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''Top Gear Australia'' was an Australian
motoring Motoring may refer to: * ''Motoring'' (film), a 1927 British comedy film * Motoring (TV series), a Canadian automotive television program (1988 to present) * 310 Motoring, an automotive customization garage based in Los Angeles, California * Mot ...
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
series, based on the British
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series ''
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 ...
''. The programme first premiered on
SBS One SBS is a national public television network in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally. In 2018, SBS had a 7.7% audience share. As of 2022, SBS is the lowe ...
on 29 September 2008. A second season was ordered following the high ratings for the premiere episode and positive comments from advertisers, and the second season began broadcasting from 11 May 2009. After acquiring the rights to broadcast the UK version in 2009, the Nine Network started airing their own version of ''Top Gear Australia'' in September 2010. ''Top Gear Australia'' returned for a fourth season in 2011. The show was cancelled on 28 April 2012 due to declining ratings. ''Top Gear Australia'' is also the name of a licensed version of the British ''Top Gear'' magazine. The Australian magazine is produced by ACP Magazines (Australian Consolidated Press). The magazine features articles from many writers including Steven Corby, Craig Jamieson, Bill Mckinnon, James Stanford, Ben Smithurst, Jason Barlow, Sam Phillip, Ollie Marriage, Dan Read and Paul Horrell.


Presenters

Prior to filming SBS made an open casting call for presenters, resulting in over 4000 applications. The original hosts chosen for ''Top Gear Australia'' were cartoonist and motoring columnist Warren Brown, MotoGP commentator
Charlie Cox Charlie Thomas Cox (born 15 December 1982) is an English actor. He is known for portraying Matt Murdock / Daredevil in several projects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, including lead roles in the television series ''Daredevil'' (201 ...
, and race driver / driving instructor Steve Pizzati. Marketing prior to the first episode stated that the presenters would be joined by
The Stig The Stig is a character from the British motoring television show '' Top Gear''. Created by former ''Top Gear'' presenter Jeremy Clarkson and producer Andy Wilman, the character is a play on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, ...
's "Australian cousin", but in the first episode the driver was introduced as just "The Stig". Steve Pizzati suggested that The Stig have an "Australian" name, such as "Stiggo", but the other presenters refused. The season 2 opener clarified that ''Top Gear Australia''s Stig is not intended to be the same Stig from the UK series. On 19 December 2008, Charlie Cox announced he was leaving the program as he felt he was unable to offer enough time to the show. SBS subsequently announced that
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
er James Morrison would be his replacement, joining Warren and Steve for season two. Morrison had previously appeared as a guest in the sixth episode. For the third season, early reports claimed that former Australian cricketer
Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australi ...
would take over the hosting of the show alongside original ''Top Gear'' host
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
, although the BBC ultimately ruled out Clarkson's involvement in the Australian version. On 20 June 2010, it was announced that actor and comedian
Shane Jacobson Shane Jacobson (born 18 March 1970) is an Australian actor, director, writer, and comedian, best known as the "Dunny Man" for his performances as the eponymous character Kenny Smyth, a plumber working for a portable toilet rental company, in the ...
and ''Top Gear Australia'' magazine editor
Ewen Page Ewen Page was editor-in-chief of '' Top Gear Australia magazine'' and was thTop Gear official website Page has a media career spanning 28 years and has edited a variety of Australian car magazines, from '' Street Machine'' to ''Wheels'', '' Moto ...
would join a returning Steve Pizzati to present the show for the Nine Network, which premièred on 28 September 2010 with a 75-minute
The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, its first ...
special, in which the hosts faced off against their Top Gear UK counterparts in a series of motoring-related challenges. The UK presenters won after cheating in the final challenge by using a professional race driver instead of
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
.


Production

Mirroring the UK series, the studio segments were recorded at
Bankstown Airport Bankstown Airport is an airport and business park located in the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, approximately from the Sydney Central Business District (CBD), Australia and west of Sydney Airport. It is situated on of land and has three pa ...
in Sydney. An exact copy of the UK studio at Dunsfold Park was constructed in a hangar (Hangar Building 581). The power laps and "Star in a Bog Standard Car" were recorded at Camden Airport with parts of the runways and taxiways used as a test track. ''Top Gear Australia'' uses the same theme music as the UK series, a version of
The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guita ...
's " Jessica".


