M3 lap - Richard Hammond's (MrM3MAN) "lap" in his BMW E36 M3.
• A lap of the Euro Speedway in my Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 - James May's (Mercedes1902316) lap in his Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16 Cosworth.