Programme One - Sunday 20th October 2002
This is a car programme. There will be no cushions. There will be no rag-rolling. No-one will sing. And at the end of the series, no-one will have a recording contract.
We have a new base and a purpose-built test track. There are no traffic jams here, and no bus lanes either.
This is the new, interactive TOP GEAR.
In the studio this week - Citroen's Berlingo Multispace, the van-turned-people carrier that's found favour with the TG team for its cheery character (and booze-lugging ability). Jeremy raves about its all-round ability, while Jason Dawe picks out the best buy for your money.
Richard Hammond is impressed by the MAZDA 6, a worthy contender to the compact exec class dominated by BMW's 3-series, but with a pleasingly large cash saving. Richard also spent some time pouring over the Ford GT40 concept (above left), which wowed our studio audience long after we finished filming. GT40 or Pagani Zonda? Now there's a question...
To help you decide just how good the new Zonda is, Jeremy races it head-to-head - it's Pagani versus Lamborghini and which is your money on? Mail us with your thoughts on whether the Zonda rightfully steals the supercar crown.
Also on the site this week is your chance to win tickets to join the studio audience at a future recording of Top Gear. All you have to do is check out the pictures of our double-decker jump stunt and tell us how many bikes you think it successfully cleared.
Apparently, if you pass a speed camera fast enough it can't take your picture - or so we heard in a pub once. So we borrowed a Gatso and some private land and set about trying to find out if it's true. Read the results here - and meet the Stig: it's a racing driver, but no-one knows which sort.
Our celebrity guests aren't just on the show to talk. Every week we'll feature our Star in a Reasonably Priced Car - and at the end of the series name the UK's fastest celebrity. Our big-value motor came courtesy of Suzuki - their Liana is a very reasonable £9995 on the road and perfect for our celeb shootout. No space for thanks to Hyundai, Daewoo or Nissan, though - 'cos they all said 'no'. Harry Enfield is this week's contender - find out how he got on here.
APOLOGY
On the off-chance we may have upset a few wandering Heartbeat viewers on Sunday night, we'd like to issue a blanket apology that neatly covers any speed camera-related discretions, or 'inconsiderate' remarks about the environment. We also have nothing against Albanians and really are rather fond of old people who take to the road, as our doughnuting Grannies hopefully will prove.
Email us: top.gear@bbc.co.uk, or text us on: 07957 630 630