Episodes


Segments

''Top Gear Australia'' features segments that mirror those seen on the BBC series, including build challenges and test drives. A significant difference is that speeds and power are quoted in
metric units Metric units are units based on the metre, gram or second and decimal (power of ten) multiples or sub-multiples of these. The most widely used examples are the units of the International System of Units (SI). By extension they include units of e ...
and prices are quoted in
Australian dollar The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Isl ...
s.


Power Lap

A test track around Camden Airport is used for power laps. The initial track used in the first two seasons consisted of nine corners running in an
anti-clockwise Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite s ...
direction. The first corner was The Question Mark followed by Clarkson Corner then The Crest and Turn 4 which was followed by the Main Straight before coming to a series of Chicanes then 06 Corner (named after the direction of the runway) then the Short Left Hander and the Bus Stop Entry and Exit followed by the finish line. At the start of Season 3, Top Gear Australia revealed a new test track. Still situated at Camden Airport, the new course built upon the old one by adding a new section, thus looping into a figure of eight. It contains twelve corners, a total length of 2.3 km and moves the Start/Finish line from between the Bus Stop and The Question Mark to the end of the Back Straight, ahead of the Bus Stop. The direction of the course is now clockwise, turning the main runway into the first straight. The first corner leads into a Hammerhead-like corner called The Blowout, followed by another straight which crest a small hill into a couple of Left Handers, turns 3 and 4. Exiting turn 4 leads back to the main runway and turn 5, Brocky's Corner. The track then crosses over The Blowout into a right then left hander called The Flipper. The next turn is the Question Mark hairpin from the old track. Finally, after a short straight, the course reaches the signature Bus Stop which is then followed by two right hand corners (including the old 06 Corner) back into the Start/Finish.


Lap times

:* The
Nissan GT-R The Nissan GT-R (Japanese: 日産・GT-R, ''Nissan GT-R''), is a high-performance sports car and grand tourer produced by Nissan, unveiled in 2007. It is the successor to the Skyline GT-R, a high performance variant of the Nissan Skyline. Alt ...
was listed as 180 km/h speed limited for its run in Episode 1 of Season 1, it was subsequently run without the limiter in Episode 7 of Season 2. :** Pizzati placed it at the top of the board despite being in the bottom three. :*** In keeping with the theme of the car, the Ford Model T's Power Lap was presented in a black-and-white
silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
format. New Track Lap Times


Star in a Bog Standard Car

The Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment is mirrored with the name "Star in a Bog Standard Car". It is identical in execution. The car used in the first two seasons on SBS was a Proton Satria Neo, the third season on Nine used a 2nd hand
Ford XG Falcon The Ford Falcon (XG) is a range of commercial vehicles which was manufactured by Ford Australia from 1993 to 1996. It was derived from the Ford Falcon (XF) full-size car. Introduction The XG Falcon was introduced in March 1993 as a facelift of ...
ute, manufactured in 1995.


Lap Times


=Season 1 and 2: Proton Satria Neo

= :* Morrison was removed from the board after he became a host.


Race drivers


=Season 3 and 4: Ford Falcon Ute

=


What Were They Thinking?

