Top Gear challenges is a segment of the Top Gear television programme where the presenters are tasked by the producers, or each other, to prove or accomplish various tasks related to vehicles.
Novelty/stunt challenges The novelty challenges and short stunt films in the programme are typically based on absurd premises, such as jumping a bus over motorcycles (instead of the more typical scenario of a motorcycle jumping over buses), or a nun driving a monster truck. These features became less prominent over the course of the programme (they were much more regular during the first four series); they were superseded in later series by the "How hard can it be?" and Cheap car challenges, which are much larger in scope.
How fast do you have to drive to be undetected by a speed camera? Series One, Episode One How many motorcycles can a double-decker bus jump over? Series One, Episode Two Can Grannies do doughnuts? Series One, Episode Three Can you make an 'average' car into a 007/Bond car, for less than £300? Series One, Episode Five Can Grannies do handbrake turns? Series One, Episode Six What is Britain's fastest faith? Series One, Episode Seven & Ten Who is Britain's fastest white van man? Series One, Episode Eight Lotus give a Lada Riva a £100,000 makeover Series One, Episode Eight How much faster will a car go if you strip it to save weight? Series One, Episode Nine What to do with the worst car of all time, the 1985 Nissan Sunny? Series Two, Episode One What is Britain's fastest political party? Series Two, Episode Two What country makes the fastest supercar? Series Two, Episode Three Can Ford's World Rally Championship pit team dismantle and rebuild a rally car faster than four women can get ready for a night out? Series Two, Episode Five May oversees an attempt at the land-speed record for a caravan Series Two, Episode Six A "race for the universe": Sci-Fi characters race around the Top Gear track Series Two, Episode Eight Can The Stig achieve 100 mph on the 200m runway of HMS Invincible? Series Three, Episode One How many caravans can a 1987 Volvo 240 jump over? Series Three, Episode Two What is the best wig for driving fast in an open top convertible? Series Three, Episode Five Which professor can do the best burn-out? Series Three, Episode Seven Can a car beat a train to the South of France? Series Four, Episode One Can a nun drive a monster truck? Series Four, Episode Two Hammond and May play darts using real cars Series Four, Episode Four Can a Ford Sportka beat a racing pigeon? Series Four, Episode Four Hammond makes fun of motorists that block yellow boxes Series Four, Episode Eight Is the jet from a 747 enough to blow a car over? Series Four, Episode Eight Can you parachute into a moving car? Series Four, Episode Nine Olympic Games for cars: Long Jump Series Four, Episode Ten How many bouncy castles can an ice cream van jump? Series Five, Episode One Hammond and May play conkers with caravans Series Five, Episode Four Historic People Carrier Racing Championship Series Five, Episode Five Can a stretch limo jump over a wedding party? Series Six, Episode Four Hammond oversees an attempt at the world record for the number of complete sideways rolls in a car Series Six, Episode Nine Hammond and May play with life-size radio control cars made from real cars Series Seven, Episode Two The Team try to get a 1986 Mini to beat a skier down a ski slope at Lillehammer Winter Olympic Special Hammond oversees an attempt by the Stig at the nonexistent indoor world speed record Series Eight, Episode Six Motorhome Racing Series Ten, Episode Six Hammond converts a G-Wiz into a full-sized remote-controlled car Series Ten, Episode Ten May oversees an attempt by Top Gear Stuntman at the nonexistent world record for car jumping in reverse Series Eleven, Episode One May oversees an attempt by Top Gear Stuntman to replicate a corkscrew car jump, as featured in The Man with the Golden Gun Series Eleven, Episode Two The Top Gear team (Britain) take on the hosts of D MOTOR (Germany) in a series of car challenges to decide the best motoring country Series Eleven, Episode Six Bus Racing Series Twelve, Episode Five Hammond oversees an attempt by Top Gear Stuntman to beat rival show Fifth Gear's distance record for jumping a car while towing a caravan Series Twelve, Episode Seven Clarkson plays British Bulldog with the British Army Series Thirteen, Episode Four Airport vehicle racing Series Fourteen, Episode Four Clarkson drives a 1994 Reliant Robin from Sheffield to Rotherham (constantly flipping over) Series Fifteen, Episode One Top Gear UK vs Top Gear Australia Series Sixteen, Episode Two World Taxi Racing Championship Series Twenty, Episode Two
Challenge reviews A common theme on Top Gear combines standard road tests and opinions with an unusual circumstance, or with a challenge to demonstrate a notable vehicle characteristic.
