Top Gear - Season 12

Top Gear - Season 12

Season 12

The 12th series of Top Gear contained eight episodes, and premiered on 2 November 2008, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. Clarkson was injured while filming the series, after crashing a lorry through a brick wall at 56 mph in the first episode's HGV challenge. The running joke regarding the Dacia Sandero continues from series 11, with the alteration that Clarkson is now the one making the announcement with feigned enthusiasm, to utter indifference from May. Each news segment also features one of the hosts wearing something unusual, like slippers or a garishly patterned shirt. The only reference to this is that one of the other hosts will, at some point in the segment, ask if they're wearing it for a bet. The Stig, instead of listening to music during power laps, now listens to morse code. The final episode, the "Top Gear: Vietnam Special", aired two weeks after the rest of the series as part of the BBC's Christmas line-up. The series was followed by four "Best Of Top Gear" specials, charting the best moments from Series 11 and 12.
Network
Episodes8
DatesNov 2, 2008 - Dec 28, 2008
Previous SeasonNext Season

Episodes

Lorries
Season 12Episode 160 min

Lorries

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May decide to buy second-hand lorries despite knowing almost nothing about the world of trucks, and then set about discovering how easy it is to be an HGV driver. Jeremy is also on the test track with a scary Porsche 911, a tame Lamborghini Gallardo and a surprisingly talented Labrador. And chat show legend Michael Parkinson is the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.

Nov 2, 2008
Muscle Cars
Season 12Episode 260 min

Muscle Cars

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travel to the US to take three new generation muscle cars on an epic road trip from San Francisco to the heart of Utah. And after the excitement of their last American road trip, this time they do their best to avoid letting a mob of angry locals pelt them with rocks. Meanwhile, back in the UK Jeremy tests the feisty new Fiat 500 Abarth and pop idol Will Young is the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car.

Nov 9, 2008
Second-Hand Sports Saloon
Season 12Episode 360 min

Second-Hand Sports Saloon

Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take on the challenge of making an ordinary second-hand car lap the test track as fast as a brand-new, purpose-built sports saloon. James travels to the frozen north and enlists the help of F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen in a quest to discover why the Finns are such good racing drivers. Meanwhile Richard hammers around the track in the outlandish Veritas sports car and Mark Wahlberg is the Hollywood Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Nov 16, 2008
Economy Run
Season 12Episode 460 min

Economy Run

James May, tackling his first-ever power test in the pleasantly brisk Pagani Zonda. And for real speed nuts, there's another first as the Stig finally gets to set a lap time in the most amazing-car-in-the-world Bugatti Veyron. Can it beat the current record holder, the absurdly named Gumpert Apollo?

Nov 23, 2008
40th Birthday Ferrari Daytona
Season 12Episode 560 min

40th Birthday Ferrari Daytona

Richard Hammond celebrates the 40th birthday of the iconic Ferrari Daytona by taking one back to its spiritual home on the Italian Riviera before attempting to beat James May and a multi-million pound power boat in a race from Portofino to St Tropez. Meanwhile, back in the UK Jeremy Clarkson is out on the test track testing the new BMW M3 saloon against a young pretender from Japan, the Lexus IS-F. Top Gear also tackles a political hot potato as Richard attempts to find the best sort of bus for British city streets by getting together everything from a hopper to a bendy bus and then having a race with them. Plus, Grand Designs presenter Kevin McCloud is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Nov 30, 2008
Communist Cars
Season 12Episode 660 min

Communist Cars

Jeremy Clarkson and James May invade Greenham Common airbase to ask if the Communists ever made a good car. Out on the test track, Richard Hammond goes crazy in the Veritas, a Germany sports car, and Jeremy conducts an almost ridiculously thorough road test of the new Ford Fiesta. Plus, London mayor Boris Johnson is the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.

Dec 7, 2008
Tesla Roadster
Season 12Episode 760 min

Tesla Roadster

Jeremy Clarkson has a high-voltage encounter with the Tesla, a battery-powered super-car and James travels to California to take a look at the hydrogen-powered Honda Clarity. The Star in the Reasonably Priced Car is Tom Jones.

Dec 14, 2008
Vietnam Special
Season 12Episode 875 min

Vietnam Special

The boys headed to Vietnam for epic road trip across the country. Each of them were given 15 million dong (about US$ 1000) to spend on buying some wheels and must make it to the north of Vietnam.

Dec 28, 2008

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