In the first season, the presenters discuss "stupid" ideas in motoring history and put pictures of them on a board. The board was later destroyed in the first episode of the second season when the shark cage Mini Moke was dropped on top of it.
* Episode 1:
Maybach 57S The Maybach 57 (chassis no. W240) and 62 (chassis no. V240) were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler AG (now Mercedes-Benz Group AG). They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept ...
, Mitsubishi Legnum,
Lightburn Zeta Zeta is a marque of automobile which was produced in Australia from 1963 to 1965 by South Australian manufacturing company Lightburn & Co. An established manufacturer of cement mixers and washing machines, Lightburn and Co. built the cars in ...
* Episode 2:
Leyland Force 7 Leyland may refer to: Places * Leyland, Lancashire, an English town ** Leyland Hundred, an hundred of Lancashire, England * Leyland, Alberta, a community in Canada Companies * Leyland Line, a shipping company Automotive manufacturers * Le ...
,
Rinspeed Rinspeed Inc. is a Swiss concept car builder and mobility visionary. Since 1991, they have also designed exotic concepts and special vehicles for the CES in Las Vegas, the Geneva Motor Show and other car shows each year, but do not enter into pro ...
sQuba The sQuba, developed by Swiss company Rinspeed, is the world's first car that can be driven both on land and under water. The original idea by Rinspeed founder and CEO Frank M. Rinderknecht was inspired by the 1977 James Bond film '' The Spy Who ...
, Valiant Charger E38 * Episode 3: Volvo 262 Coupé, Holden VC Commodore Starfire,
Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...
and Pizzati converting a
Smart Smart or SMART may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Smart'' (Hey! Say! JUMP album), 2014 * Smart (Hotels.com), former mascot of Hotels.com * ''Smart'' (Sleeper album), 1995 debut album by Sleeper * '' SMart'', a children's television se ...
into a
hearse A hearse is a large vehicle, originally a horse carriage but later with the introduction of motor vehicles, a car, used to carry the body of a deceased person in a coffin at a funeral, wake, or memorial service. They range from deliberately a ...
* Episode 4:
Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following t ...
ute, Ferrari 456 GT Venice * Episode 5:
Renault Vel Satis The Renault Vel Satis is an executive car that was produced by the French manufacturer Renault, launched at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show to replace the already discontinued Safrane. It was previously revealed as a concept car in 1998, at the Paris ...
, SsangYong Stavic, Ford Festiva * Episode 6: Parking police, Lotus Elan Series 2 * Episode 7:
Wheels magazine ''Wheels'' is an Australian automotive magazine owned by Are Media. The publication is well-renowned by Australian car enthusiasts. Its main competitor within the Australian car magazine market is ''Motor'', though ''Wheels'' and ''Motor'' are ...
's selections for
Car of the Year Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards. The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the ...
: Renault 12, Mitsubishi Nimbus, withholding the award on three occasions,
Holden Camira The Holden Camira is a mid-size car that was produced by Holden between 1982 and 1989. It was Holden's version of GM's J-body family of cars—GM's third "global" car platform. The name "Camira" comes from an Aboriginal word meaning "wind." ...
and a split decision in 1991 between the
Honda NSX The Honda NSX, marketed in North America as the Acura NSX, is a two-seat, mid-engined coupe sports car manufactured by Honda. The origins of the NSX trace back to 1984, with the HP-X (Honda Pininfarina eXperimental) concept, which was a mid-eng ...
and the
Nissan Pulsar The is a line of automobiles produced by the Japanese automaker Nissan from 1978 until 2000, when it was replaced by the Nissan Bluebird Sylphy in the Japanese market. Between 2000 and 2005, the name "Pulsar" has been used in Australia and New ...
* Episode 8: The people of Babylon for the invention of
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...
s.
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
,
James May James Daniel May (born 16 January 1963) is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter of the motoring programme '' Top Gear'' alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond from 2003 until 2015. He also ...
and Richard Hammond because "they let three turkeys on the other side of the planet make a version of their show"
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 ...
as quoted by Steve Pizzati in the programme.


Old car commercials

Every episode in the second season of Top Gear Australia, an old car commercial was shown.
* Episode 1: Holden, "Football, Meat pies, Kangaroos and Holden cars" * Episode 2:
Chrysler Charger Charger or Chargers may refer to: * Charger (table setting), decorative plates used to fancify a place setting * Battery charger, a device used to put energy into a cell or battery * Capacitor charger, typically a high voltage DC power supply d ...
, "Hey Charger!" * Episode 3:
Chrysler Sigma The Chrysler Sigma is a version of the Mitsubishi Galant automobile that was built by Chrysler Australia in Adelaide, South Australia from 1977. When Mitsubishi Motors Australia (MMAL) took over Chrysler Australia's manufacturing facilities in 19 ...
, "It's a sensation" also known as "New from Japan" * Episode 4: Holden, "New Turbo-Smooth" * Episode 5: Ford Escort, "It's a little gas!" * Episode 6:
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, "It's the going thing" * Episode 7: Holden, "New
Torana ''Torana'' ( sa, तोरण; '' awr-uh-nuh') is a free-standing ornamental or arched gateway for ceremonial purposes in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain architecture of the Indian subcontinent. Toranas can also be widely seen in Southeast Asia and ...
" * Episode 8:
Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Cortina" (6 Cylinder)


Stunts

Imitating its BBC counterpart, the show includes features where the hosts undertake various stunts some of which may antagonise members of the public. In October 2008 it was reported that Pizzati and Brown caused a
traffic jam Traffic congestion is a condition in transport that is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. Traffic congestion on urban road networks has increased substantially since the 1950s. When traffic de ...
in
Toorak, Victoria Toorak () is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area, on Boonwurrung Land. Toorak recorded a population of 12,817 at the 20 ...
when they drove a
tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...
through the Melbourne suburb – a reference to the colloquial expression "
Toorak Tractor A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
", Australian
slang Slang is vocabulary (words, phrases, and linguistic usages) of an informal register, common in spoken conversation but avoided in formal writing. It also sometimes refers to the language generally exclusive to the members of particular in-g ...
for luxury
SUV A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definiti ...
s. The stunt featured in episode 5 of series 1, which aired on 27 October 2008.


