Series 3 of ''

Top Gear Top Gear may refer to: * "Top gear", the highest gear available in a vehicle's manual transmission Television * ''Top Gear'' (1977 TV series), a British motoring magazine programme * ''Top Gear'' (2002 TV series), a relaunched version of the or ...

'', a British motoring magazine and

factual television Factual television is a genre of non-fiction television programming that documents actual events and people. These types of programs are also described as observational documentary, fly on the wall, docudrama, and reality television. The genre ...

programme, was broadcast in the United Kingdom on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

during 2003, consisting of nine episodes between 26 October and 28 December; a compilation episode featuring the best moments of the series, titled "Best of Top Gear", was aired on 4 January 2004. This series is notable for a feature in which the presenters tested the strength of the fourth generation Toyota Hilux by putting one through several destructive tests, including submerging it underwater and setting it on fire, to see if it is invincible. This series also saw the departure of

Perry McCarthy Perry McCarthy (born 3 March 1961) is a British racing driver, who drove for the Andrea Moda team in Formula One in , though never making it into a race, before moving into sportscars, including driving in the 24 Hours of Le Mans five times b ...

's Black Stig, who was "killed off" in a stunt aboard at the end of the first episode; Ben Collins' First White Stig was introduced as the new Stig in the second episode.

Episodes

Best-of Episodes

Criticism and Controversy

Hilux Toughness Challenge

Following the broadcast of the fifth episode of the 3rd series, the BBC was contacted by the

Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

Parish in Somerset in regards to the tree that featured in the segment where Clarkson was proving the sturdiness and reliability of the

Toyota Hilux The , stylized as HiLux and historically as Hi-Lux, is a series of pickup trucks produced and marketed by the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The majority of these vehicles are sold as pickup truck or cab chassis variants, although th ...

. Up until the episode had been broadcast, villagers had presumed that the damage had been done accidentally or by vandals, until they watched what had happened on the show. After the BBC was contacted, the director of ''Top Gear'' admitted guilt and the broadcaster paid compensation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Top Gear (series 3) 2003 British television seasons Top Gear seasons