Drive until you get bored/Test: enjoyable travel. Jeremy Clarkson claimed that Jaguars "ease the burden of travel" and devised a test for the Jaguar XJ to see how far he could drive one before he got bored. He ran out of country before he got bored. Series Two, Episode Four Lap of the M25/Test: fuel economy. Clarkson drove a lap of the M25 in a diesel Volkswagen Lupo, while another driver used the petrol version to see which would achieve greater fuel efficiency. Clarkson was allowed to spend money he saved over the petrol version on a gift at South Mimms services. He chose a small gold model of a cockerel, which reappeared in later series as "The Golden Cock"—the award given to the presenter who had made the most embarrassing mistake of the year. Series Three, Episode One Toyota Hilux destruction/Test: toughness. Clarkson and James May used various methods in an attempt to destroy a 1988 Toyota Hilux, which included driving it into a tree that belonged to Churchill Parish, Somerset. The villagers presumed that the damage had been accidental or vandalism until the Top Gear episode was broadcast. After the BBC was contacted, the director of Top Gear admitted guilt and the broadcaster paid compensation. Other tests on the Hilux included leaving it in the ocean, slamming it with a wrecking ball, setting the cabin on fire and finally having it hoisted to the roof of a tower block that was subsequently blown up. The heavily damaged (but still driveable) Hilux used to stand on a plinth in the Top Gear studio from 2004 to 2016. Series Three, Episodes Five & Six Helicopter gunship evasion/Test: handling. Clarkson tried to avoid being caught in missile lock from a Westland WAH-64D Apache attack helicopter while driving a Lotus Exige. Series Four, Episode One London to Edinburgh and back again on a single tank of fuel/Test: fuel economy. Clarkson attempted to drive a 4.0 V8 diesel Audi A8 on a single tank of fuel. Series Four, Episode Four Minicab road testing/Test: toughness and practicality. Richard Hammond and May worked as minicab drivers in order to subject a Renault Scenic and Ford C-MAX to a year's worth of hard abuse in one evening. Series Four, Episode Seven Off-road up a mountain/Test: off-road ability. Clarkson tried to drive a Land Rover Discovery from the beach to the top of Cnoc an Fhreiceadain in Scotland, completely off-road. It was heavily criticised by environmentalists for the damage done by the vehicle's tyres. Clarkson left the mountain by helicopter with the Discovery's keys in his pocket, which caused a delay in its removal from the hill. Series Five, Episode Three 24 hours in a car/Test: comfort. Hammond and May spent 24 hours in a Smart Forfour to assess the marketing claim that the car is "designed like a lounge." Series Five, Episode Four Tank evasion/Test: off-road ability. Clarkson investigated whether a Challenger 2 tank could lock its main cannon on to a Range Rover Sport. Series Six, Episode One Car Football/Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, played a football match using Toyota Aygos. Series Six, Episode One Sniper evasion/Test: handling. Clarkson drove around a deserted village (British Army training facility at STANTA, Norfolk) in a Mercedes-Benz SLK55 AMG and a 2005 Porsche Boxster S, trying to evade snipers of the Irish Guards. Series Six, Episode Five Road Test Russian Roulette/Test: random road testing. Hammond and May worked as ScooterMen in order to road test as many randomly selected cars as possible. They did not know what they would be road-testing and they had to do it in the presence of the cars' owners. Series Six, Episode Nine Supercars/Superbridge/Test: illustrate the point of supercars. The trio took three supercars (a Ford GT, a Ferrari F430 Spider and a Pagani Zonda S) on a road trip to the recently opened Millau Viaduct via Paris. Series Seven, Episode Three Car Ice Hockey/Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, played an ice hockey match using Suzuki Swifts, while Clarkson acted as referee. Winter Olympics Special Horse racing camera platform/Test: smooth ride. Clarkson reviewed the Citroën C6 and put it to work as a mobile camera platform covering a horse race. Series Eight, Episode Five Car Football 2/Test: toughness and handling. Hammond and May, along with a selection of professional drivers, staged another football match using a Toyota Aygos against a new contender, the Volkswagen Fox. Series Eight, Episode Five VIP chauffeur/Test: luxury. In Japan, May road tested the Mitsuoka Orochi and Galue, and used the Galue to chauffeur a Sumo wrestler and his manager to a tournament as a way to test if the car is "Japan's Rolls-Royce." Series Eleven, Episode Six Best Hot Hatchback for doing various things in/Test: Fun and practicality. In order to determine which hot hatchback was the best, the trio were told to bring one to the Italian city of Lucca. Clarkson brought a Citroën DS3 Racing, May a 2010 Renaultsport Clio Cup and Hammond a 2011 Fiat 500 Abarth. Series Seventeen, Episode Two GT car on a WRC stage/Test: 4WD system. May takes a Bentley Continental GT to a Welsh stage of the World Rally Championship and acts as Kris Meeke's co-driver. Series Nineteen, Episode One Car and tablecloth/Test: Speed. The Stig tries to use a Nissan GT-R to pull a tablecloth off a table without smashing any of the ornaments and cutlery. Series Twenty-One, Episode Four
How hard can it be? A recurring feature in the programme involves the hosts undertaking a number of bizarre challenges involving cars. The segments involving the challenges are usually preceded by Clarkson, though sometimes Hammond or May, asking the audience and viewers: "How hard can it be?"
Lap the Nürburgring in less than 10 minutes... in a diesel Series Five, Episode Five
Clarkson took a diesel Jaguar S-Type to the Nürburgring with the aim of completing a lap in less than 10 minutes. Clarkson was being coached by Sabine Schmitz, a noted German racer. After consecutive unsuccessful tries, Clarkson managed to lap the Nürburgring in 9 minutes and 59 seconds, with Clarkson celebrating enthusiastically and showing the results proudly to his coach. Schmitz was still unimpressed, proclaiming that she could do that time in a van, and then lapped the Jaguar 47 seconds faster than Clarkson's time.
Lap the Nürburgring in less than 9 minutes and 59 seconds... in a van Series Six, Episode Seven