V8 to the Rescue

In series three, a new segment called V8 to the Rescue, was introduced. It saw the presenters attempt to solve the world's problems by fitting a V8 engine to an everyday item, including a see-saw and cricket bowler. The segment appeared in every episode of the fourth series at the end of the episode. * Series 3, Episode 1: Life-saving device * Series 4, Episode 1: Cricket bowling machine * Series 4, Episode 2: Kebab cooker * Series 4, Episode 3: See-saw


Reception

Michael Idato of the '' Sydney Morning Herald'' described the first episode as "unsteady on some of the corners" and "a little too tricked up for its own good", noting "a distinct lack of detail, presumably to position the show away from car geeks". Stuart Martin, motoring writer for the Adelaide ''
Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
'' said a franchise was "always going to have a tough job living up to the UK original" but noted that ''
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 ...
'' was not an overnight success and urged viewers to "give the locals a chance to find their niche". In retrospect Philip King said that the first season "received lukewarm reviews and couldn't get close to the ratings success of the original". The first episode debuted with an audience of 933,000 viewers, SBS's highest ever ratings for a locally produced television programme. ''Top Gear Australia'' came third in its time slot and beat an elimination episode of '' Australian Idol''. The figure was slightly higher than any season premiere of the BBC version aired on SBS, up until that date. However, subsequent episodes failed to match this figure, and the first season averaged around 650,000 viewers an episode. In comparison, viewing figures for the previous three ''Top Gear UK'' episodes shown in the same timeslot averaged around 903,000 viewers, though during this period ''Top Gear Australia'' still remained the highest rating program on SBS.TV Tonight: Ratings Archive
/ref> Series one has since been repeated on SBS Two. For the second series SBS attempted to address some of the criticism brought up against the first series. The second series of the show debuted with 689,000 viewers, averaging 576,500 viewers across the series against the high rating '' MasterChef Australia''. Ratings dropped throughout the second series, leading to speculation that SBS would not buy a third series.
Jeremy Clarkson Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist, game show host and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for the motoring programmes '' Top Gear'' and '' The Grand Tour'' alongside R ...
has commented on the Australian version, saying "We're loving it, even though your funny accents make you hard to understand". The third series premiered on 28 September 2010 on the Nine Network, pulling in 1,538,000 viewers, making it the second most watched television programme that day. The 75-minute ''The Ashes'' special, which featured the ''Top Gear UK'' presenters facing against the Australian presenters in a series of challenges, also won its timeslot against competing programmes. The Nine Network renewed the series for a 4th season in 2011 before being cancelled after three of the six recorded episodes aired due to declining ratings. The remaining unaired episodes were eventually burnt-off on Nine's subchannel Go! in April 2012.


Episodes


Magazine

An Australian version of ''Top Gear'' magazine titled ''
Top Gear Australia ''Top Gear Australia'' was an Australian motoring reality television series, based on the British BBC series '' Top Gear''. The programme first premiered on SBS One on 29 September 2008. A second season was ordered following the high ratings ...
'' (published by Park Publishing, a partnership between ACP Magazines and the BBC) was launched in June 2008 and features an amalgam of original Australian articles together with licensed content from the British and other international versions of the magazine.


DVD release

The third series of Top Gear Australia was released on 3 March 2011, and contained the first three episodes from the series, as well as The Ashes Special. Series four was released on 1 March 2012, and also contained episode four from the third series.


Unaired Episodes

Channel 9 had not shown the final episode of the third series, or the final three episodes from the fourth. The remaining episodes from series four began to be shown in April 2012 on GO!. The episode from series three was going to be included in the first DVD release, but was removed at the last minute. Images from this episode appear on the case and discs, and the episode is included in the running time. All of the unaired episodes were included in the second DVD release.


International Broadcast

Every episode of Top Gear Australia has been broadcast in New Zealand on
Prime A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...
, excluding the final series. It does not broadcast on BBC knowledge (like Top Gear UK)


References


External links


Official site
*
Top Gear Australia magazine site
{{Top Gear, state=autocollapse Television shows set in New South Wales Australian television series based on British television series 2008 Australian television series debuts 2000s Australian reality television series 2010s Australian reality television series 2012 Australian television series endings Special Broadcasting Service original programming Nine Network original programming English-language television shows Television series by Freehand Productions