''Top Gear Korea'' () is the South Korean adaptation of BBC's popular '' Top Gear'' show. Officially announced on 21 June 2011, the show follows a similar format with the British version and season 1 included 3 presenters: singer and professional driver Kim Jin-pyo (김진표), actor Yeon Jung-hoon (연정훈), and actor Kim Kap-soo (김갑수). It premiered on cable channel XTM on 20 August 2011. The show uses a circuit in

Ansan Ansan (Hangeul: , ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul National Capital Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and so ...

city, which is not used for racing but just for tests and social events, as the main test facility and the Power Lap Time. It was built for a

Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Team ...

event that was cancelled less than three weeks before it was to have been held. Korea International Circuit, the venue of the Korean Grand Prix and Taebaek Racing Park are used for some episodes.

History

The first season aired from 20 August – 30 December 2011. Met with both positive and negative reviews, the show had a peak viewership rating of 1.28%, considered to be quite good for Korean cable. Presenters and The Stig of Top Gear Korea Season 2 from acrofan cropped

Presenters and The Stig of Top Gear Korea Season 2 from acrofan cropped

The second season aired from 8 April 2012 to 17 June 2012. Kim Kap-soo was replaced by actor Jo Min-ki (조민기). The third season (titled ''Top Gear Korea New Season'') aired from 7 October – 16 December 2012. Jo Min-ki was replaced by actor Park Jun-gyu (박준규). In one of the episodes, presenter Kim Jin-pyo drove a

Chevrolet Spark The Chevrolet Spark ( ko, 쉐보레 스파크, translit=) is a city car manufactured by General Motors's subsidiary GM Korea from 1998 to 2022. The vehicle was initially developed by Daewoo and was introduced in 1998 as the Daewoo Matiz ( ko, ...

through a 360-degree vertical loop. A serious incident occurred during filming of the fourth season, in which a helicopter crashed into the

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...

desert. As part of a racing sequence between a Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 and a

Bell AH-1 Cobra The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a single-engined attack helicopter developed and manufactured by the American rotorcraft manufacturer Bell Helicopter. A member of the prolific Huey family, the AH-1 is also referred to as the HueyCobra or Snake. The ...

helicopter, the car and the helicopter would race alongside each other to the finish line. During a practice run, as they reached the finish line, the aircraft wheeled around 180° before impacting the ground. Nobody was seriously injured. The BBC posted the video online, both in its unaltered state and open-captioned in English, the show is part of their franchise and is co-produced by the company.

Guests

Guests are featured each week in the ''Star Lap Time'' segment, akin to Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. The car driven in this segment is the

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various namepla ...

Season One

Season Two

Season Three

Season Four

References

External links

* http://program.tving.com/xtm/topgearkorea {{Top Gear

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republi ...

South Korean variety television shows South Korean television series based on British television series Korean-language television shows 2011 South Korean television series debuts