Top Gear Australia

Top Gear Australia
Company type	Television series
Industry	Television entertainment
Founded	September 29, 2008; 18 years ago
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Area served	Australia
Products	Automotive reality TV show, magazine edition

Top Gear Australia is an Australian automotive reality TV show adapted from the British BBC series Top Gear. It first aired on SBS One on 29 September 2008. Due to favorable ratings and strong advertiser interest, a second season followed, premiering on 11 May 2009. After securing UK broadcast rights in 2009, the Nine Network introduced its own version in September 2010. The program returned for a fourth season in 2011 but was discontinued on 28 April 2012 because of declining viewership. In 2024, the series was revived with an eight-episode fifth season on Paramount+, featuring a new presenting team.

The title Top Gear Australia also applies to a licensed edition of the British Top Gear magazine, produced by ACP Magazines (Australian Consolidated Press), which includes contributions from journalists such as Steven Corby and Craig Jamieson.

In October 2023, BBC Studios Australia announced the show's revival with hosts Blair "Moog" Joscelyne, Beau Ryan, and Jonathan LaPaglia leading an eight-episode fifth season set to premiere on 17 May 2024 via Paramount+. The series made its free-to-air debut on Network 10 and 10Play on 17 October 2024.

Presenters

An open casting call by SBS attracted over 4,000 hopefuls for presenter roles. The original hosting lineup consisted of cartoonist and motoring columnist Warren Brown, MotoGP commentator Charlie Cox, and professional race driver and instructor Steve Pizzati.

Promotional efforts highlighted the presence of The Stig's "Australian cousin," although the debut episode introduced the character simply as "The Stig." Steve Pizzati suggested giving the driver an Australian nickname such as "Stiggo," but this idea was rejected. By season two, it was clarified that Top Gear Australia's Stig is a separate entity from the UK version.

On 19 December 2008, Charlie Cox departed due to scheduling conflicts. SBS subsequently named trumpeter James Morrison, who had guest-starred in episode six, as his replacement for the second season.

Prior to season three, speculation connected former cricketer Shane Warne and original UK host Jeremy Clarkson to the show; however, Clarkson’s involvement was denied. On 20 June 2010, actor-comedian Shane Jacobson and Top Gear Australia magazine editor Ewen Page joined returning host Steve Pizzati for the Nine Network relaunch. The third season premiered on 28 September 2010 with a special 75-minute episode titled Top Gear Australia: Ashes Special, featuring challenges pitting Australian hosts against their UK counterparts. The UK team emerged victorious after substituting professional racer for James May in the final event.

In October 2023, it was confirmed that hosts Blair "Moog" Joscelyne, Beau Ryan, and Jonathan LaPaglia would lead the revived fifth season debuting on Paramount+ on 17 May 2024.

Production

Studio segments were filmed at Bankstown Airport in Sydney, where Hangar Building 581 housed a replica of the UK studio originally located at Dunsfold Park. The power lap and "Star in a Bog Standard Car" features were shot at Camden Airport, utilizing its runways and taxiways as a test circuit.

The series employs the same theme tune as its British counterpart—a rendition of "Jessica" by The Allman Brothers Band.

Episodes

List of Top Gear Australia episodes

Segments

Top Gear Australia includes segments modeled after those in the BBC original, such as build challenges and vehicle evaluations, with measurements presented in metric units and pricing displayed in Australian dollars.

Power Lap

Originally, the test track at Camden Airport featured nine corners arranged in an anti-clockwise direction. Season three introduced a redesigned 2.3 km figure-eight layout comprising twelve corners running clockwise. The start/finish line was relocated to the end of the Back Straight. Key corners include The Blowout, Brocky's Corner, The Flipper, The Question Mark hairpin, and the Bus Stop.

Lap times

1:06.92 – Porsche 997 GT2
1:07.06 – Nissan GT-R
1:07.69 – Lamborghini Murcielago LP640
1:08.80 – Ford GT RHD001 (850 hp)
1:08.88 – Lotus 2-Eleven
1:09.46 – Nissan GT-R (speed limited to 180 km/h)*
1:10.44 – Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Series
1:10.97 – Elfin T5
1:11.18 – Audi RS6 Avant
1:11.69 – Porsche 997 Carrera S PDK
1:11.82 – Maserati GranTurismo S
1:11.87 – Audi R8 (wet conditions)
1:12.00 – Walkinshaw Performance HSV Clubsport (20-inch wheels)
1:12.28 – Lotus Elise
1:12.56 – HSV W427
1:12.88 – Elfin MS8 Streamliner
1:13.40 – BMW M3
1:13.53 – HSV Clubsport R8 (6.2L) wagon
1:13.60 – HSV Clubsport R8 (6.2L)
1:13.63 – Nissan 370Z
1:13.72 – Mercedes-Benz CLS 63 AMG
1:14.08 – Mercedes-Benz SL 63 AMG
1:14.22 – Jaguar XF SV8 Supercharged
1:14.28 – Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X
1:14.90 – BMW 135i Coupé
1:15.19 – Walkinshaw Performance HSV Clubsport (22-inch wheels)
1:15.31 – BMW X6 xDrive50i
1:20.41 – Ford FG Falcon XT
1:22.06 – Holden VE Commodore Omega
1:22.53 – Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III**
1:28.41 – Porsche Cayenne Turbo
1:44.66 – Hummer H2 Stretch Limousine
2:31.46 – Ford Model T***

* Nissan GT-R was restricted to a top speed of 180 km/h during Season One but unrestricted in Season Two.

** Despite lower overall ranking, Pizzati rated it highly.

*** Ford Model T lap was presented using black-and-white silent film style.

New Track Lap Times

1:18.98 – Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon V8 Supercar
1:21.72 – Nissan GT-R (2012 facelift)
1:24.00 – Lamborghini Gallardo LP550-2
1:25.20 – Audi R8 V10 Spyder
1:26.12 – Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1
1:28.41 – Porsche Cayenne Turbo
1:29.09 – Audi S4
1:29.53 – BMW X5 M
1:30.29 – Holden Dealer Team Blue Meanie
1:32.40 – Volvo S60R T6
1:33.52 – FPV Ford Falcon GT335
1:35.90 – Renault Clio RS

Star in a Bog Standard Car

The segment analogous to the BBC's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car was titled "Star in a Bog Standard Car." During seasons one and two on SBS, participants drove a Proton Satria Neo; for seasons three onward on Nine Network, a used Ford XG Falcon ute from circa1995 was employed.

Seasons One & Two: Proton Satria Neo

1:26.31 – Gyton Grantley
1:26.46 – James Morrison*
1:26.69 – Brendan Jones
1:26.75 – Steve Bisley
1:27.13 – Ian Moss
1:27.44 – Shannon Noll (wet conditions)
1:27.63 – Gary Sweet
1:28.69 – Leisel Jones
1:31.10 – Jack Thompson
1:31.22 – Claudia Karvan
1:31.75 – Amanda Keller (first time driving manual)
1:34.19 – Vince Colosimo
1:37.10 – Anh Do (first time driving manual)
1:37.41 – Julia Zemiro (first time driving manual)
1:38.56 – H.G Nelson (Greig Pickhaver)

* Morrison was removed from this leaderboard after becoming a presenter.

Race drivers

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External links